Getting married or registering a civil partnership abroad: Information based on your answers

Same-sex marriage in Turkey

You can only have a same sex marriage if you’re both British.

Before you start

You can get married at the British Consulate General in Istanbul.

If you and your partner don’t live in Turkey, you need to have been there for at least 21 days before you can get married. You need to stay in the country for the 21 days.

Prove you’re free to get married

You and your partner need to give notice of your marriage and sign a declaration that you’re legally allowed to marry.

You need to have been in Turkey for at least 7 full days before you can give notice. This means if you arrived on Monday, you can’t give notice until the following Tuesday.

Give notice of your marriage

Make an appointment at the British Consulate General in Istanbul to give notice of your marriage and set a date for your wedding.

It costs £50 to give notice. You can pay in the local currency in cash or with a credit card or UK debit card.

You need to bring:

  • your and your partner’s passports
  • proof that you’ve been in Turkey for at least 7 full days, for example a utility bill, bank statement, passport stamp or boarding pass

If you or your partner have been married or in a civil partnership before, you’ll also need:

  • your original decree absolute or final order (this could be a printed PDF and covering email from the court) - if you’re divorced
  • your annulment certificate - if your marriage or civil partnership was annulled
  • your civil partnership dissolution - if your civil partnership was dissolved
  • your partner’s death certificate and marriage certificate - if you’ve been widowed

If your divorce, civil partnership dissolution or annulment took place outside the UK, you’ll need evidence that you or your ex partner lived in or were a national of that country at the time of the divorce.

The consulate general will display your notice publicly for 14 days. If nobody registers an objection, you can get married up to 3 months after the end of your notice period.

Sign a declaration

You and your partner also need to sign a declaration to say that you’re legally allowed to get married. The consulate will give you the document to sign.

You both need to bring proof that you live in Turkey or you’ve been there for at least the last 21 full days. This could be a utility bill, bank statement, passport stamp or boarding pass.

Get married

Your wedding ceremony will be at the British Consulate General in Istanbul on the date you agreed.

You’ll need to bring 2 witnesses to your ceremony. Your witnesses must:

  • bring photo ID
  • be 16 or over
  • know you or your partner
  • understand English well enough to follow the ceremony and read the marriage register

You, your partner and your 2 witnesses will sign the marriage register.

It costs £150 to register your marriage. You can also pay £50 for a marriage certificate if you want one.

You can pay when you give notice or on your wedding day. You need to pay in the local currency in cash or by bank-issued cheque.

After you get married

You’ll be married under UK law, so your marriage will be recognised in the UK but not in Turkey or other countries where same sex marriage isn’t legal.

If your partner isn’t a British citizen, they can apply for British citizenship once they’ve lived in the UK for 3 years.

Your answers

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Where do you want to get married?
Turkey
Change Where do you want to get married?
Is your partner of the opposite sex, or the same sex?
Same sex
Change Is your partner of the opposite sex, or the same sex?