The legal bond between an individual and the State is counted among the rights a person holds from the moment of birth and of which they cannot be divested. Protecting the individual both against the society in which they live and against the State to which they belong, this bond is secured at the level of the Constitution of the Republic of Türkiye. Article 66(3) of the Constitution provides that citizenship status acquired within the framework of conditions laid down by law may only come to an end in the cases the law itself indicates. The departure from Turkish citizenship of a person who acquires the nationality of a foreign country of their own volition is, within this framework, one of the cases of loss occurring by decision of the competent authority.
The explanatory memorandum to the Turkish Citizenship Act No. 5901, which remains in force, refers to the European Convention on Nationality and makes clear that Türkiye is bound by that instrument. Article 4 of the Convention prohibits arbitrary deprivation of nationality, thereby underlining that the cases in which loss arises must be determined in advance and on objective grounds. Article 7 of the same instrument enumerates the grounds capable of justifying loss one by one, and the voluntary acquisition of another nationality takes its place among those grounds.
In this briefing note we examine the conditions required for departure from Turkish citizenship by way of acquiring the nationality of a foreign State, the documents issued during the process, the period for which those documents remain valid, the consequences of departure for the individual and their family, and the legal remedy available where the application is refused.
Conditions Required for Renunciation of Turkish Citizenship
The criteria to which a request for departure is subject are set out in Article 25 of the Turkish Citizenship Act. Persons who satisfy those criteria may be issued by the Ministry with either a permit of renunciation or a certificate of renunciation. The conditions required are as follows:
- Having already acquired the nationality of a foreign country, or the existence of credible indications that it will be acquired
- Having attained majority and possessing the capacity to discern
- Not being among the persons sought on account of any offence or of military service obligations
- The absence of any restriction record of a financial or criminal nature concerning the person
All of these criteria must be satisfied at the same time; the absence of even one of them is enough to prevent the request for departure from being granted. Since citizenship falls among the inalienable fundamental rights and freedoms, the applicant is first expected to have established a citizenship bond with another State, or to demonstrate credibly that such a bond will be established. The essential concern behind the provision is that no one should be rendered stateless.
Two Separate Documents Issued in the Process
Which document is issued to a person wishing to leave Turkish citizenship by taking up the nationality of a foreign State depends on the stage the person has reached. The matter is governed by Article 26 of the Turkish Citizenship Act, which provides for two separate documents.
Permit of Renunciation of Turkish Citizenship
This is the document issued by the Ministry to those whose application is found appropriate among persons requesting permission to depart for the purpose of acquiring the nationality of a foreign country. The document has effect for 2 years from the date on which the decision was taken. Within that period the person concerned must submit the information and documents proving that the foreign nationality has been acquired to the governorship of their place of residence within the country, or, if they are abroad, to Türkiye’s foreign missions. Where this obligation is not fulfilled, the permit of renunciation ceases to have effect.
Certificate of Renunciation of Turkish Citizenship
A “certificate of renunciation of Turkish citizenship” is issued to those who, following the permit of departure, prove that they have acquired the foreign nationality, or who document that they had already acquired that nationality earlier. As noted above, the precondition of departure is that the nationality of another State has been acquired, or that its acquisition has been established in a manner carrying certainty.
In brief, the process operates as follows: at the first stage a permit of renunciation is issued to the applicant; where it is proved within the following 2 years that the conditions of departure have materialised, the certificate of renunciation is then issued. In order to obtain the second document it is essential to have shown that the foreign nationality has been acquired, or that it will certainly be acquired.
Period of Validity of the Permit of Renunciation
The period for which the document has effect is clarified in Article 46 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Act:
Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Act, Art. 46
“(1) The permit of renunciation of Turkish citizenship and the certificate of renunciation shall be valid for two years from the date of the decision.
(2) Permits of renunciation and certificates of renunciation which for various reasons cannot be delivered to the person concerned within two years from the date of the decision shall be returned to the Ministry by the receiving authority so that the decision and the documents may be annulled.
(3) Where the receiving authorities establish that a person who has been permitted to renounce Turkish citizenship has ceased to satisfy one of the conditions required by the Act, the permit of renunciation and the certificate of renunciation shall not be delivered. They shall be returned to the Ministry so that the decision taken in respect of the person and the documents may be annulled.”
The result of the provision is plain: if the nationality of the foreign State cannot be acquired within the prescribed period, the permit of renunciation held ceases to have effect.
When Departure Takes Effect and Its Consequences
Under Article 27 of the Turkish Citizenship Act, the certificate of renunciation is delivered against signature to a person who satisfies the requisite conditions. Upon delivery the person concerned loses Turkish citizenship, their entries in the civil registers of families are closed, and from the date on which the loss occurred the provisions relating to the status of foreigners apply to them.
Those who acquired Turkish citizenship by birth and then left that status under a permit of renunciation, together with their descendants up to the third degree, continue to enjoy the rights granted to Turkish citizens, subject to a limited number of exceptions. Foremost among those exceptions is that the right to vote and to stand for election may no longer be exercised. For these persons the rights and obligations relating to the performance of military service also cease; furthermore, they may not work in established posts in principal and permanent public service duties. They may, on the other hand, be employed by public institutions and organisations in the capacity of worker, temporary staff or contracted staff. Nor is the possibility of importing a vehicle or household goods under an exemption available to them. The actual exercise of the rights listed depends on the production of the Blue Card which may be issued to those who leave citizenship under a permit of renunciation.
Citizenship Status of the Spouse and Children
Where the departing person is married, the status in which their spouse and, where applicable, their children will remain is governed by Article 27(2) of the Turkish Citizenship Act:
Turkish Citizenship Act, Art. 27(2)
“The loss of Turkish citizenship by one of the spouses by obtaining a permit of renunciation shall not affect the citizenship of the other spouse. However, where the person who loses Turkish citizenship is a mother or a father, their children shall also lose Turkish citizenship together with them, provided that the parent leaving citizenship so requests and the other parent consents. Where the other spouse does not give consent, the citizenship status of the common children shall be determined in accordance with a decision of the judge. If the loss of citizenship would render the children stateless, the matters set out shall not apply and the children shall not be permitted to renounce Turkish citizenship.”
The practical effect of the provision is this: the departure of one spouse from citizenship in no way affects the status of the other. The rule is to the same effect for children; however, where the departing parent makes a request to that end, the other parent gives consent, and it is established that the children will not be left stateless, a permit of renunciation may also be issued for them.
General Assessment of Practice
Since departure from citizenship is one of the cases in which the status comes to an end by decision of the competent authority, satisfying the statutory conditions does not of itself confer on the person concerned an absolute right to depart. A person meeting the conditions applies to the relevant institution for a permit, and departure takes place only upon a favourable decision of the Ministry. The Ministry is not obliged to grant the permit; equally, it may not act arbitrarily in the administrative act it establishes and is under a duty to give reasons for that act. Accordingly, where the conditions required by the Act are present and there is no other circumstance amounting to unlawfulness, the applicant is expected to be granted the permit of departure. Against practices of the administration to the contrary, persons whose request is refused retain the possibility of applying to the administrative courts seeking annulment of the administrative act.
Finally, it should be noted that those who satisfy the conditions and thereby lose Turkish citizenship may lawfully reacquire that status in the future. The reacquisition of Turkish citizenship by Blue Card holders is subject to a separate application and assessment process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is representation by a lawyer compulsory before the administrative court?
Turkish law allows parties to defend themselves in person before the courts; save for a limited number of exceptions, appointing a representative is not compulsory. No such obligation is provided for before the administrative courts either. That said, the multi-layered structure of administrative law legislation and the short and strict time limits laid down in the Administrative Procedure Act No. 2577 mean that conducting the process without a lawyer may lead to irreversible errors of both procedure and substance. For that reason it is prudent to obtain support from lawyers practising in the field of administrative law before any step is taken.
To which authority is the application made?
A person wishing to request departure must apply in person to the Provincial Directorates of Civil Registration and Citizenship. Those abroad may submit their request for a permit of renunciation through the foreign missions of the Republic of Türkiye in the country where they are located.
Does acquiring a foreign nationality automatically end Turkish citizenship?
No. Even where the nationality of the foreign State is acquired after the permit of renunciation has been obtained, the status does not come to an end automatically. When the document showing that the foreign nationality has been acquired is submitted to the authority with which the application was made (within the country, the Provincial Directorates of Civil Registration and Citizenship), the Certificate of Renunciation of Turkish Citizenship is delivered against signature; departure takes place at that stage.
How do Blue Card holders differ from Turkish citizens?
Those who were Turkish citizens by birth and lost that status under a permit of renunciation, together with their descendants up to the third degree, continue to enjoy the rights granted to Turkish citizens subject to a few exceptions, and are referred to as “Blue Card holders”. The most conspicuous differences are the absence of the right to vote and to stand for election and the removal of the military service obligation. Nor may these persons work as established public officials.
Does leaving citizenship affect a retirement pension?
Article 28(2) of the Turkish Citizenship Act reserves the acquired rights of departing persons in the field of social security. Leaving citizenship after entitlement to a retirement pension has arisen therefore does not result in the loss of that pension.
Do children leave citizenship together with a parent?
Where the request of the departing person and the consent of the other parent come together, the children also lose Turkish citizenship together with their mother or father. If the other parent is a foreign national, the request of the parent leaving citizenship is deemed sufficient on its own.
Does the departure of one spouse affect the other?
It does not. Article 27(2) of the Turkish Citizenship Act expressly states that the loss of status by one spouse under a permit of renunciation will produce no effect on the citizenship of the other spouse.
What is the indispensable condition of departure?
In order to leave Turkish citizenship, it is required that the nationality of a foreign State has already been acquired, or that credible indications that it will be acquired are put forward.
Independent Legal Assessment
In files concerning departure from citizenship, the problem most frequently encountered in practice is the assumption that the process consists of a single act. In fact the permit of renunciation and the certificate of renunciation correspond to two separate stages, and missing the two-year window between them leaves no option other than beginning the application afresh. Nor should the fact that the Ministry enjoys a discretionary power be overlooked; that power is not, however, unsupervised, and refusal decisions that are unreasoned or disproportionate may be made the subject of an action for annulment.
When a road map is drawn up in a concrete file, the following headings should be addressed as a matter of priority:
- Checking military service status and criminal and financial restriction records before the application
- Preparing the documents relating to the prospective acquisition of the foreign nationality so as to meet the credibility criterion
- Calendaring the two-year period running from the date of the decision and fulfilling the notification obligation in good time
- Assessing, in respect of the children, consent and the risk of statelessness together
- Placing the Blue Card application on the agenda immediately after departure
- Not missing the time limit for bringing an action, which runs from notification of the refusal decision
Independent Legal provides advisory and litigation services throughout the entire process, from the preparation of administrative applications relating to citizenship status to actions for annulment brought against refusal decisions.