International marriages have become
increasingly common in Turkey due to the country becoming a more popular
destination for tourists, foreigners, and investors. However, not all mixed
marriages last and they may experience difficulties caused by irreconcilable
differences, like different religious views and cultural backgrounds. In 2015,
39.3 percent of divorces occurred within the first five years of marriage, and
about 21.5 percent of divorces took place between the sixth to the tenth year
of marriage. If you are a foreign citizen in Turkey and you are thinking of
divorcing your Turkish spouse, you need to find a lawyer who can provide the
best legal advice on divorce. Likewise, you should seek legal counsel if your
Turkish spouse is filing divorce. That way, you can protect your legal rights
and make sure that you can get favorable results.
Divorce in Turkey for foreign citizens
can be initiated only if your marriage went through the proper registration
procedure and is registered at the Vital Statistics Office. You need to
approach the civil court to get a divorce decree, since courts in other
jurisdictions will not grant the documents that you need. Likewise, the process
will be completed in civil court, which will make the final judgment. You need
a Turkish lawyer who
will represent you in court. With his help, you can request that your trial be
private, especially if you want to avoid public scrutiny.
A skilled and experienced family
lawyer can help you find grounds for divorce
in Turkey for foreign citizens. Incompatibility, adultery,
maltreatment, attempt to kill, physical violence, unreasonable behavior,
desertion, your spouse committed a crime, mental disease, and breakdown of
marriage are some of the grounds for divorce in Turkey. The procedure for
divorce may not be too conservative or complex because the Turkish family law
was modeled after the Swiss Family law, but you still need a lawyer to ensure a
smooth process.
A seasoned Turkish lawyer will guide
you throughout the proceedings and what you can and cannot do after the
divorce. If you are a woman, you cannot remarry within the next 300 days after
your divorce. A judge may consider providing a reconciliation period between
one and three years, and it is only after that when the procedure can end.
After that, the woman can revert to her maiden name. Women may keep the
ex-husband's name only upon approval of the judge.
