Passport Translation

A passport translation gives an office your passport details in Turkish or another language, signed by a sworn translator. The people who need one are mostly foreigners with something to finish in Turkey: a power of attorney at the notary, a title deed transfer, a bank account, a residence or work permit, a marriage application. For a passport translation in Istanbul, send the photo page to Ziya Translation by WhatsApp or e-mail, or bring your passport to one of our four branches.

Who asks for a passport translation in Turkey?

The office handling your file usually asks, because it has to record your details in Turkish. Rules change, so confirm the current list with that office before you apply.

Which pages are translated?

For most procedures it is the page with your photo and personal details: name, date and place of birth, nationality, passport number and validity dates. For residence permits, the Presidency of Migration Management (Göç İdaresi) also asks for copies of the pages that carry entries, meaning your visas and stamps. If an office wants those pages translated too, tell us when you order.

Renewed your passport? Do not reuse the old translation, because the number and dates have changed. Keep the old passport too: a residence application may ask for its used pages.

Non-Latin passports and the spelling of your name

Turkey's Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the migration office apply the same rule: if a passport is not written in Latin letters, the application must include a translation by a sworn translator or one approved by an official authority.

Spelling tends to cause more trouble than the script itself. One name can appear as Mohammad, Muhammed or Mohamed, and your translation should match the Latin spelling in your passport. If your diploma, lease or bank papers show a different spelling, mention it when you order, because officials compare the documents in a file. Where a passport does not separate first name and surname, the migration office asks you to fill in the form according to a document from your own consulate that shows them separately. Some passports also give dates in the Hijri or Solar Hijri calendar, and the Gregorian dates in the translation have to agree with them.

Passport translation for notary, title deed, car sale and bank procedures

If you are buying or selling a home in Turkey, transferring a car, or leaving your affairs with a lawyer, your first stop is often a notary. In practice notaries may ask for a Turkish translation of your passport for a power of attorney and similar acts. If you do not speak Turkish, the Notaries Act (Noterlik Kanunu) also requires a sworn interpreter to be present. These are two separate jobs: the passport translation is written, while the person standing beside you at the notary provides interpreting.

Title deed offices, banks and marriage registrars each set their own document lists. One may accept a sworn translation while another wants it notarized. If you will visit several offices in the same week, ask each one what it needs and order the right number of copies at the start.

Residence and work permit files

Supporting documents for a residence permit that come from abroad, such as a birth certificate, follow a separate rule: they need an apostille and a notarized Turkish translation. If your country is not a party to the Apostille Convention, consular approval is required together with approval from the Turkish Foreign Ministry or another authorized Turkish authority.

Work permit applications run through the e-İzin system, where your passport copy and the Turkish translation of your diploma are scanned and uploaded. Watch your passport's remaining validity here. An application made with a passport that has under 60 days left is not processed, and the permit itself cannot run past the date 60 days before your passport expires. If your passport is close to expiry, renew it first and have the new one translated. The rest of the file is covered on our work permit application page.

Notarized passport translation and your original passport

The office receiving the translation decides whether notary approval is needed. Where a sworn translation is enough, you receive the translation with the translator's signature. Where the office wants a notarized translation, the sworn translator signs and the notary approves the translator's signature and oath record. That approval does not cover the translation's content. A translator works with the notary who holds their oath record, so taking a translation prepared elsewhere to any notary you like may not work.

An image of your passport is enough for a quote. Whether the original is needed at the approval stage depends on the procedure and will be clear in your quote. According to Turkey's Foreign Ministry, no notary in Turkey can stamp a document from a foreign authority as a true copy, and governorates cannot approve such a document either. What gets notarized is the translation, not your passport. Keep the passport within reach.

What decides the time and cost?

We need to see the passport before naming a time or price. What moves them:

• Language. Languages with fewer sworn translators can take longer and cost differently.
• Scope. The photo page alone, or stamped pages too.
• Approval. A sworn signature, notary approval, or further attestation steps.
• Copies. How many offices need one.
• Delivery. Collection from a branch or delivery by courier.

We do not publish a fixed price list, and notary charges are a separate item from the translation fee. How long a translation stays usable is also up to the receiving office, which may ask for a recent one. Once we know the passport and the procedure, your quote will state the cost and timing.

Check before you send

• Has the office told you the language and the approval it wants?
• Does your image show all four corners of the page and the two lines of code at the bottom, without glare?
• Have you noted how your name is spelled on your other documents?
• Does your passport have enough validity left for the procedure?

When you are ready, request a quote and tell us how many copies you need.

Official sources

• Presidency of Migration Management: Notes on applications and documents (Turkish)
• Ministry of Labour and Social Security: Work permit documents (Turkish)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Attestation questions and answers (Turkish)
• Notaries Act No. 1512 (Turkish)