Didim Today

I hope you had a happy Valentine’s Day. Here is an e-mail about renouncing Turkish citizenship. “This is a long letter and I have just been trawling the Internet again to answer some questions to my original plight and found my letter that I wrote to you and the answer that you published in May 2009. My son turns 18 in April -- he has booked a holiday to celebrate his eighteenth for May of this year in Turkey.

I cannot get through to anyone at the Turkish embassy or consulate to find out what he needs to take with him proving that he has a job and is an apprentice also, therefore, he attends college one day a week. Your article stated that he could dispose of his Turkish citizenship.

I have tried all morning to find out how he does this and what the procedure is and how long this would take bearing in mind he goes in May and I can’t find out any information. Please as a matter of urgency could you point me in the right direction and possibly provide me with some phone numbers and contact details or an address even to whom I write to ask (a) what does he need to take with him documenting his employment/schooling in England and (b) how does he go about disposing of his Turkish citizenship. Your help in this matter would be greatly appreciated as I need to get some answers now and fear that as his birthday is in April I am running out of time perhaps. Many thanks.”

Where should you apply?

The application can either be made through the Turkish consulate in your respective country or through local authorities in Turkey, which I believe would be faster in processing.

Is there any time limit?

Your son should make the application within three years starting from his 18th birthday.

How long does the process take? It takes roughly four to six months to complete the process.

What documents are required for the application?

A petition for application this is a form to be filled in, and it is available at the application desk. A document proving citizenship duly approved by apostille where necessary, an official document showing the birth registered in Turkey. The list of documents for applying to the consulate may be different, please check this with the consulate. There will be other documents required for delivery of the approval certificate showing the renouncement. These documents are: Turkish ID card and/or Turkish passport.

If there is no passport, you should submit a statement which verifies that no passport has been issued. What are the implications of renouncing Turkish citizenship? I am not sure whether you would be interested in reading the implications of renouncing Turkish citizenship, but it might be helpful to read them before renouncing it.

Under the Turkish Citizenship Law, a person who renounces his citizenship shall be able to benefit from many rights provided to Turkish citizens except the ones cited in the law. The rights granted to those who renounced their Turkish citizenship are now more extensive and better than when compared to the past.

To sum up, when your son disposes of (renounces) his Turkish citizenship, he will not be a Turkish citizen, and he will not be able to enjoy and benefit from the rights strictly granted to Turkish citizens, such as voting and military service (yes, this is a right granted to Turkish citizens -- also an obligation -- it depends on how you look at it!). It is unclear whether your son is a Turkish citizen from birth or not, but I guess that he has been from birth.

If this is the case, upon his particular request on this matter, he may be provided with a document called a blue card in accordance with Law no. 5203, which is used in matters of residence, travel, work, investment, commerce, inheritance, etc.

Berk Cektir http://www.berkcektir.av.tr/ The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner. http://www.todayszaman.com/ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it