Inheriting property in Turkey: the procedure for foreign owners

If someone owned an apartment or a house in Turkey, what happens to that property after their death is decided under Turkish law — regardless of their nationality or where they habitually lived. The heirs will have to go through the Turkish procedure in full: obtain a certificate of inheritance, file an inheritance tax return and re-register the tapu (title deed). Here is how it works in 2026, in what order to proceed, and where people usually lose time and money.

Which law applies to Turkish property

Article 20 of Turkey's Act on Private International Law and Procedure (Milletlerarası Özel Hukuk ve Usul Hukuku Hakkında Kanun, No. 5718) splits the estate in two. Succession to movable property is governed by the national law of the deceased, while succession to immovable property located in Turkey is governed by Turkish law. This is the classic lex rei sitae principle: the fate of the property is determined by the law of the country where it sits.

The practical conclusion is simple. Even if the law of the deceased's country of nationality would have divided the shares differently, the land registry will apply the Turkish Civil Code (Türk Medeni Kanunu, No. 4721) to the Turkish apartment. A foreign certificate of inheritance will not be accepted by the land registry office on its own — you will need either a Turkish document or recognition of the foreign judgment by a Turkish court (tanıma ve tenfiz), which takes longer and costs more.

One old myth is worth dispelling separately. The reciprocity requirement (mütekabiliyet) for property acquisition by foreign nationals was abolished by Law No. 6302 of 2012, which amended Article 35 of the Land Registry Law. The right to inherit no longer depends on whether Turkish citizens can buy property in the heir's country. General restrictions on the properties themselves remain — military and restricted zones, and area limits per foreign individual; if the inherited property falls within them, the authorities may require it to be disposed of, and that is worth checking in advance.

Who inherits under the law: the system of classes

The Turkish Civil Code structures succession around classes of kin (zümre). There are three.

• The first class — the descendants of the deceased (altsoy): children, and through them grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Adopted children rank equally with biological ones.
• The second class — the parents of the deceased and their descendants, that is, siblings and then nieces and nephews.
• The third class — the grandparents of the deceased and their descendants.

A strict rule applies: as long as even one heir of an earlier class is alive, the next class is not called to the succession. Within a class, the share of an heir who died earlier passes to that heir's own descendants.

The surviving spouse (sağ kalan eş) belongs to no class — they inherit alongside whichever class is called. Their share is set out expressly in Article 499 of the Civil Code and depends on who the other heirs are.

An important qualification to the third row: the spouse's 3/4 share arises where the grandparents and their children inherit. If only more remote descendants of the third class survive, the whole estate goes to the spouse.

Quite separately from the succession shares, there is the division of matrimonial property under whichever regime applied to the marriage. The spouse's matrimonial share is separated out first, and only what remains forms the estate. For marriages concluded in Turkey after 2002, the default regime is participation in acquired property (edinilmiş mallara katılma) — which can change the final figures appreciably.

The reserved portion (saklı pay)

The reserved portion is the part of a statutory share that the deceased cannot take away by will. Article 506 of the Civil Code defines it as follows.

The deceased's siblings do not appear in the Article 506 list — they have no reserved portion. Whatever remains over and above the reserved portions is called the disposable part (tasarruf edilebilir kısım), and the deceased may deal with it as they wish. Where there are no heirs with a reserved portion at all, the entire estate can be disposed of freely.

Wills and their limits

A will (vasiyetname) may be made in Turkey by anyone aged fifteen or over who has the capacity to understand what they are doing (Article 502 of the Civil Code). There are three forms.

• The official will (resmî vasiyetname) — executed before a notary or a magistrate in the presence of two witnesses. The most robust option from an evidential point of view.
• The holograph will (el yazılı vasiyetname) — written entirely in the testator's own hand, stating the day, month and year, and signed. A typed text is invalid.
• The oral will (sözlü vasiyetname) — only in extraordinary circumstances, before two witnesses; an exceptional form, and almost never encountered in practice.

A will does not override reserved portions. Where a disposition infringes them, the heir who has been cut short brings an action for abatement (tenkis davası). The deadline is strict: one year from the moment the heir learned that their reserved portion had been infringed, and in any event no more than ten years from the opening of the will or from the opening of the succession. These are forfeiture periods and cannot be reinstated.

A foreign national who owns property in Turkey would be well advised to make a separate Turkish will, distinct from any will in their country of residence — it dramatically reduces the volume of document legalisation the heirs will face. It is executed before a noter (notary), with a sworn translator if the testator does not speak Turkish.

Step 1. The certificate of inheritance

The foundational document is the mirasçılık belgesi, also known as the veraset ilamı: it lists all the heirs and their shares. For Turkish citizens it is issued by a notary. But if even one of the heirs is a foreign national, the notary may not issue it (a restriction imposed by the Notary Law). In that case you apply to the civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) — either at the deceased's last place of residence or at the residence of any of the heirs.

What is usually required:

• the death certificate;
• documents proving kinship and marriage (birth and marriage certificates, civil status extracts);
• the heirs' passports;
• a land registry extract or a copy of the tapu for the property;
• the will, if there is one.

All foreign documents must be legalised — for Hague Convention countries that means an apostille, then a sworn translation (yeminli tercüman) and notarial certification once in Turkey. More detail in our article on the apostille for Turkey. Travelling there in person is not obligatory: an advocate can run the procedure under a power of attorney drawn up by a Turkish noter or at a Turkish consulate; the mechanics are set out in our article on the power of attorney.

Step 2. The return and the inheritance tax

Inheritance and gift tax (veraset ve intikal vergisi) is governed by Law No. 7338. The rates are progressive and differ according to how the property passes: on inheritance, from 1% to 10% across five bands (1, 3, 5, 7 and 10%); on a gratuitous transfer during life, that is, a gift, from 10% to 30% across the same bands (10, 15, 20, 25 and 30%).

The band thresholds and the exempt allowance (istisna), which applies separately to the surviving spouse's share and to each child's share, are revised every year by the revaluation coefficient. There is no point fixing lira amounts here — current figures are published by the Revenue Administration (gib.gov.tr), and the tax office or an accountant will confirm them.

Another important detail: property is declared not at market value but at the value used as the base for property tax (emlak vergisi değeri). That is generally well below market, so the real tax burden on inheriting an apartment usually turns out lower than heirs expect. The deceased's debts and funeral expenses are deductible from the base.

The filing deadline depends on where the death occurred and where the heirs are.

The tax itself is not paid at once or in a single sum: it is spread over three years, in six equal instalments, each May and November. No interest is charged on the instalments. Filing the return late, by contrast, attracts a penalty and interest, so it is better not to miss the deadline even if your document file is incomplete.

Step 3. Re-registering the tapu

Armed with the court's certificate of inheritance, the heirs approach the land registry directorate (Tapu Müdürlüğü) where the property is located. There is a nuance here that is often reported incorrectly: the law allows the transfer to the heirs to be registered without waiting for the inheritance tax to be assessed. What cannot be done until the tax has been paid in full and a tax clearance certificate (ilişik kesme belgesi) obtained is anything further — selling the property, gifting it or mortgaging it.

Financially, re-registration by inheritance is gentler than a sale: the usual 4% duty on the declared value is not charged, and you pay the döner sermaye service fee instead. That fee is index-linked annually and varies by region — check the tariff at the office itself. A subsequent division of the estate between the heirs (taksim) may attract a separate fee.

Once registered, the property belongs to the heirs under joint ownership without defined shares (elbirliği mülkiyeti). Any transaction requires everyone's consent. To be able to deal with their portion independently, the heirs convert the property to co-ownership in defined shares (paylı mülkiyet) — by agreement or through the courts. What to look for in the document itself is covered in our article on the tapu. You will also need a valid DASK policy, and a Turkish tax number for each heir — how to obtain one is described in our article on the vergi numarası.

Renouncing the inheritance, and debts

In Turkey heirs are personally and jointly liable for the deceased's debts — which matters enormously if the property carried a mortgage, accumulated aidat arrears or a tax liability. So establish what the debts are before accepting the inheritance.

Renunciation of an inheritance (mirasın reddi) is declared to the court of peace at the deceased's last place of residence within three months. For statutory heirs, time runs from the moment they learned of the death and of their status as heirs; for those named in a will, from the moment they were formally notified of the disposition. The period is one of forfeiture: it is neither suspended nor extended.

A separate case is what is called renunciation by operation of law (hükmen ret). If the deceased's insolvency was obvious or officially established at the date of death, the inheritance is deemed rejected automatically and the three-month period does not apply. But relying on this rule without a lawyer is risky: any conduct that looks like acceptance of the inheritance — dealing with the assets, collecting rent, paying bills in your own name — can strip you of the right to renounce.

What to check, and where things most often go wrong

• Waiting for an "automatic" transfer. Nothing transfers by itself: without going to court and to the land registry, the apartment stays registered to the deceased for years while aidat and property tax arrears keep mounting.
• Bringing a foreign certificate of inheritance. The land registry will not accept it. You need a Turkish veraset ilamı or recognition of the foreign judgment by a court.
• Missing the filing deadline. Four or six months goes quickly, particularly when apostilled documents have to be gathered from another country.
• Not checking the debts before accepting. The three-month window for renunciation is a forfeiture period.
• Forgetting about the joint ownership regime. Until the property is converted to defined shares, no heir can sell "their" part.
• Leaving utility subscriptions in the deceased's name. Electricity, water and internet are transferred separately, and without that the providers may suspend supply.

Frequently asked questions

Do foreign nationals inherit Turkish property on the same terms as Turkish citizens?

Yes. The heir's nationality is in itself irrelevant; the reciprocity requirement was abolished in 2012. Restrictions attach not to the person of the heir but to particular properties — those in military or restricted zones, for example, and the overall area limit per foreign individual.

Do I have to fly to Turkey to take up an inheritance?

No. The whole procedure — the court, the tax return, the land registry — can be handled by a representative under a notarised power of attorney. It is drawn up by a Turkish noter or at a Turkish consulate abroad, with a precise list of powers.

How long does the process take?

There is no general benchmark: the court certificate is usually obtained faster than foreign documents can be gathered and legalised. In practice most of the time goes on apostilles, translations and the workload of the particular court. Plan in months rather than weeks.

Can an inherited apartment be sold immediately after registration?

Registration in the heirs' names is carried out without waiting for the tax assessment, but the property cannot be sold or mortgaged until the inheritance tax has been paid in full. On top of that, all co-heirs must consent for as long as the joint ownership regime applies.

What happens if no heir comes forward at all?

The property stays registered to the deceased, property tax and aidat arrears keep accruing, and the complex's management is entitled to pursue the debt through enforcement proceedings. Where there are no heirs whatsoever, the estate ultimately passes to the state.

Does Turkish property form part of the estate if the deceased never lived in Turkey?

Yes. What counts is where the property is, not where the owner lived. Turkish law applies to property in Turkey in every case.

Need a hand?

This article is for general information. Case law, inheritance tax rates and thresholds, and the requirements of the land registry and the migration authority change regularly — check the current rules with the competent authority or a specialist lawyer before filing anything.

New Time Investment handles transactions and document processing in Alanya and across Turkey. We will help you work out what the estate consists of, gather and legalise the documents, prepare the power of attorney and see the matter through to the entry on the tapu — or value the property, should the heirs decide to sell.