A baby born in Türkiye to foreign parents: birth report, registration, passport, permit
A child born in Türkiye to foreign parents does not acquire Turkish citizenship by birth, but the birth is a Turkish civil event and must be registered here before the child's own country can issue documents. The sequence is fixed: hospital report → registration at the population directorate → multilingual birth extract → consulate and passport → the baby's residence permit. Each step depends on the previous one, and the last has a deadline. This guide walks through the five steps and the documents at each.
1. The hospital birth report
The hospital or birth centre records the birth and sends a birth notification (doğum bildirimi) electronically to the population directorate; it also hands the parents a printed birth report (doğum raporu) with the mother's details, the date and time, and the child's sex. Check the mother's name against her passport before you leave the hospital: a misspelling here follows the child through every later document. For a home birth, a doctor's or midwife's report, or in its absence the declaration of two witnesses, replaces the hospital report.
2. Registration at the Nüfus Müdürlüğü
Within 30 days of the birth a parent declares it at the district population directorate, with the hospital report, both parents' passports, their residence permits if they have them, and the apostilled and translated marriage certificate if the parents are married and the marriage is not already in Turkish records. The directorate enters the child in the foreigners' register (yabancılar kütüğü), assigns a foreigner identification number, and issues a Turkish birth certificate (doğum belgesi). Registration is free. A late declaration is still accepted, with an administrative fine under Law 5490. If the parents are unmarried, the child is registered under the mother; recognition by the father is a separate notarial or court act.
A child born to a Turkish parent is instead entered in the Turkish family register and is a citizen; see our family residence permit guide for the foreign parent's permit in that case.
3. The Formül A multilingual extract
Türkiye is a party to the 1976 CIEC Convention on multilingual extracts from civil-status records, so the population directorate issues, on request and free of charge, the Formül A multilingual birth extract. It is accepted in the other member states (most of Europe and some others) without translation or apostille. For countries outside the convention, ask for the ordinary Turkish birth certificate, have it apostilled at the kaymakamlık (free) and translated by a sworn translator with notarial certification (≈ ₺884 per page at the 2026 tariff, paid by you to the notary); see our apostille guide. Order two or three extracts: the consulate keeps one, the home registry another, and the residence permit file may want a copy.
4. The consulate: citizenship registration and passport
Your consulate registers the birth in your home country's records and issues the child's first passport. Requirements vary by country: most want the Formül A or apostilled certificate, both parents' passports, the marriage certificate, photographs of the child and a completed application; some require both parents in person, some issue a travel document first and the passport later. The timeline ranges from one day to several months, and the baby's residence permit application cannot be made until the passport exists, so book the consulate appointment while waiting for the extracts.
5. The baby's residence permit
A child born in Türkiye to parents holding residence or work permits has a lawful stay from birth, but the parents must apply for the child's own permit on e-ikamet within 180 days of the birth under the Implementing Regulation of Law 6458; after that the child is in an irregular stay. The child receives a permit matching a parent's (family permit where a parent holds one, otherwise the parent's type), with the usual documents: the child's passport, the birth certificate, photographs, health insurance covering the child, and the parents' permits and address record. The ₺964 card fee applies; harç follows the parents' nationality. Add the child to the family's health insurance in the first weeks; a child cannot be added to a parent's private policy retroactively.
Sources
- nvi.gov.tr — General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs: birth registration, Formül A extracts
- mevzuat.gov.tr — Law 5490 art. 15–19 (birth declaration); Implementing Regulation of Law 6458 (children born in Türkiye)
- goc.gov.tr — Presidency of Migration Management: residence permit for children born in Türkiye
- e-ikamet.goc.gov.tr — application for the child's permit
Questions
Is my baby Turkish because it was born in İstanbul?
No. Turkish citizenship follows the parents, not the place of birth, unless the child would otherwise be stateless. A child of two foreign parents is registered in the foreigners' register and takes the parents' nationality through their consulate.
The consulate is slow and the 180 days are running. What can I do?
Apply on e-ikamet within the 180 days with whatever travel document the consulate has issued, even a temporary one; the Directorate can take the application and ask for the passport later. Keep written evidence of the consulate appointment. Do not let the 180 days pass without an application.
Do I need the Formül A if my country is not in the CIEC convention?
No; it will not be recognised. Obtain the ordinary Turkish birth certificate, apostille it at the kaymakamlık and have it translated by a sworn translator with notarial certification; non-Hague countries need consular legalisation instead of the apostille.