When a child travels abroad with only one parent, with a grandparent or with a teacher, the border authorities of some countries and some airlines ask for a written statement that the absent parent consents to the journey. In Türkiye that statement is the muvafakatname, a consent letter drawn up before a notary. Whether the letter needs an apostille to be recognised abroad, and where the translation fits, is the subject of this page.
Who asks for the consent letter, and who does not
There is no single rule that calls for a consent letter. The request comes from the border legislation of the destination country, sometimes from the carrier’s own conditions, sometimes from the child’s school or a camp organiser. Which countries ask for it was not verified country by country in this site’s survey, so no list is given here; before the journey, the destination country’s mission in Türkiye and the carrier that sold the ticket are asked. If no letter will be asked for, the time and cost of an apostille are saved; if one will be, the same question settles in which language and with which certification it is wanted.
Drawing up the consent before a Turkish notary
The consent letter is signed by the consenting parent before a notary, who establishes identity and intent; whether the letter is drawn up as a full notarial deed or as a signature certification was not verified against an official source in this site’s survey. It states the child’s identity, the duration of the journey and the destination, the person accompanying the child and the scope of the consent. Whether a notary can draw the letter up in two languages at once was not verified in this site’s survey and is asked at the notary office. As a notarial act, the letter is a public document within the meaning of the Convention.
The governor’s apostille on a consent letter
The consent letter is a notarial act. Under article 199 of the Turkish Notaries Law the apostille on a notarial act is issued by the vali or kaymakam, the provincial or district governor, and since the end of 2024 there is no condition that the office be in the notary’s own province or district: the letter is apostilled at any valilik or kaymakamlık. The judicial commission at a high criminal court seat handles the originals of judicial documents and has no role here. The consent letter is not among the document types covered by e-Apostil, the official Turkish electronic apostille system; the procedure is on paper, and the governor’s and district governor’s offices charge no fee for it.
Apostille first, then the translation
If the letter was drawn up in Turkish, it is translated into the target language by a sworn translator (yeminli tercüman, whose oath is recorded at a Turkish notary) and the translation is certified by the notary. The order matters: the apostille is obtained on the consent letter first, the apostilled document is then translated, the translation is certified by the notary, and if the foreign authority wants it, a second apostille is placed on that certification. Whether the apostille on the letter is itself translated is a point the foreign authority decides. Both apostilles concern notarial acts and can be obtained at the same governor’s or district governor’s office.
What the consent letter cannot settle
The apostille attests the notary’s signature and capacity. It does not settle whether the border authority will find the letter sufficient or whether its duration and scope fit. Where custody rests with one parent alone, a custody order or a civil registry extract may be asked for instead of a consent letter; those documents follow other routes, the court order through the judicial commission and the registry extract through the governor’s office. Which document is wanted is, again, learned from the receiving authority.