Turkish residence permits: preparing your Florida documents

Residence permits (ikamet izni) are issued by the Presidency of Migration Management (Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı). You apply online through its e-İkamet system and then attend an appointment at the provincial migration directorate with your originals. Common permit types include the short-term residence permit (for purposes such as tourism, property ownership, language courses or training), the family residence permit for the spouse and children of a sponsor, and the student residence permit.

Work permits are a separate procedure, generally applied for through your employer, and aren't covered here.

Türkiye has been a party to the Apostille Convention since September 29, 1985 (HCCH status table), so a Florida apostille is the complete authentication for Florida documents. If you need a visa before you travel, the Consulate General of Türkiye in Miami (official site) is the closest Turkish mission.

The migration authority's list of required documents is explicit: documents obtained abroad must have a notary-approved Turkish translation (noter onaylı Türkçe tercüme) and an apostille. Documents from countries outside the Convention, or without an apostille, must be certified by the issuing country's authorities, then by a consulate or embassy, and finally by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs or an authorized Turkish body. Florida documents take the simple path: the apostille.

The common documents for every permit type are mostly not Florida documents: the application form, a passport copy (original shown at the appointment), four biometric photos, a declaration of sufficient income (the authority may ask for proof), fee receipts, valid health insurance covering the whole permit period, address registration, and proof of accommodation such as a title deed or notarized lease.

• Marriage certificate, for a spouse's family permit, or for a short-term permit when family-permit conditions aren't met (the list asks for the marriage certificate or a certified document proving the marriage). Signed by the State Registrar or a Clerk of the County Court. See marriage certificate for Türkiye.
• Children's birth certificates. The list asks for a certified birth certificate when the parents can't be identified from the child's passport or ID, which is the case with most U.S. passports. Certified by the Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics or a county health department, signed by the State Registrar. Order the version that names both parents. See birth certificate for Türkiye.
• Consent from an absent parent. When one parent isn't applying with the child, the list asks for that parent's consent. Signed before a Florida notary with a complete notarial certificate, then apostilled. A parent who lives elsewhere can sign through our online notarization. See consent letter apostille.
• Custody and divorce judgments. After a divorce, the list asks for the custody document. Use the Florida judgment certified by the Clerk of Court, with original wet-ink certification or the clerk's official e-certification. See court records.
• Income evidence, if the authority asks for proof behind your declaration. See bank statement apostille for how a statement becomes apostille-ready.

Our rule on old certificates: we don't accept vital records certified before 2014, because the signature on file must be the current State Registrar's. Order fresh copies through VitalChek.

Many Floridians apply for a short-term permit after buying property in Türkiye, and the title deed for that is a Turkish document, not a Florida one. Where Florida comes in is the power of attorney you sign so a lawyer or relative in Türkiye can complete a purchase, sign a lease, or handle registrations while you're still in the U.S.

Get the wording from the person or office that will rely on it, then sign before a Florida notary with a complete notarial certificate: venue, date, your name, the ID method, and the notary's signature and seal. If you're traveling, our online notarization lets you sign by secure video. The POA then gets its Florida apostille and, like every document from abroad, a notary-approved Turkish translation. See the state's sample notarial certificates.

Our general rule for translations used abroad: the translator certifies the translation, signs before a different notary (never their own), and the notarized translation gets its own Florida apostille. Türkiye is a country that may require something else instead. The migration authority asks for a noter onaylı translation, which points to a translation approved by a notary in Türkiye. In practice, that usually means sending your apostilled Florida documents to Türkiye and having them translated there by a translator whose work a Turkish notary approves.

Before you pay for a Florida translation, ask the migration directorate (or your lawyer in Türkiye) whether it would accept one. Translate after the apostille, and ask whether the apostille itself should be translated. See certified translation apostille.

• Translating before the apostille. The Turkish translation should match the document as filed, apostille and all.
• Birth certificates without parents. The whole point of the birth certificate is to prove the parent-child link the passport doesn't show. A record that omits a parent defeats it.
• Consent letters with incomplete notarial certificates. A missing venue or ID method gets the letter rejected in Tallahassee before it ever reaches Türkiye.
• Plain court printouts. Custody and divorce documents must be clerk-certified; a copy downloaded from the court's website can't be apostilled.

Health insurance must cover the full permit period, so line up the Florida documents before you buy a policy for a start date you can't meet. On the Florida side, filing yourself by mail commonly takes several weeks door to door; we file in person and return documents in 5–7 business days, or ship them straight to Türkiye.

Pricing: $220 for one document, $380 for two, and $160 each for three or more, including the state fee, request form, in-person filing and FedEx inside the U.S. Certified-copy fees and notarization aren't included; online notarization is $40 for the first document ($10 notarization fee + $30 technology platform fee) and $20 for each additional one. A family of four with a marriage certificate and two birth certificates is three documents at $160 each. Shipping to Türkiye is a flat $100 per order.