What is Apostille for and How Do We Obtain it in Turkey?

The Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (Hague Apostille Convention)which has been signed between 99 State Parties so far constitutes the basic regulation regarding the Apostille Certificate in Turkey. With this Convention stipulating the Apostille Certificate, the State Parties skip the long legalization processes of the official documents required by the home and other States. This convention has been in effect in Turkey as of Sept. 29, 1985.

The form of the apostille certificate has been determined already in the Hague Apostille Convention and according to the Convention it has to have the title "Apostille Convention de La Haye Du 5 Octobre 1961" in French.

The apostille certificates are obtained from the Governor's Office. Turkey is divided into "IL"s and "ILÇE"s in terms of districts. Ilces are the smaller districts of Ils and they are eventually bound to Ils. Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir can be examples for Ils and Kadıköy, Beyoğlu, Kuşadası can be given as examples of Ilçes. So the documents should be apostillized in İl's (valilik) or İlçe's (Kaymakamlık) Governor Offices. In cases where the documents to be apostillized have already been certified by a Notary Public, it is advised that the notarised document be taken to the Il's Governor Offices as the İlçe's governor office may avoid apostillizing the document, claiming they are not authorised, which would not be in compliance with the Hague Apostille Convention. It is also possible that the official document can be apostillized by the issuing directorate immediately. For example if you obtain a birth certificate from The Directorate of Population, then the Director may apostillize the document as it is issued by himself.

No price is paid for the apostillization.

Overall, the best way to get an apostille certificate is to take the official document directly to the Il's governor office and have it apostilled there. Apostillization normally does not take more than five minutes if you know where to apply. You can see information about the process at these sites as well:

http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=text.display&tid=37

http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=41

How To Buy and Sell Real Estate in Turkey

In Turkey, the immovables are registered at Land Registries in the districts where they are located. As Land Registries are state offices, they are controlled and checked by the State.

The information related to the substance of the immovables such as the owner, hypothecates and other attachments on can be observed through Land Registrations.

Hypothecates, attachments, shareowners, shareholdings of the owners, how the immovable has been acquired and such other information about the properties/specialties of the immovable are all information that should be registered at the Land Registry. When buying an immovable, checking the records of the immovable through Land Registrations is the safest way.

In the process of purchasing an immovable, there are a few necessary steps to be taken such as the completion of the documents, payment of the charges and completion of the signatures at the Land Registry.

The Land Registry asks both the buyer and seller to submit some documents:

The buyer and the seller should both submit their ID's or passports, 2 photographs and tax numbers of each. If the parties are to be represented by third persons or lawyers, the representatives of each party should submit photographs and IDs as well.

If one of the parties is a legal entity like a limited liable company, then the certificate issued by a Notary Public showing the authorised signatories of the company should be submitted as well in order to prove the power of the signatory to act on behalf of the company.

It is also important for the representative to have the power for all the transactions he is going to be involved in during this process i.e power for each transaction should be duly named on the proxy granted to the representative. Land Registry officials are very careful about this issue and they may not complete the transaction if the specific power is not duly indicated in the proxy.

The proxy should be prepared by and signed before a Notary Public and has to have a photo on.

The seller should also submit the land registry certificate (tapu belgesi)that he already possesses which shows that the seller is the rightful owner of the immovable.

Please note that a document from the municipality showing the value of the real estate (Rayiç Bedel Belgesi) is also required. The price agreed on between the parties is declared to the Land Registry and this forms the basis amount for the land registry charges. The charges are calculated in ratio with the price. But the price declared cannot be lower than the amount stated on this Rayiç Bedel Belgesi; otherwise a fine related to tax issues can be applicable.

The Land Registry does not move on to the next step if the real estate taxes belonging to the previous periods have not been fully paid. It can be checked at the municipality whether the taxes related to the real estate have been fully paid or not.

Regarding the financial aspect of a sale, each party shall pay 15 per mille of the sale price declared to the Registry as land registry charges and a fee as well for the Land Registry Fund.

When the documents are delivered to the official at the Land Registry, the official, upon the completion of the documents, shall determine the date and time of the appointment at the Land Registry for the completion of the signatures. In this appointment, the Land Registry Director shall examine the documents closely once again and ask the seller if he has received the payment or not. When the seller confirms the receipt orally, the parties sign the documents, the new land registry certificate prepared in the name of the buyer is delivered to the buyer.

So the seller must have already been paid for the immovable before the signatures are completed at the Land Registry.