Turkish citizenship by proof of Ottoman origins

Turkish law allows those who can prove Turkish origins of the first degree, to obtain Turkish citizenship after the person proves his Ottoman origins, with documents or papers dating back to the Ottoman era, or belonging to any Turkish origin by the grandfather, grandfather, father or mother, through Submitting a claim through a Turkish lawyer accompanied by the required documents and papers

How true is the possibility of obtaining Turkish citizenship through Ottoman origins?

This question preoccupies many families whose ancestors go back to Ottoman origins, and some believe that he can obtain Turkish citizenship by proving these assets through documents or papers dating back to the Ottoman era.

However, a distinction must be made between families registered in the Turkish state register after its establishment in 1923 and unregistered families.

If the families registered in the Turkish Republic’s Souls Register, and their members held the Turkish identity at the time, their grandchildren can today claim for Turkish citizenship through heredity. The validity of the claim, in relation to the proportions, and the decision rests with the court

While the owners of Ottoman documents that were not registered after the establishment of the Turkish Republic did not hold Turkish citizenship, and therefore their grandchildren today are not entitled to claim Turkish citizenship

How to obtain Turkish citizenship by proving Ottoman origins

You must first prove the existence of an Ottoman origin or that you belong to any Turkish origin, whether grandfather, grandmother, father or mother, by any paper of birth certificate or military certificate, and then work to obtain a Turkish government document called (Ottoman Origins Document)

This document must be translated and certified by a notary public and then by a notary.

With this, you can apply for Turkish citizenship, which is decided on quickly between 6 months to a year, provided that you have a residence permit for two years in Turkey with any type of residence

Many Arabs have already obtained Turkish citizenship by proving that they have Ottoman origin.

How can I get a document to prove the Ottoman assets?

Through any old paper (birth certificate, military certificate, pedigree tree) that proves your Ottoman origin, has a specific date and can be searched and verified through the Ottoman archives located in Turkey

What is the Ottoman archive and where is it located?

It is an important place where all kinds of historical documents and records are preserved, such as the Ottoman correspondences and the firmas of the Ottoman state, since its inception in 1299 AD until its fall in 1924 AD, which lasted for nearly 6 centuries.

It relied on a tight documentary system to preserve the information and documents related to it, and these documents are available for search by all people, and any researcher can obtain the required document, and the Yildiz Palace archive is one of the largest and most famous archives in Turkey, which includes Ottoman documents and documents belonging to the 29 countries around the world, including:

• 19 countries from the Middle East
• 11 Balkan countries
• 3 countries of the Caucasus
• And two countries from Central Asia
• In addition to the documents of Cyprus and Turkey itself

This archive belongs to the Turkish Council of Ministers because of its importance and the importance of the documents in it

There is also the Sulaymaniyah Archive in Istanbul, which was built by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and contains 60 thousand important Ottoman manuscripts

Topkapi Sarayi archive contains 30,000 Ottoman manuscripts as well

Bayezid Archive, which contains 40,000 Ottoman manuscripts.

It is also available for everyone to search

You can search by screen or search by requesting the document by specifying the required year and from it you will get a dated book

After searching, if you find the required document, you will get a copy of it after paying the required bill

There are also assistants inside the archive to help search the archive

- The Prime Ministry also provided a website to search the Ottoman archives with the feature of searching by word or image of the original with the ability to download the original in PDF format to facilitate access to information, even partially and without obstacles for residents outside Turkey

But it is required to search, whether in the archive itself or through the website, knowledge of the old Turkish or Ottoman languages

After obtaining a document proving the Ottoman assets:

• The availability of the Ottoman document that we mentioned previously, on the condition that it be ratified by a notary and a mayor
• To have a residence permit in Turkey valid for two years with any type of residence and to have the residence permit certified by a notary
• Your decision is to permanently reside in Turkey
• A health certificate that proves that you are free from serious diseases
• Good conduct and behavior, and not posing a threat to Turkish national security or being imprisoned in Turkey on a judicial or criminal background

How to apply for Turkish citizenship?

For residents inside Turkey: After fulfilling the required conditions, the foreigners department will be submitted, which will evaluate the application and your file that contains the required papers

Then the file is submitted to the Council of Ministers, which decides on the final matter

For residents outside Turkey: The application for Turkish citizenship is done from the Turkish embassy or the Turkish consulate located in your country of residence

How do I know if my origins are Turkish or not?

In fact, if you have any doubts about your Turkish origins, you can go to one of the headquarters of the Ottoman Archives in Turkey, whether in Ankara or Istanbul, and bring your passport and personal photos of you to register a request to search for your assets

Once permission is obtained, the search process begins with payment of the required fees.

Documents required to prove Turkish assets

• Bring proof and documents proving Turkish origins and have a history and can be searched and verified
• Obtaining documents proving parentage or kinship from the Ottoman archives

Since the matter is not easy and there are some stages that require time and effort for specialists, we at Ghers company have lawyers with experience in collecting these papers

Conditions for obtaining Turkish citizenship through proof of assets

• Attestation of the Ottoman document proving the assets from the notary and the maqam
• The person applying for citizenship by assets must have any type of residence permit in Turkey, valid for two years
• The applicant’s decision should be permanent residence in Turkey
• A health report confirming that the applicant is free of serious diseases
• A non-judgmental document proving the existence of a clean criminal record
• That the person does not pose any danger to Turkish national security or be imprisoned in Turkey on a judicial or criminal background