Fictitious marriage in Turkey

Marriage to a Turk for the sake of Turkish citizenship

Marriage with the aim of obtaining a right to work in Turkey

Marriage in Turkey for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit

Fictitious marriage occurs when people marry in order to obtain benefits such as a simplified way to the residence permit, work permit, as well as other benefits obtained during the marriage between a foreigner and a Turkish citizen. Since there are no fictitious marriages in the Turkish legislation the number of reasons for the annulment of a contract are limited, therefore a marriage agreement is also rarely cancelled or declared void.

From the point of view of the law regarding the citizenship, according to article 16. In cases where the marriage is accepted as real, i.e. not fictitious, the application for citizenship is transferred to the commission and the consulate or a higher institution, the consulate and the commission are thus entitled to investigate the fictitiousness of the marriage in for an interview with the applicants for citizenship and Turkish citizens who have married.

The decisions of the Supreme Court repeatedly state that the government officials are unable to investigate whether or not the marriage is fictitious. Of course, governing institutions cannot annul marriages. It should also be added that if it is objectively proved that the intent behind the marriage was malicous, for example for the purposes of obtaining citizenship, then government institutions will have the right to annul the marriage. In this context, the responsible government body has the right to investigate the fictitiousness of marriage and has the right to refues the citizenship. From the point of view of the law on foreigners, during the consideration of an application for a residence permit through family ties, there is a clear list of actions if it is proved that a fictitious marriage took place. In this context, according to Articles 35/3-c and 37, if the investigation reveals that the marriage is fictitious, it is clearly written what legal actions will be taken. Unlike a similar situation in the work permit, in this case, the state can investigate whether the marriage is fictitious. According to the International Labor Law, foreigners who are married to a Turkish citizen need only prove that the applicant for the work permit lives with a Turkish citizen with whom he or she is married in order to obtain the work permit. If there is a wish that marriages may be rejected or annulled on account of being fictitious, a regulation must be adopted which clearly and precisely allows the officials to annul the marriage. The marriage will be annulled if it is proved to be fictitious from the point of view of Turkish Law on Citizenship and Foreigners. In such situations, a man usually says that he will achieve a solution in the woman’s favor by receiving a the right to represent her from her. In such cases, if you see a sign of ill-will in such situations, immediately cancel the right and report to the bank or the relevant authorities…

Ultimately, if the aim is to prevent sham marriages aimed at benefiting from marriage to a Turkish citizen, then the boundaries of the state investigation should be clearly indicated in accordance with human rights and with objectivity. Also, it is clearly stated that the state has the right to refuse an application for citizenship, in case of significant evidence of fictitious marriage. In this case, you can contact our office consisting of Russian-speaking lawyers in Turkey, Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya by e-mail info@seyhanhukuk.com or by phone +90 312 427 21 13.