Whether a Turkish court can hear a divorce, and which country's law it will apply, are two separate questions. They are frequently confused, and the answer to the first does not settle the second.
The Turkish pages cover this subject at greater length, with worked examples and petition templates: Aile Hukuku.
Jurisdiction and Applicable Law
A Turkish court may hear the case where one spouse is habitually resident in Turkey, or on the basis of the residence of the defendant. Where both spouses are foreign nationals, jurisdiction still exists if the residence condition is met.
As to applicable law, Turkish private international law applies the common national law of the spouses; failing that, the law of their common habitual residence; and failing that, Turkish law. A Turkish court may therefore apply foreign law to the divorce while applying Turkish procedure.
Uncontested Divorce
An uncontested divorce requires that the marriage has lasted at least one year, that the spouses apply jointly or one accepts the other's action, that the judge hears both spouses in person, and that the judge approves the protocol covering financial consequences and arrangements for children.
Personal attendance is the point at which cases involving parties abroad most often stall: this hearing cannot be conducted through a representative under a power of attorney. The protocol itself should be complete, because matters omitted from it are difficult to raise afterwards.
Contested Divorce
The general ground is the irretrievable breakdown of the marital union. Specific grounds — adultery, life-threatening conduct or gravely degrading treatment, desertion and others — carry their own conditions and time limits.
Fault matters in Turkish practice. It determines entitlement to compensation and to maintenance for the spouse, so evidence relating to fault is not merely moral background; it has direct financial consequences.
The matrimonial property regime is separate from the divorce itself. Under the statutory regime applicable to marriages contracted after 1 January 2002, property acquired during the marriage is subject to a participation claim on dissolution.
Recognition of a Foreign Divorce
A divorce granted abroad does not take effect in Turkish civil records automatically. Until recognised, the person remains married in Turkish records, with consequences for remarriage and for succession.
Two routes exist: an action for recognition and enforcement before the Turkish family court, or, where both parties apply together and the statutory conditions are met, an administrative registration through the civil registry or a consulate. The administrative route is faster but available only in defined circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, where the residence conditions for jurisdiction are met. The law applied may nonetheless be their common national law.
In an uncontested divorce the judge must hear both spouses in person, so attendance is required. Other stages can be handled under a power of attorney.
Not until it is recognised. Until then you remain married in Turkish civil records.
Yes. Entitlement to compensation and to maintenance depends on the relative fault of the spouses.