Inheritance in Turkey for Foreign Heirs: Law, Land Registry and Tax (2026)

A foreign national can be an heir to an estate in Turkey. The decedent’s movable property is governed by the decedent’s national law, while immovable property located in Turkey is always governed by Turkish law. If the decedent or one of the heirs is a foreigner, the certificate of inheritance cannot be obtained from a notary; it must be requested from the Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters (Sulh Hukuk Mahkemesi). The transfer at the land registry is also made on the basis of a certificate issued by a Turkish court, because the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) holds that a certificate of inheritance issued by a foreign court cannot be recognized. Even if the heir’s nationality or the area limits prevent the heir from acquiring the property, the heir does not lose their status as heir: if they do not liquidate the property themselves within the period of up to one year to be given by the Ministry, the property is converted into money and the proceeds are paid to them. For assets in Turkey, an inheritance and transfer tax return must be filed even if the inheritance is below the exemption amount, and the deadline is four, six or eight months depending on where the death occurred and where the heir is.

Can a Foreign National Be an Heir in Turkey?

Yes. Being a foreign national does not prevent a person from being an heir; the only statutory restriction concerns the acquisition of immovable property in Turkey in the heir’s name.

An estate with a foreign element (yabancılık unsuru taşıyan miras) is an estate in which the decedent or one of the heirs is a national of a foreign country. For such an estate, the applicable law, the international jurisdiction of Turkish courts and the recognition of foreign judgments are governed by the Law on Private International and Procedural Law No. 5718 (Milletlerarası Özel Hukuk ve Usul Hukuku Hakkında Kanun, MÖHUK); the provisions of international conventions to which Turkey is a party are reserved (Article 1 of MÖHUK). Quotations from Turkish statutes and court decisions in this article are our unofficial translations.

The decision of the 14th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay 14. Hukuk Dairesi) of 14 September 2020 (Case No. 2016/14562, Decision No. 2020/4902) states this rule expressly: “Foreigners may request a certificate of inheritance. The land registrar cannot question the validity of the certificate of inheritance.” (Turkish citations write these numbers as “2016/14562 E., 2020/4902 K.”: E. stands for esas, the case number, and K. for karar, the decision number.) Court of Cassation decisions draw the scope of the restriction in the same way. In its decision of 2 October 2023 (Case No. 2022/1744, Decision No. 2023/4294), the 7th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation stated that the restriction in the Land Registry Law can apply only to immovable property, and that therefore “there is no legal obstacle to foreign nationals being heirs with respect to movable property, money or other rights”. A foreign heir’s position therefore raises two separate questions: the status of heir, and the registration of immovable property in Turkey in the heir’s name. The first is discussed in the sections on the certificate of inheritance below, the second in the land registry section.

Persons who were Turkish citizens by birth and lost Turkish citizenship by obtaining permission to renounce it, and their descendants up to the third degree (Blue Card holders, Mavi Kart), continue to benefit in the same way from the rights granted to Turkish citizens, save for the exceptions in the Law; provisions on national security and public order are reserved (Article 28 of the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901). Article 36 of the Land Registry Law, which governs acquisitions of immovable property by companies with foreign capital, also expressly excludes these persons when determining whether a company counts as having foreign capital.

Which Country’s Law Applies to an Estate with a Foreign Element?

The decedent’s movable property (bank accounts, cash, vehicles, receivables) is governed by the law of the state of which the decedent was a national, while immovable property located in Turkey is governed by Turkish law. The opening of the succession, the acquisition of the inheritance (acceptance and renunciation) and its partition, however, are governed by the law of the country where the estate (the property the decedent left behind) is located.

Article 20 of the Law on Private International and Procedural Law (unofficial translation):
“(1) Inheritance is subject to the national law of the deceased. Turkish law applies to immovable property located in Türkiye. (2) The provisions on the grounds for the opening of the succession, its acquisition and its partition are subject to the law of the country where the estate is located. (3) An estate without heirs located in Türkiye passes to the State.”

As a result of this rule, two different laws may apply to the same estate. For example, who inherits a foreign decedent’s bank account in Turkey, and in what share, is determined under the decedent’s national law, while who inherits the decedent’s apartment in Turkey, and in what share, is determined under the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 (TCC). In its decision of 19 February 2024 (Case No. 2023/1967, Decision No. 2024/926), the 7th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation emphasized the rule that “Turkish law shall apply exclusively to immovable property located in Türkiye”. For immovable property in Turkey, the reserved share (in Turkish; saklı pay) is therefore also calculated under Article 506 of the TCC: for descendants, half of their statutory share; for each parent, one quarter; for the surviving spouse, the whole of the statutory share where the spouse inherits together with descendants or with the parents’ group of heirs, and three quarters in other cases.

The estate in Turkey of a decedent who has no heirs passes to the State (Article 20(3) of MÖHUK; Article 501 of the TCC).

a) If the Decedent Was a National of More Than One Country

If the decedent was also a Turkish citizen, Turkish law applies as the national law; in that case, movables are also governed by Turkish law (Article 4(1)(b) of MÖHUK). For a person with multiple nationalities who was not a Turkish citizen, the law of the state with which they had the closer connection is applied (Article 4(1)(c)). For stateless persons and refugees, the law of their domicile applies, failing that the law of their habitual residence, and failing that the law of the country where they were on the date of the action (Article 4(1)(a)).

b) Where the Foreign Law Refers to Another Law

The Turkish judge applies Turkish conflict-of-laws rules, and the foreign law that is competent under those rules, of their own motion; to establish the content of the foreign law, the judge may ask for the parties’ assistance. If the provisions of the foreign law relevant to the case cannot be established despite all inquiries, Turkish law applies (Article 2(1) and (2) of MÖHUK). A reference by the foreign law’s conflict-of-laws rules to another law (renvoi) is taken into account only in disputes concerning the law of persons and family law (Article 2(3)). Because inheritance is not on this list, the Turkish court applies the substantive provisions of the decedent’s national law even if that national law refers the inheritance to the law of another country.

c) A Will Made Abroad

A will made abroad is valid in form if it complies with the formal requirements of the law of the country where it was made or of the law governing the substance of the will; a will made in a form that complies with the decedent’s national law is also valid (Article 20(4) and Article 7 of MÖHUK). Testamentary capacity is determined by the testator’s national law at the time the will was made (Article 20(5)).

Turkey is also a party to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 on the Conflicts of Laws Relating to the Form of Testamentary Dispositions; the Convention entered into force for Turkey on 22 October 1983. Article 1 of the Convention treats as valid a form that complies with the law of the place where the will was made, or of the state of which the testator was a national, or of the testator’s domicile or habitual residence; for immovable property, a form that complies with the law of the place where the property is located is also sufficient.

The content of a will that is valid in form is, as regards immovable property in Turkey, subject to Turkish law. A disposition that infringes the reserved share may be the subject of an action for reduction (tenkis davası) brought by an heir entitled to a reserved share.

Is the Certificate of Inheritance Obtained from a Notary or a Court?

If the decedent or one of the heirs is a foreigner, the certificate of inheritance (mirasçılık belgesi) cannot be obtained from a notary; it must be requested from the Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters. The same applies where the heir is a Turkish citizen and the decedent was a foreign national.

Article 71/B of the Notaries Law No. 1512 (unofficial translation):
“A certificate of inheritance cannot be issued by notaries where the issuance of the certificate requires judicial proceedings, where the civil registry records are not sufficient for issuing the certificate, or where the certificate of inheritance is requested by foreigners.”

The Law mentions only a request made by a foreigner. Article 5 of the Regulation on the issuance of certificates of inheritance by notaries goes further, providing that “in situations requiring judicial proceedings, such as where the request involves a foreign element, notaries cannot issue a certificate of inheritance”. Therefore, if the decedent was a foreign national, the notary route is closed even if the person making the request is a Turkish citizen. For the general rules on certificates of inheritance, see our article on the certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı) (in Turkish).

a) The Court with Jurisdiction and Venue

Issuing a certificate of inheritance is a non-contentious matter (çekişmesiz yargı) (Article 382 of the Code of Civil Procedure No. 6100, CCP). In non-contentious matters, the court with subject-matter jurisdiction is the Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters unless otherwise provided (Article 383 of the CCP). Unless the law provides otherwise, venue lies with the court of the place where the applicant or one of the interested parties resides (Article 384 of the CCP). There is no mandatory venue rule (kesin yetki) for this matter.

The Court of Cassation applies this rule in cases involving a foreign decedent as well. In the case underlying the decision of the 5th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation of 1 March 2021 (Case No. 2021/39, Decision No. 2021/2402), the decedent was not a Turkish citizen, their last domicile was not in Turkey, and the claimant did not reside in Turkey either. The first-instance court had sent the file to the place where the estate was located, relying on Article 43 of MÖHUK. The Chamber held that, “since there is no mandatory venue rule in actions for a certificate of inheritance, and since no objection to venue was raised”, the first court before which the action was filed should conclude the matter. In its decision of 21 April 2025 (Case No. 2025/962, Decision No. 2025/5615), the 5th Civil Chamber likewise took Article 384 of the CCP as its basis in a file that had been sent to the place where the immovable property of a non-Turkish decedent was located, and designated the court where the action was filed as the competent court.

b) Separate Certificates for Movables and Immovables

Because different laws apply to movables and immovables, the court makes two separate determinations in an estate with a foreign element. In its decision of 12 January 2026 (Case No. 2025/3452, Decision No. 2026/153), the 7th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation stated that “the law to be applied to movable and immovable property is different, and a separate certificate of inheritance must be issued for each of them”. It emphasized that the court must first determine the country of which the decedent was a national at death, and it reversed a judgment that had not made this distinction. Documents showing the decedent’s nationality on the date of death are therefore important in the application.

c) Proof of Heirship

As a rule, the relationship of heirship is proved by civil registry records; in non-contentious proceedings, however, the judge may, under the principle of ex officio investigation, use all necessary evidence (the 14th Civil Chamber’s 2020 decision cited above). If the decedent or the heir has no Turkish civil registry record, documents of foreign authorities are used. In the case underlying the decision of the 7th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation of 18 November 2025 (Case No. 2025/3813, Decision No. 2025/4834), it was established “from apostilled civil registry extracts” that the claimant was the decedent’s heir.

A certificate of inheritance does not constitute res judicata in the substantive sense (Article 388 of the CCP); its invalidity may be asserted at any time (Article 598(3) of the TCC).

Can a Certificate of Inheritance Obtained Abroad Be Used in Turkey?

Not directly at the land registry. The 7th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation holds that a certificate of inheritance issued by a foreign court cannot be recognized or enforced (tenfiz, that is, made enforceable in Turkey) because it lacks the force of res judicata. For the transfer by inheritance at the land registry, obtaining a certificate of inheritance from a Turkish Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters is the route with a predictable outcome.

Article 37 of the Land Registry Law No. 2644 (unofficial translation):
“Transfers by inheritance concerning foreign natural persons are carried out on the basis of certificates of inheritance issued by the courts of the Republic of Türkiye, or issued by their own competent authorities and certified by Turkish courts as complying with the provisions of Turkish law on inheritance procedure.”

The article provides two routes: a certificate of inheritance issued by a Turkish court, or a document issued by a foreign authority and certified by a Turkish court as complying with Turkish law on inheritance procedure. Giving effect in Turkey to a foreign document is generally subject to the recognition provisions of MÖHUK. A foreign judgment can be treated as conclusive evidence or res judicata only if the court determines that it meets the conditions for enforcement, and this rule also applies to decisions in non-contentious proceedings and to administrative acts to be carried out on the basis of a foreign judgment (Article 58 of MÖHUK).

The 7th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation follows a clear line on this point. In the decision of 19 February 2024 (Case No. 2023/1967, Decision No. 2024/926) cited above, the first-instance court had recognized a certificate of inheritance issued by the court of first instance in Athens (referred to in the decision as Atina Asliye Hukuk Mahkemesi), and the Regional Court of Appeal (Bölge Adliye Mahkemesi) had dismissed the appeal (istinaf) on the merits. The Chamber unanimously reversed this part of the judgment on the ground that, “since a certificate of inheritance issued by a foreign court does not have the force of res judicata, its enforcement and recognition cannot be ordered”. By its decision of 17 October 2025 (Case No. 2025/599, Decision No. 2025/4398), the 7th Civil Chamber also upheld the first-instance judgment dismissing a request for recognition and enforcement of a joint certificate of inheritance issued in Germany, together with the appellate decision upholding it; the reasoning for the dismissal is the first-instance court’s, as the Chamber upheld the judgment without writing reasons of its own.

In light of these decisions, a document obtained abroad does not replace an action for a certificate of inheritance to be filed before a Turkish court. For immovable property in Turkey, a certificate is obtained from a Turkish Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters; in that action, heirship is proved with the apostilled records of foreign authorities.

A Will Opened Abroad

Whether the opening of a will abroad can be recognized in Turkey depends on whether that act is a court decision capable of becoming final under the law of its own country. In its 2024 decision cited above, the 7th Civil Chamber found correct the recognition of a will that had been opened and read in Athens and made final by a record stating that there was no objection; however, because the will concerned immovable property in Turkey, it removed the word “enforcement” from the judgment and upheld the judgment as corrected.

By contrast, in its decision of 6 November 2024 (Case No. 2023/1038, Decision No. 2024/538), the General Assembly of Civil Chambers of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay Hukuk Genel Kurulu) held that the protocol of the opening of a will drawn up by the Frankfurt court for estate matters (tereke mahkemesi in the decision) “cannot be said to be in the nature of a judgment capable of enforcement” within the meaning of Article 50 et seq. of MÖHUK, because under that country’s procedural law it was not a court decision and no certificate of finality could be issued for it. On this basis, the General Assembly reversed the insistence decision (direnme kararı, a lower court’s decision not to follow a reversal). The decision was given by majority; the view put forward during the General Assembly’s deliberations, that recognition cannot be sought because inheritance cases fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of Turkish courts, was not adopted by the majority.

Under Turkish law, a will found after death must be delivered immediately, regardless of whether it is valid, to the magistrate (sulh hakimi, the judge of the Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters); the magistrate opens it and reads it to the interested parties within one month of delivery (Articles 595 and 596 of the TCC).

Transfer by Inheritance at the Land Registry and the Limits on Acquisition by Foreigners

The heir acquires ownership of immovable property in Turkey on the decedent’s death; to carry out acts of disposition such as a sale, however, the transfer by inheritance must be registered in the land register. For estates opened after 18 May 2012, a foreign heir’s acquisition of immovable property depends not on reciprocity but on the list of countries designated by the President and on the area limits.

Article 705 of the Turkish Civil Code (unofficial translation):
“In cases of inheritance, court judgment, compulsory enforcement, occupation, expropriation and other cases provided for by law, ownership is acquired before registration. In these cases, however, the owner’s ability to carry out acts of disposition depends on the ownership having been registered in the land register.”

a) Registration of the Transfer, Tax Clearance and Fees

Under Article 37 of the Land Registry Law, transfers by inheritance concerning foreign natural persons are carried out on the basis of a certificate of inheritance issued or certified by a Turkish court. The inherited property is registered without waiting for the inheritance and transfer tax to be assessed; however, the property cannot be transferred, and no real right can be created over it, until the tax attributable to it has been paid in full. Land registry officials cannot carry out a transfer without a tax clearance certificate (ilişik kesme belgesi, a document showing that no tax is outstanding) issued by the tax office; if security of a type listed in the Law is provided for the assessed tax, the transfer may be permitted (Article 19 of the Inheritance and Transfer Tax Law No. 7338, VİVK).

Under the Fees Law No. 492, only the land registry transactions listed in Tariff No. 4 annexed to the Law are subject to fees (Article 57). The Tariff lists, as separate fee items, the partition of immovable property among heirs, whether in kind or by subdivision (aynen or ifrazen), and the execution of a will; it sets out the item on the execution of a will “on condition that it is not charged on the transfer by inheritance”. The transfer to the heirs does not appear in the Tariff as a separate fee item.

If the transfer by inheritance is not made in the land register within two years of the date of death at the latest, the land registry directorate may apply to the courts for a certificate of inheritance to be issued, and it updates the land register records in the names of the heirs as joint ownership (elbirliği mülkiyeti); these applications are exempt from all costs and fees (Additional Article 1 of the Land Registry Law). For the general steps of the transfer by inheritance, see our article on partition of the estate and transfer by inheritance (in Turkish).

b) Nationals of Which Countries, and Within What Limits?

Article 35 of the Land Registry Law (unofficial translation):
“Subject to compliance with statutory restrictions, foreign natural persons who are nationals of countries designated by the President in view of bilateral international relations and where national interests so require may acquire immovable property and limited real rights in Türkiye. The total area of immovable property and independent and permanent limited real rights acquired by foreign natural persons may not exceed ten percent of the district’s area subject to private ownership and thirty hectares per person nationwide. The President is authorized to increase the amount that may be acquired per person nationwide up to twofold.”

The current text of the article was introduced by Law No. 6302 and entered into force on its publication in the Official Gazette on 18 May 2012. As noted in the 14th Civil Chamber’s 2020 decision cited above, this amendment abolished the principle of reciprocity and granted the right of acquisition to nationals of countries designated by the Council of Ministers (today, the President). Where national interests so require, the President may also restrict, suspend or prohibit acquisitions by foreigners by country, person, region, period and amount (Article 35(3)).

Statutory restrictions also include military zones: the President may decide that foreigners may not acquire immovable property in areas to be designated because of their proximity to military restricted zones or for other strategic reasons, and may decide on the liquidation of property belonging to foreigners in these areas (Articles 28 and 29 of the Law on Military Restricted Zones and Security Zones No. 2565). Because the country list and the zone decisions are set, and can be changed, by Presidential decisions, this article does not name countries; the current position should be confirmed from official sources before the transfer. For acquisitions by foreigners through purchase, see our guide on whether foreigners can buy property in Turkey.

c) An Heir Outside the Limits: Liquidation and Payment of the Proceeds

If the heir’s nationality is not on the list or the area limit is exceeded, the heir does not lose their status as heir; in that case, the Law provides for the liquidation of the property.

Last paragraph of Article 35 of the Land Registry Law (unofficial translation):
“… immovable property and limited real rights acquired by inheritance outside the restrictions in the first paragraph of this article shall, if not liquidated by the owner within a period not exceeding one year to be given by the Ministry of Finance, be liquidated and converted into money, and the proceeds shall be paid to the right holder.”

The Law refers to an heir who acquires property by inheritance outside the restrictions as the “owner” and gives them time to liquidate the property themselves. The authority for this period is today the Ministry of Treasury and Finance; the period is given by the Ministry and may not exceed one year. If the heir does not liquidate the property within the period, the property is liquidated and converted into money, and the proceeds are paid to the heir. In its decision cited below, the Constitutional Court (Anayasa Mahkemesi) also noted that the 2005 and 2012 amendments abolished the reciprocity requirement for acquiring property by inheritance and made acquisitions that do not comply with the restrictions subject to this liquidation procedure. The article itself does not regulate which unit carries out the liquidation or by what procedure, nor the remedy against the notice; an heir who receives a liquidation notice should therefore examine separately the period and the legal basis stated in the notice.

d) Estates Opened Before 18 May 2012

Article 35 of the Land Registry Law, as in force on the date the estate opened, made a foreigner’s acquisition of immovable property subject to reciprocity. Court of Cassation decisions show two different approaches to estates opened in this period.

According to the decisions of the 7th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation, reciprocity is assessed with respect to the acquisition of immovable property as of the date the estate opened, and is investigated on the basis of the legal and factual situation by asking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Ministry of Justice. In the decision of 2 October 2023 cited above, the Chamber stated that “the absence of a reciprocity agreement between the countries does not mean that there is no reciprocity”. Holding that, even without reciprocity, “property inherited in this way is liquidated and the share of the inheritance is compensated”, it treated the failure to show the foreign heirs’ status as heirs and their shares in the certificate as a ground for reversal. In the decision of 18 November 2025, it had been established by a letter from the Ministry that there was no reciprocity between Turkey and Bulgaria for an estate opened in 1982. The Chamber held that the absence of reciprocity affects only immovable property, stating that “it is beyond dispute that the status of heir will continue with respect to the movables in the estate”, and ruled that the certificate must be issued taking into account the statutory restrictions as regards immovable property.

In the opposite direction, in the case underlying the decision of the 1st Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation of 18 November 2019 (Case No. 2016/13307, Decision No. 2019/5882), the cancellation of registrations made in the names of heirs who were Bulgarian nationals, for an estate opened in 1958, was sought on the ground that there was no reciprocity. The first-instance court had granted the action. The Chamber unanimously reversed the judgment, holding that the action should have been dismissed, taking into account that, in light of decisions of the European Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court and of the amendments to the Land Registry Law, “the principle of reciprocity does not constitute an obstacle to transfers by inheritance”. In its decision of 8 May 2019 (Application No. 2015/9880), the Constitutional Court likewise found that annulling a certificate of inheritance without a clear finding that Turkish citizens could not acquire property by inheritance in Greece violated the right to property.

The 7th Civil Chamber’s investigative approach and the Constitutional Court’s decision converge on the point that the absence of reciprocity must be established concretely; the 1st Civil Chamber’s decision, by not treating reciprocity as an obstacle to transfers by inheritance at all, departs from the 7th Civil Chamber’s line. For deaths before 2012, the date the estate opened and the content of the Ministry’s letter on reciprocity therefore directly affect the outcome.

Inheritance and Transfer Tax: Where, When and How Much Does a Foreign Heir Pay?

The transfer by inheritance of property located in Turkey is subject to inheritance and transfer tax (veraset ve intikal vergisi) regardless of the heir’s nationality or place of residence. A return must be filed even if the inheritance is below the exemption amount; the deadline is four, six or eight months depending on where the death occurred and where the heir is.

Article 1 of the Inheritance and Transfer Tax Law (unofficial translation):
“The transfer from one person to another, by way of inheritance or gratuitously in any manner whatsoever, of property belonging to persons of Turkish nationality and of property located in Türkiye is subject to Inheritance and Transfer Tax. … A foreign person who acquires, by inheritance or otherwise gratuitously, property located outside Türkiye belonging to a person of Turkish nationality, and who has no domicile in Türkiye, is not liable for this tax.”

Accordingly, the property in Turkey of a foreign decedent is subject to tax wherever the heir lives. A foreigner who acquires property abroad belonging to a Turkish decedent is not liable for tax on that property if they have no domicile in Turkey; according to the guide of the Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı, GİB), however, the transfer of such property to a foreigner residing in Turkey is subject to tax. The taxpayer is the heir (Article 5 of the VİVK).

a) Obligation to File a Return and Where to File

According to GİB’s 2026 brochure, “A return for inheritance and transfer tax must be filed even if the property transferred by inheritance is below the exemption threshold.” The return may be filed separately for each heir or jointly (Article 8(3) of the VİVK).

The tax is assessed by the tax office of the place of the decedent’s domicile; if the domicile was in a foreign country, by the tax office of the decedent’s last domicile in Turkey; and if the decedent never resided in Turkey or their last domicile cannot be determined, by the tax office of the place to be designated by the Ministry (Article 6 of the VİVK). GİB’s guide for heirs, referring to General Communiqué No. 45, explains that for a decedent who never resided in Turkey or whose last domicile cannot be determined, the return is filed with the tax office of the place where the property is located or to which the taxpayers’ domicile is attached, and that the whole estate is shown in this return.

Taxpayers who are in foreign countries file their returns with Turkish consulates (Article 8(2) of the VİVK). GİB’s 2026 brochure states that the return is filed on paper with the tax office, by hand or by mail, and that the certificate of inheritance is attached to the return.

b) Filing Deadline

Source: Article 9 of the VİVK; GİB, Inheritance and Transfer Tax Brochure (September 2026). The period depends on the date of death; it does not start from the date the certificate of inheritance is obtained. Where the action for a certificate of inheritance is being conducted from abroad, it should be taken into account that this period continues to run.

c) 2026 Exemption Amounts and Tax Rates

The value of the property is determined under the Tax Procedure Law: immovable property at its property tax value, movable property at its fair market value, and foreign currency at the exchange rate (borsa rayici) (Article 10 of the VİVK). The valuation date is the date the estate opens (Article 11 of the VİVK). The decedent’s documented debts and funeral expenses are deducted from the value (Article 12 of the VİVK).

Source: Articles 4 and 16 of the VİVK; Inheritance and Transfer Tax Law General Communiqué (Serial No. 57), Official Gazette of 31 December 2025, No. 33124 (5th repeated issue, mükerrer); GİB, Inheritance and Transfer Tax Brochure (September 2026). The amounts were confirmed from these sources on 31 October 2026; the exemption and bracket amounts are updated each year by the revaluation rate.

There is one exception to the rates in the table. Article 2 of Law No. 7582 added a paragraph to Article 16 of the VİVK, which entered into force on its publication on 4 June 2026. Under that paragraph, the tax rate is 1% for transfers of property by inheritance that occur, during the exemption period, to persons benefiting from the exemption in Article 20/D bis (mükerrer 20/D) of the Income Tax Law. Article 20/D bis exempts from income tax, for twenty years, the earnings obtained outside Turkey by a natural person who had no domicile and no tax liability in Turkey in the last three calendar years before being treated as settled in Turkey. Under subparagraph (a) of Article 14 of Law No. 7582, this exemption applies only to persons treated as settled in Turkey from 1 January 2026; a foreign heir treated as settled in Turkey from that date may fall within its scope.

Article 12(c) of the VİVK provides for the deduction of inheritance and transfer tax paid in a foreign country only for property abroad belonging to Turkish citizens. That article contains no provision under which inheritance tax paid in another country on a foreign decedent’s property in Turkey is deducted from the tax due in Turkey.

d) Payment, Banks and the Land Registry

The tax is paid over three years from its accrual (tahakkuk), in two equal installments each year, in May and November, that is, in six installments in total (Article 19 of the VİVK; GİB brochure). According to GİB’s explanations, the tax may also be paid with cards issued by banks operating in foreign countries, and by wire transfer or EFT from abroad.

Before paying money or handing over securities to an heir, banks and other institutions require a certificate (tasdikname) obtained from the tax office showing that the tax has been paid; if the certificate is not submitted, they may pay the balance after withholding 5% as a provision for tax on transfers by inheritance (Article 17 of the VİVK). The transfer by inheritance of immovable property is registered without waiting for the tax, but a tax clearance certificate is required for its transfer to another person (see subsection (a) of the land registry section above).

Handling the Inheritance Without Coming to Turkey: Power of Attorney, Apostille and Foreign Identification Number

An heir living abroad may grant a power of attorney to a representative in Turkey for the action for a certificate of inheritance, the tax return and land registry transactions. The power of attorney may be executed at a Turkish consulate or before a notary of the country where the heir is; in the second case, certification is required for the document to be usable in Turkey.

In foreign countries, notarial acts are performed by consuls (Article 191 of the Notaries Law). A power of attorney executed at a Turkish consulate is therefore a Turkish notarial act. The Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (the Apostille Convention) also excludes from its scope, in Article 1, documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents (“to documents executed by diplomatic or consular agents”).

Where a notarial act is performed in a foreign country under that country’s procedure, the signature and seal of that country’s competent authority on it are certified by the consul; the provisions of special laws are reserved (Article 195 of the Notaries Law). In a country that is party to the Apostille Convention, however, the only formality that may be required to certify the authenticity of the signature and seal is the apostille issued by the competent authority of the state from which the document emanates (Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention). The Convention entered into force for Turkey on 29 September 1985. It covers not only notarial acts but also administrative documents obtained from a foreign country, such as a death certificate or a civil registry record, and court documents (Article 1).

The scope of the power of attorney also matters:

Article 504 of the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 (unofficial translation):
“Unless specifically authorized, the attorney-in-fact may not bring an action, settle, resort to arbitration, request bankruptcy, the postponement of bankruptcy or a concordat, undertake obligations under bills of exchange, make a donation, become a surety, or transfer immovable property or encumber it with a right.”

For this reason, matters such as filing the action for a certificate of inheritance, agreements between the heirs and the sale of immovable property must be written into the power of attorney separately and expressly. A power of attorney executed before a Turkish notary or at a consulate that requires transactions at the land registry must also be made in drawn-up form (düzenleme şeklinde, that is, the text is drawn up by the notary) (Article 89 of the Notaries Law), and the photograph of the person granting it is affixed to it (Article 93 of the Regulation on the Notaries Law). Because notarial acts abroad are performed by consuls, these rules also apply to a power of attorney executed at a consulate; the requirement of special authority applies in addition. The conditions under which the land registry accepts a power of attorney executed before a foreign notary are not the same as these rules and are not covered in this article.

An heir who is considering renouncing the inheritance should not, before the renunciation period expires and before making the declaration of renunciation, have their representative carry out transactions that amount to taking over the estate, such as selling the property, converting the shares into co-ownership in shares (paylı mülkiyet) or withdrawing money from the decedent’s account; such transactions may cause the right to renounce to be lost (see the section on renunciation below).

A foreigner who applies to a public institution in Turkey, or to Turkey’s missions abroad, in connection with any transaction is issued a foreign identification number (yabancı kimlik numarası, YKN) on request (Article 8 of the Civil Registry Services Law No. 5490).

How Does an Heir Living Abroad Renounce the Inheritance?

An inheritance may be renounced within three months; renunciation is made unconditionally and without reservation, by an oral or written declaration to the Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters. Because, for the estate in Turkey, the acquisition of the inheritance is governed by the law of the country where the estate is located (Article 20(2) of MÖHUK), the time-limit and formal rules of the Turkish Civil Code apply to that estate.

Article 606 of the Turkish Civil Code (unofficial translation):
“An inheritance may be renounced within three months. For statutory heirs, this period runs from the date they learned of the decedent’s death, unless it is proved that they learned later that they were heirs; for heirs appointed by will, it runs from the date on which the decedent’s disposition was officially notified to them.”

There is no separate starting rule for heirs living abroad; the period runs from the date the death became known to the heir. If an inventory of the estate (terekenin yazımı) has been made as a protective measure, the period starts when the magistrate notifies the heirs that the inventory has been completed (Article 607 of the TCC). The right to renounce of an heir who dies without renouncing passes to that heir’s own heirs (Article 608 of the TCC). If, at the date of death, the decedent’s insolvency was evident or had been officially established, the inheritance is deemed renounced (Article 605 of the TCC).

An heir who does not renounce within the period acquires the inheritance unconditionally. An heir who, before the renunciation period expires, interferes in the affairs of the estate as an heir, performs acts that go beyond the ordinary administration of the estate, or conceals or appropriates estate assets also cannot renounce (Article 610 of the TCC). In its decision of 2 November 2015 (Case No. 2015/11077, Decision No. 2015/9585), the 14th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation treated the heirs’ transfer of the property into their own names at the land registry, followed by its conversion into co-ownership in shares, as “conduct amounting to taking over the estate under Article 610/2 of the TCC”, and held that the right to renounce had been lost. By contrast, in its decision of 15 October 2020 (Case No. 2016/16104, Decision No. 2020/6246), the 14th Civil Chamber did not interpret the filing of an inheritance and transfer tax return as acceptance of the inheritance, because filing is the fulfillment of a legal obligation; in the same decision, it stated that whether post-death transactions on the decedent’s bank account amounted to taking over the estate had to be investigated. An heir abroad who is considering renunciation may therefore file the tax return, but should not dispose of the immovable property or the bank account before the declaration of renunciation.

If there are important reasons, the magistrate may extend the renunciation period or grant a new period (Article 615 of the TCC). Whether there is an important reason is at the judge’s discretion; rather than relying on an extension being granted, the safe course is to make the declaration of renunciation, or the request for an extension, before the three-month period expires.

As to which Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters the declaration of renunciation must be made to, the current line of the Court of Cassation is that there is no mandatory venue. In its decision of 6 September 2022 (Case No. 2021/7018, Decision No. 2022/4871), given while resolving a conflict of case law between regional courts of appeal under Article 35 of Law No. 5235, the 7th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation held that “there is no mandatory venue with respect to the court before which the declaration of renunciation is to be made, and the court of the place where the heir making the declaration resides is also a competent court”. According to the Chamber, the phrase “the Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters (sulh mahkemesi) of the place where the succession opened” in Article 609 of the TCC does not designate the court before which the declaration is made, but the court that keeps the special register in which the declaration is recorded. The 5th Civil Chamber, too, since its decision of 12 February 2024 (Case No. 2023/11051, Decision No. 2024/1413), has treated the declaration of renunciation as a non-contentious matter and applied the view that “the court of the place where the applicant or one of the interested parties resides is competent”; its decisions of 17 April 2025 (Case No. 2024/12202, Decision No. 2025/5410) and 9 February 2026 (Case No. 2025/12152, Decision No. 2026/1831) follow the same line. In the 2025 decision, the decedent had no address in Turkey and their only address was in France; the court of the place of the Turkish address of one of the applicants was held competent.

Under its earlier line, in its decisions of 27 September 2021 (Case No. 2021/6427, Decision No. 2021/10374) and 18 September 2023 (Case No. 2023/4013, Decision No. 2023/7282), the 5th Civil Chamber had held: “The venue here is mandatory, and the Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters of the decedent’s last domicile is the court with subject-matter jurisdiction and venue.” In the 2021 decision, the court of the last domicile in Turkey of a decedent who had lived in Germany was designated as the competent court.

None of these decisions directly answers the situation where the decedent had no domicile in Turkey and all the heirs live abroad. Article 43 of MÖHUK assigns actions concerning the estate of a decedent whose last domicile was not in Turkey to the court of the place where assets of the estate are located. In its decision of 21 February 2022 (Case No. 2022/1041, Decision No. 2022/2636), the 5th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation referred to this article in a renunciation file, but in the end, for a decedent domiciled in the United States, designated the court of the place where the decedent was entered in the civil register as the competent court. Because the three-month period is short, the court to which an heir in this situation should apply must be assessed, in light of the particulars of the case, before the period expires. For the types and consequences of renunciation, see our article on renunciation of inheritance (in Turkish).

Partition of the Estate and Dissolution of Co-ownership

Each heir may request partition of the estate at any time, unless obliged by contract or by law to remain in co-ownership; partition of specific estate assets in kind, or by sale if that is not possible, is requested from the Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters (sulh mahkemesi in the Code) (Article 642 of the TCC). If the heirs cannot agree, an action for the dissolution of co-ownership (ortaklığın giderilmesi davası, a partition action) may be filed for the immovable property in Turkey.

Actions for partition (paylaştırma) and for the dissolution of co-ownership (ortaklığın giderilmesi) are heard by the Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters (Article 4 of the CCP). In disputes concerning the partition of movable and immovable property in the estate and the dissolution of co-ownership, applying to a mediator before filing the action is a condition of the action (dava şartı) (Article 18/B of the Law on Mediation in Civil Disputes No. 6325). In actions concerning a real right over immovable property, or that may lead to a change in the holder of a real right, the court of the place where the property is located has mandatory venue (Article 12 of the CCP). In actions concerning the partition of the estate, the court of the decedent’s last domicile has mandatory venue (Article 11 of the CCP); if the last domicile was not in Turkey, actions concerning the inheritance are heard by the court of the place where assets of the estate are located (Article 43 of MÖHUK).

If physical division is not possible, the property is sold at public auction; limiting the auction to the co-owners alone requires the consent of all co-owners (Article 699 of the TCC).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a foreign heir obtain a certificate of inheritance from a notary?

No. A notary cannot issue the certificate where it is requested by foreigners or where the request involves a foreign element (Article 71/B of the Notaries Law; Article 5 of the Regulation). The certificate is requested from the Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters; there is no mandatory venue rule for this matter.

Can a transfer by inheritance be made at the land registry with a certificate of inheritance obtained abroad?

Not directly. Article 37 of the Land Registry Law requires a certificate of inheritance issued by a Turkish court or certified by a Turkish court; the 7th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation also holds that a certificate of inheritance issued by a foreign court cannot be recognized or enforced. A certificate must be obtained from a Turkish Magistrates’ Court in Civil Matters.

Is the inheritance lost if the heir’s country is not among the countries whose nationals may acquire property?

No. The status of heir continues; the restriction affects only the acquisition of immovable property. If the heir does not liquidate the property within the period, not exceeding one year, given by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the property is liquidated and converted into money, and the proceeds are paid to the heir (last paragraph of Article 35 of the Land Registry Law).

Can the inheritance and transfer tax return be filed from abroad?

Yes. Taxpayers in foreign countries may file their returns with Turkish consulates (Article 8 of the VİVK). The deadline is six months if the death occurred in Turkey; if the death occurred abroad, it is four months for an heir in the country where the decedent was and eight months for an heir in another foreign country.

Is a return required if the share of the inheritance is below the exemption amount?

Yes. According to GİB, a return must be filed even if the property transferred by inheritance is below the exemption threshold. For 2026, the exemption is TRY 2,907,136 on the share of each descendant and of the spouse, and TRY 5,817,845 on the spouse’s share where there are no descendants.

Can a foreign heir handle inheritance matters without coming to Turkey?

Yes, through a representative. The power of attorney may be executed at a Turkish consulate or before a notary of the country where the heir is; a power of attorney executed before a foreign notary requires certification by the consul or, in a country that is party to the Apostille Convention, an apostille. Special authority must be stated in the power of attorney for matters such as filing an action and transferring immovable property (Article 504 of the Turkish Code of Obligations); a power of attorney executed at a consulate for use at the land registry is made in drawn-up form and bears a photograph. An heir who is considering renunciation should not have the representative dispose of the estate before the declaration of renunciation.

Is a will made abroad valid for immovable property in Turkey?

It may be valid as to form. A will is valid if it complies with the formal rules of the country where it was made, of the testator’s national law, or of the other laws listed in the Hague Convention. Its content, however, is subject to Turkish law as regards immovable property in Turkey; a disposition that infringes the reserved share may be the subject of an action for reduction.

Which law applies to the inheritance if the decedent was both a Turkish and a foreign national?

Turkish law. If a person with more than one nationality is also a Turkish citizen, their national law is deemed to be Turkish law (Article 4 of MÖHUK); immovable property in Turkey is in any case subject to Turkish law.