Annulment of Marriage in Turkey: Grounds, Time Limits and How It Differs from Divorce

A marriage in Turkey (Türkiye) can be annulled only by a court, and only on the grounds listed in the Civil Code. A marriage is absolutely void if one spouse was already married, permanently lacked capacity of judgment, suffered from a mental illness that prevents marriage, or the spouses are within the prohibited degrees of kinship (Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, Art. 145). A spouse may also ask for annulment for mistake, deception or threat, or for temporary incapacity at the ceremony — but must sue within six months of discovering the ground, and in any event within five years of the marriage (Art. 148–152). Until the court decides, even a void marriage has all the effects of a valid one (Art. 156).

Annulment is rare compared with divorce, and many people who ask for it would be better served by a divorce. It matters most to foreigners in three situations: the discovery that a spouse was still married to someone else; a marriage entered into on the basis of a serious lie; and marriages under pressure. This guide explains the grounds, the time limits, the procedure, the effects, and how annulment differs from divorce and from a marriage that never legally existed.

• Absolute nullity: existing marriage, permanent incapacity, mental illness, prohibited kinship (Art. 145).
• Who can sue for absolute nullity: the public prosecutor of his or her own motion, and anyone with an interest (Art. 146).
• Relative nullity: temporary incapacity, mistake, deception, threat (Art. 148–151).
• Time limit for relative nullity: six months from discovery or from the end of the fear; five years from the marriage at the latest (Art. 152).
• Effect until judgment: the marriage is treated as valid (Art. 156).
• Children: considered born in wedlock, whatever the parents' good faith (Art. 157).
• Financial consequences: property regime, compensation, maintenance and surname follow the divorce rules (Art. 158).
• Good-faith spouse: keeps the personal status acquired through the marriage (Art. 158).

Legal status of this guide. It reflects the Turkish Civil Code, the International Private and Procedural Law (No. 5718) and the Turkish Citizenship Law (No. 5901) as in force. Where a spouse is foreign, the conditions of a valid marriage are assessed under each spouse's national law at the time of the marriage. Last updated: October 2026.

In this guide

• Non-existent, void and voidable marriages
• Absolute nullity
• Bigamy and marriages celebrated abroad
• Relative nullity: mistake, deception, threat
• Time limits
• Procedure
• Effects of annulment
• Annulment or divorce?
• Sham marriages
• Residence and citizenship after annulment
• Frequently asked questions

Non-existent, void and voidable marriages

Turkish law distinguishes three kinds of defective marriage, with very different consequences.

	Non-existent	Absolutely void	Voidable (relative nullity)
Examples	A purely religious ceremony with no civil marriage; a ceremony not conducted before an authorised official; no declaration of consent by one party; persons of the same sex	One spouse already married; permanent lack of capacity; mental illness; close kinship	Temporary incapacity; mistake; deception; threat; minor or ward married without the legal representative's consent
Legal effect before any judgment	None. There is nothing to annul.	Fully effective until annulled by court (Art. 156)	Fully effective until annulled by court
Who can act	Anyone can rely on the non-existence at any time	Prosecutor; any interested person	Only the affected spouse (or the legal representative)
Time limit	None	None, as a rule	Six months / five years

The first category catches a situation foreigners meet often. A religious ceremony alone — an imam nikâhı, or a church or other religious rite not accompanied by a civil ceremony before the marriage registrar — is not a marriage in Turkish law. It creates no spousal status, no inheritance right, no maintenance claim between "spouses" and no basis for a family residence permit or citizenship. Nor does it need to be dissolved. The conditions for a valid marriage are set out in our guide to getting married in Turkey as a foreigner.

Absolute nullity

A marriage is absolutely void in four cases (Art. 145):

1. One of the spouses was married at the time of the marriage.
2. One of the spouses lacked capacity of judgment at the time of the marriage for a permanent reason.
3. One of the spouses has a mental illness of a degree that constitutes an obstacle to marriage.
4. The spouses are related within a degree of kinship that prohibits marriage — ascendants and descendants, siblings, uncle or aunt and niece or nephew, certain relationships by marriage, and adopter and adopted.

Because these defects concern public order, the action is brought by the public prosecutor of his or her own motion, and may also be brought by anyone who has an interest (Art. 146) — the other spouse, the first spouse in a bigamy case, heirs whose rights depend on the validity of the marriage.

There are limits. Where the marriage has already ended — by death or divorce — the prosecutor can no longer sue of his or her own motion, though any interested person can still ask for the nullity to be declared (Art. 147). Where a spouse who lacked capacity or was mentally ill has since recovered, only the spouses themselves may sue. And in a bigamy case, the action cannot succeed where the earlier marriage has since ended and the spouse who married in the second ceremony acted in good faith.

Bigamy and marriages celebrated abroad

The cases involving foreigners are almost always about an existing marriage.

• An undisclosed marriage abroad. A foreign spouse marries in Turkey on the strength of a certificate of capacity to marry, while a marriage in another country was never dissolved, or was dissolved only by a religious or informal divorce not recognised as a divorce. The Turkish marriage is absolutely void.
• A divorce that had not yet taken effect. A Turkish citizen who divorced abroad but never had the foreign judgment recognised or registered in Turkey is still married in Turkish records. A second marriage contracted on that footing is exposed to a nullity action. Register or recognise a foreign divorce before remarrying; see our guide to recognition of a foreign divorce in Turkey.
• Polygamous marriages valid where celebrated. Turkish law recognises only monogamous marriage. Where a man validly married under his own law takes a second wife, the second marriage is not given effect as a marriage in Turkey because it conflicts with public policy, though Turkish courts may recognise limited consequences of it — for children, for instance.
• Whose law decides? Under Law No. 5718, capacity to marry and the conditions of marriage are governed for each party by his or her national law at the time of the marriage, and form by the law of the place of celebration. A marriage that is defective under a spouse's national law can therefore be challenged in Turkey on that basis, subject to Turkish public policy.

Marrying while already married is also a criminal offence under the Penal Code, as is knowingly marrying a person who is already married, and concealing one's identity to contract a marriage.

Relative nullity: mistake, deception, threat

In these cases the defect affects one spouse's consent, and only that spouse can sue.

Temporary lack of capacity (Art. 148)

A spouse who lacked capacity of judgment at the time of the ceremony for a temporary reason — severe intoxication, the effect of drugs or medication, an acute episode — may sue.

Mistake (Art. 149)

A spouse may sue who:

1. consented by mistake, although he or she did not want to marry at all, or did not intend to marry the person married; or
2. married while mistaken about a quality of the other spouse so important that its absence makes living together unbearable for him or her.

The second limb is the one argued in practice, and courts apply it narrowly. The quality must be objectively significant and personally decisive: sexual incapacity, a serious undisclosed criminal past, a fundamental fact of identity. Disappointment about wealth, profession, character or habits is not enough.

Deception (Art. 150)

A spouse may sue who:

1. was induced to consent by being deceived about the other spouse's honour and dignity, directly by that spouse or by a third person with that spouse's knowledge; or
2. had a disease posing a serious danger to the health of the claimant or of descendants concealed from him or her.

Typical examples are concealment of a previous marriage and children, of a serious conviction, of involvement in prostitution, or of a serious transmissible or hereditary illness. The deception must have been intentional and must have caused the consent. Lies about income, age, education or immigration plans generally do not fall under honour and dignity, though they may found a divorce.

Threat (Art. 151)

A spouse who was induced to consent by being threatened with an imminent and grave danger to the life, health, or honour and dignity of himself or herself or of a close relative may sue. This is the legal basis for annulling a forced marriage. The threat may come from the other spouse or from third parties, including the claimant's own family. The same facts are criminal offences, and a person in that position is entitled to the protective measures described in our guide to protection orders in Turkey.

Minors and persons under guardianship

Where a minor or ward marries without the permission of the legal representative, that representative may sue for annulment; the marriage can no longer be annulled once the person has reached the age of eighteen or ceased to be under guardianship, or where the wife is pregnant (Art. 153).

Time limits

The right to sue for relative nullity lapses six months after the ground was discovered or the effect of the fear ceased, and in any event five years after the marriage (Art. 152).

• These are forfeiture periods. The court applies them of its own motion, and they are not suspended or interrupted.
• The six months run from actual knowledge of the facts — for example, the date on which the claimant learned of the earlier conviction — which the claimant must be able to show.
• Continuing to live together after discovering the ground is treated as acceptance in practice and undermines the claim even within the period.
• After five years, relative nullity is closed whatever was discovered and whenever. Divorce remains available.

Absolute nullity has no such period: a bigamous marriage can be challenged decades later, typically when an inheritance is at stake.

Procedure

• Court. The family court, or the civil court of first instance acting as family court. Jurisdiction and procedure follow the provisions on divorce (Art. 160): the court of the domicile of either spouse, or of the place where they last lived together for six months.
• Who sues whom. For relative nullity, the affected spouse sues the other. For absolute nullity, the prosecutor or an interested person sues both spouses. The right to sue does not pass to heirs, but heirs may continue an action already begun (Art. 159).
• Evidence. As in divorce, the judge must be personally convinced of the facts; admissions do not bind the court, and the parties' agreement cannot produce an annulment. Registry extracts and foreign marriage records prove an existing marriage; medical reports prove incapacity or illness; witnesses, messages and official records prove deception or threat.
• Alternative claim. Where the facts allow, annulment can be claimed principally and divorce in the alternative in the same petition. This protects the claimant if the court finds that the ground for annulment is not made out or is out of time.
• Interim measures. Maintenance, housing, custody and protective orders are available during the case as in divorce.
• Foreign parties. A foreign claimant may be asked for security for costs unless exempt; a spouse abroad can be represented by a lawyer under a special power of attorney. See our guide to powers of attorney for Turkey.

Effects of annulment

A void marriage ends only by the judge's decision; even in a case of absolute nullity the marriage produces all the effects of a valid marriage until that decision (Art. 156). Annulment in Turkish law therefore does not erase the marriage retroactively in the way the word suggests. Its effects run forward from the judgment and largely mirror divorce.

Matter	Rule
Children	Children born of a marriage declared void are considered born in wedlock, even if the parents were not in good faith. Relations between children and parents follow the divorce rules: custody, contact and child support (Art. 157).
Matrimonial property	Liquidated under the divorce provisions (Art. 158).
Compensation and maintenance	Material and moral compensation and maintenance are governed by the divorce provisions (Art. 158). A spouse who was deceived or coerced is in a strong position to claim.
Surname	The divorce rules apply.
Personal status	A spouse who was in good faith when marrying keeps the personal status acquired through the marriage (Art. 158).
Inheritance	After annulment the former spouses are not each other's heirs. If a spouse dies during the case and the heirs continue it, a surviving spouse found not to have been in good faith cannot be a statutory heir and loses rights under earlier wills (Art. 159).
Civil status afterwards	Recorded in the registry following the annulment judgment; the person is free to marry.

The financial consequences are explained in our guides to alimony and child support, matrimonial property and child custody.

Annulment or divorce?

	Annulment	Divorce
Concerns	A defect existing at the time of the marriage	Events during the marriage, or breakdown
Grounds	Closed list in Art. 145–153	Specific grounds and the general ground of irretrievable breakdown
Time limits	Six months / five years for relative nullity	None for breakdown; short periods for some specific grounds
By agreement	Not possible	Possible after one year of marriage, by uncontested procedure
Consequences	Follow the divorce rules	—
Proof	Demanding: the specific defect and, for relative nullity, timely action	Breakdown is easier to establish

Since the consequences are largely the same, the practical reasons to choose annulment are few: a bigamous marriage, where annulment is the correct and sometimes the only coherent remedy; a wish, for religious, personal or foreign-law reasons, to have the marriage declared invalid rather than dissolved; a marriage of less than a year where an uncontested divorce is not yet available and the facts fit; and cases where the good or bad faith of a spouse matters for inheritance or status. In most other cases divorce is quicker and more certain. See our guide to divorce in Turkey for foreigners.

Discovered that your spouse was already married, or that you were seriously deceived? The six-month period runs from the day you learned of it. Message Yayla Law on WhatsApp or use the contact form with the date of marriage and what you found out, and when.

Sham marriages

A marriage entered into solely to obtain a residence permit or citizenship is not among the grounds of nullity in the Civil Code. Both parties consented to marry before the registrar, and the marriage is formally valid; neither spouse can have it annulled merely because its purpose was immigration, and the prosecutor has no nullity action on that ground.

The consequences lie elsewhere. The migration authorities may refuse or cancel a family residence permit where the marriage is found to have been contracted for the purpose of obtaining it, and citizenship through marriage requires a genuine marital union; citizenship obtained by concealment can be cancelled. Those procedures are described in our guides to marriage-of-convenience investigations and cancellation of citizenship.

A spouse who was not party to the plan — who married sincerely and later discovers that the other married only for papers — is in a different position. Depending on the facts, deception or mistake may be argued within the time limits, and divorce on the ground of breakdown with compensation is available in any event.

Residence and citizenship after annulment

• Family residence permit. The permit depends on the marriage. After annulment the foreign spouse needs another basis to stay. The provisions that allow a short-term permit after divorce to those who held a family permit for a required period, and to victims of domestic violence without that period, should be examined; see our guide to the residence permit after divorce.
• Citizenship acquired through the marriage. The Citizenship Law provides that foreigners who acquired Turkish citizenship through marriage keep it, if the marriage is annulled, provided they were in good faith in the marriage (Law No. 5901, Art. 16(3)). A spouse who did not know of the defect is protected; one who caused it is not.
• A pending citizenship application based on the marriage cannot proceed once the marriage has been annulled.
• Children's status is unaffected: they remain the children of both parents, and Turkish if either parent is.

Frequently asked questions

What are the grounds for annulment of marriage in Turkey?

Absolute nullity: an existing marriage, permanent incapacity, mental illness, prohibited kinship. Relative nullity: temporary incapacity, mistake, deception about honour or a concealed dangerous disease, and threat.

How long do I have to file for annulment?

For mistake, deception, threat and temporary incapacity: six months from discovering the ground or from the end of the fear, and no later than five years after the marriage. Absolute nullity has no such limit.

My spouse was already married when we married. Is our marriage valid?

It is absolutely void, but it remains effective until a court annuls it. You, the first spouse, the prosecutor or any interested person can bring the action.

Is a religious-only marriage valid in Turkey?

No. Without a civil ceremony before an authorised official there is no marriage in law, and nothing to annul or dissolve.

Can I annul my marriage because my spouse lied to me?

Only if the lie concerned honour and dignity or concealed a disease dangerous to you or your children, and you sue within six months of finding out. Other lies may justify divorce.

Can a forced marriage be annulled?

Yes, on the ground of threat, within six months of the fear ending and five years of the marriage. Protective measures and criminal remedies are also available.

What happens to the children?

They are treated as born in wedlock in all cases. Custody, contact and child support are decided as in a divorce.

Is annulment better than divorce?

Usually not. The consequences are similar, the grounds are narrower and the time limits strict. Annulment is the right remedy mainly for bigamous marriages and specific cases of deception or coercion.

Will I lose Turkish citizenship if my marriage is annulled?

Not if you acquired it through the marriage and were in good faith when you married.

Legal basis and sources

• Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, Articles 145–160 — official consolidated text at mevzuat.gov.tr.
• International Private and Procedural Law No. 5718, Article 13 — mevzuat.gov.tr.
• Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901, Article 16 — mevzuat.gov.tr.
• Turkish Penal Code No. 5237, Article 230.

This article provides general legal information on Turkish law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice. Time limits run from facts specific to each case.