Documents from Türkiye: apostille, sworn translation and how to check a translator

When a Polish office handles a document from Türkiye, two questions come up: is the document official, and is there a Polish translation the office can accept? Between Türkiye and Poland, the first is answered by the apostille. In residence cases, the second is answered by a translation into Polish made by a sworn translator. This guide explains who issues each one, how to check a sworn translator yourself, and what to prepare before you travel.

What an apostille is

An apostille is a standard certificate that the issuing country adds to a public document. It confirms three things: that the signature is genuine, the capacity in which the person signing acted, and the identity of the seal or stamp. Where the Convention applies, the apostille is the only formality that may be required for this purpose (Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention).

Poland and Türkiye are both parties to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. According to the HCCH status table, it entered into force for Türkiye on 29 September 1985 and for Poland on 14 August 2005. Between the two countries, the apostille replaces legalisation at an embassy or consulate, as the Polish missions in Türkiye also state.

An apostille is issued at the request of the person who signed the document or of anyone who holds it (Article 5). An e-Apostille, issued in digital form, is as valid as a paper one (HCCH Apostille Section).

The practical rule: a Turkish document gets its apostille in Türkiye, and a Polish document gets it from the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MSZ), which apostilles only Polish documents.

Getting an apostille in Türkiye

Türkiye's apostille authorities, as registered with the HCCH:

• Administrative documents: the governor's office (valilik) or the district governor's office (kaymakamlık).
• Judicial documents: the Justice Commission (Adalet Komisyonu Başkanlığı) at a heavy criminal court centre (ağır ceza merkezi).

e-Apostil. According to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular portal, e-Apostil has been in force since 1 January 2019. It started with the Ministry of Justice's electronic criminal record certificates (adli sicil kaydı) and court decisions (mahkeme kararları) (Ministry of Justice), and since June 2021 it has also covered the electronic population register extract (nüfus kayıt örneği). For the documents it covers — the criminal record certificate among them — you apply online with your e-Devlet login, through e-Apostil on turkiye.gov.tr or eapostil.gov.tr. Coverage can change, so check on the portal whether your document is included. The Ministry of Interior's e-Devlet service Apostil Belge Doğrulama lets you check an apostille.

Multilingual extracts. Türkiye and Poland are both parties to the CIEC Convention on multilingual extracts from civil-status records, signed in Vienna on 8 September 1976. According to the same Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcement, a multilingual extract presented in another party state needs no apostille or e-Apostil. This concerns the apostille only. Ask the Polish office that will receive the extract whether it also needs a sworn translation, because we could not confirm that from an official Polish page.

Getting an apostille on Polish documents

If a Turkish office asks for a Polish document with an apostille, the apostille comes from the Polish MSZ, not from the Turkish embassy. The MSZ apostille page describes two ways:

• In person, or through someone else: only with an appointment booked in e-Konsulat, at Referat ds. Legalizacji, Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych, ul. Krucza 38/42, 00-512 Warszawa. A person not named in the application must bring a signed written authorisation.
• By post, from Poland or abroad: Referat ds. Legalizacji, Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych, al. Szucha 23, 00-580 Warszawa. Enclose the original document, the application form and the other items the page lists.

Do not post anything to Krucza 38/42. MSZ states that it is not a postal address.

A sworn translation can receive an apostille. A photocopy of a document or of a sworn translation cannot, and neither can an ePUAP printout. Some documents need an earlier certification before the MSZ: notarial documents by the competent regional court (sąd okręgowy), court documents by the president of that regional court, and commercial documents by the Polish Chamber of Commerce (KIG) or a regional chamber. University diplomas are apostilled by NAWA, not by the MSZ.

Sworn translation into Polish

When offices ask for it. Under the Act on Foreigners, applications are made in Polish (art. 8 ust. 1), and foreign-language documents that serve as evidence are filed together with their translation into Polish made by a sworn translator (Act on Foreigners, art. 8 ust. 2). For civil-status matters at a Polish registry office, the civil registry act, art. 31 accepts a translation made by a sworn translator on the Polish Minister of Justice's list, by a sworn translator authorised in an EU or EEA state, or by a consul. Other offices may have their own rules: ask the office handling your case.

Who is a sworn translator. In Poland, a sworn translator (tłumacz przysięgły) may practise only after taking the oath and being entered on the list kept by the Minister of Justice (Ministry of Justice FAQ). A sworn translator may work anywhere in Poland, so the translator's city does not matter.

What a sworn translation must show. Under the Act on the profession of sworn translator:

• a seal on a paper translation (art. 18 ust. 1): the rim carries the translator's name and surname, and the centre shows the language and the translator's entry number on the list;
• the repertory number (art. 18 ust. 2): the translator records every translation in a register called the repertory (art. 17), and the number of that entry appears on the translation;
• a statement whether it was made from the original, or from a translation or a copy, and whether that translation or copy was certified, and by whom (art. 18 ust. 2);
• for a translation in electronic form, certification with the translator's qualified electronic signature (art. 18 ust. 1a).

A sworn translator can also make and certify copies of foreign-language documents (art. 13).

Finding and checking a Turkish–Polish sworn translator

The Ministry of Justice publishes the official list of sworn translators (Lista tłumaczy przysięgłych). If that address changes, the Ministry of Justice page on sworn translators links to the current search.

To find translators for Turkish, open the search, choose turecki under Język, add a city (Miasto) or voivodeship (Województwo) if you like, and press Szukaj. The results show each translator's languages, voivodeship, entry number (Numer) and correspondence address.

To check a translator, or a translation you already have:

1. Open the search page of the list.
2. Type the surname into Nazwisko, or the number from the seal into Numer. Entry numbers on the list have the form TP/…/NN.
3. Check that the name, the language (turecki) and the entry number on the list match the seal: the name on the rim, the language and the number in the centre.
4. Check that the translation states a repertory number and whether it was made from the original or from a copy. An electronic translation carries a qualified electronic signature.
5. If you cannot find the person or the number, do not rely on the translation. The list does not include translators who are suspended from practice. Ask the office that will receive the document before you hand it in.

Check the list when you use the translation, not from an old printout. TURKPOL does not recommend, rank or name translators: the official list is the only reliable check.

Translations made in Türkiye, or for use in Türkiye

Made in Türkiye, for use in Poland. A Polish consul in Türkiye makes and certifies translations between Polish and Turkish, and checks and certifies translations made by others. Under the Consular Law, art. 31, these acts have the same legal force as those of a sworn translator in Poland. Polish consular posts in Türkiye are listed on the Polish missions' page. For civil-status matters, the civil registry act (art. 31 ust. 2) also accepts a translation made in Türkiye by a local translator and certified by the Polish consul.

Made in Poland, for use in Türkiye. The MSZ can put an apostille on a Polish sworn translation, but not on a photocopy of it.

We could not confirm from official sources whether Polish offices accept a translation certified by a notary in Türkiye, whether Turkish offices need anything beyond the MSZ apostille on a Polish document, or whether a Polish office needs a translation of a multilingual civil-status extract, so ask the office that will receive the document before you pay for anything.

Before you travel

If you are going to Türkiye and will bring documents back for a Polish office:

• Ask the Polish office first which documents it needs, and whether it wants an apostille.
• Get the original document, or the official electronic document from e-Devlet.
• Get the apostille in Türkiye: at the valilik or kaymakamlık, at the Adalet Komisyonu Başkanlığı, or through e-Apostil if your document is covered. The Polish MSZ cannot apostille a Turkish document.
• Plan the Polish translation: a sworn translator on the Ministry of Justice list, or a translation made or certified by the Polish consul in Türkiye.
• Keep your originals. In Polish administrative proceedings, you can bring the original together with a copy, and an authorised employee of the office certifies the copy at your request (Code of Administrative Procedure, art. 76a § 2b). A copy certified by a notary, or by your representative in the case who is an adwokat, radca prawny, patent attorney or tax adviser, also counts (§ 2). The office can still ask for the original (§ 4).
• For Turkish documents you can get through the embassy in Warsaw or online on e-Devlet, such as a population register extract or a criminal record certificate, see our guide to consular services for Turkish citizens in Poland.

TURKPOL can explain these steps and help you find the right office and the official list of translators. We do not recommend translators, certify documents or act for any office.

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