Divorce proceedings in Türkiye can be conducted by a lawyer while the client lives abroad. What makes that possible is a power of attorney with two features that ordinary documents lack: a photograph, and express authority for the specific matters the court will require. Without them the file stops at the first hearing. This article explains what the document must contain and what a lawyer can and cannot do under it.
Why divorce is treated differently
Turkish law distinguishes rights that are closely bound to the person from ordinary civil matters. Divorce, recognition of a foreign divorce, matters concerning children, and acknowledgment of paternity fall into the first category.
The consequence is procedural: powers of attorney for these matters must bear the grantor's photograph, and the authority must be express rather than general. A document authorising a lawyer "to conduct all legal proceedings" will not support a divorce petition.
The requirement exists because these proceedings affect personal status, and the system wants certainty that the person who authorised them is who they say they are.
What the document must authorise
Depending on what the case involves, express authority is needed for:
- Filing and conducting divorce proceedings, whether contested or by agreement.
- Signing and submitting an agreed divorce protocol, where the divorce is uncontested — this is a distinct authority and is frequently omitted.
- Claims arising from the divorce: maintenance for a spouse and for children, compensation, and division of matrimonial property.
- Matters concerning children: custody, contact arrangements, and child support.
- Recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgment, where the divorce was granted abroad.
- Settlement, waiver and acceptance — powers that must be expressly granted and that should be granted deliberately, because they allow the lawyer to compromise claims.
- Appeal to the regional court and, where available, further appeal.
- Receipt of sums awarded, where the client wishes the lawyer to collect.
- Substitution, so the case does not stall if the lawyer is unavailable.
The authorities to settle and to waive deserve a moment's thought. They are practically useful — many divorces resolve by agreement — and they are significant. Grant them where you trust the lawyer to exercise them and where you have discussed the parameters; withhold them if you want every compromise referred back to you, understanding that this slows the case.
Where to issue it
Turkish consulate. The preferred route. The document is a Turkish notarial instrument, drafted in Turkish, with the photograph affixed as a matter of course. No apostille, no translation.
Foreign notary with apostille. Workable, with three risks: the photograph may be omitted, the apostille may be forgotten, and the translation may render authorities imprecisely. All three are avoided by giving explicit instructions and having the Turkish text drafted before the appointment.
Where the client does not speak the language of the document, an interpreter must participate and the fact must be recorded — particularly important in divorce matters, where a later challenge to the validity of the authority would be disruptive.
What the lawyer can do without you
Under a properly drafted power of attorney, a Turkish lawyer can file the petition, attend hearings, submit evidence, examine the other party's submissions, negotiate, sign an agreed protocol, and appeal.
In practice this means an uncontested divorce can often be completed without the client travelling — a significant point for the Turkish diaspora in Europe and for foreign spouses who have left Türkiye.
What the lawyer cannot do
Here is the limitation that must be understood before relying on the arrangement.
In an uncontested (agreed) divorce, Turkish law requires the court to hear the parties personally and to satisfy itself that their wills are freely given. The court must be persuaded that the agreement reflects the parties' actual intention, and that assessment is made by hearing them. Representation by a lawyer does not substitute for it.
The practical consequence is that an agreed divorce generally requires the parties to attend, at least for the hearing at which the agreement is examined. Where a party is abroad, courts may in some circumstances permit participation through the judicial audio and video information system (SEGBİS), and whether that is available in a particular case is a matter to raise with the court early rather than to assume.
In a contested divorce, the position is different: the case proceeds on evidence and submissions, and a party who does not attend can still be represented — though the party's own testimony may be important to the case, and a client who never appears may be at a disadvantage on the merits.
Recognition of a foreign divorce
Where a couple divorced abroad and the judgment needs to take effect in the Turkish civil registry, the route is recognition (and, where enforcement of ancillary orders is needed, enforcement) under the Act on Private International Law and Procedural Law No. 5718.
This too requires a photographed power of attorney with express authority for recognition and enforcement proceedings. It also requires the foreign judgment itself, with a certificate of finality, apostilled and translated by a sworn translator.
Recognition proceedings are usually shorter than a divorce and are frequently conducted entirely by the lawyer, with the parties abroad.
Practical points
- Include the photograph. Without it the document does not work for these matters.
- Enumerate every authority the case may need, including recognition and enforcement if a foreign judgment is involved.
- Decide consciously about settlement and waiver.
- Match names exactly across passport, marriage certificate and power of attorney; transliteration mismatches cause avoidable delay.
- Ask early about remote participation where attendance is difficult.
- Send scans immediately and courier the original; the case cannot be filed on a scan.
- Keep a copy and remember that revocation takes effect on proper registration and notification, not on decision.
Frequently asked questions
Can I divorce in Türkiye without coming? A contested divorce can largely be conducted by a lawyer. An agreed divorce ordinarily requires the parties to be heard.
Does the power of attorney need a photograph? Yes, for divorce and related personal status matters.
Can one document cover divorce and property division? Yes, if it expressly authorises both.
What if we divorced abroad? Recognition proceedings bring the judgment into the Turkish registry, and can generally be conducted by a lawyer.
Can my lawyer agree a settlement? Only if the document expressly authorises settlement and waiver.
Can I revoke the authority mid-case? Yes, by azilname. It takes effect when properly registered and notified.
How long does a divorce take? Agreed divorces are considerably faster than contested ones; contested cases can run for a year or more.
Prepare the document before the case
A divorce file conducted from abroad depends entirely on a document signed before the case begins. Getting its authorities right at that point costs nothing; discovering an omission at a hearing costs a hearing.
Dural Hukuk prepares divorce power of attorney texts for clients abroad, conducts divorce, custody and property division proceedings, and handles recognition and enforcement of foreign divorce judgments. Call +90 535 260 74 54 or use the contact form on this site.
This article is general information on Turkish law as at August 2026 and is not legal advice. Family proceedings turn on their facts; obtain advice on your own circumstances.