INTRODUCTION

What is Power of Attorney?

A power of attorney (POA) is a legal document that gives one person (the agent) the power to act on behalf of another (the principal).
Depending on the scope of the POA the agent can have a broad or limited authority to make decisions and perform specific legal actions about the principal's property, finances, or medical care.
The power of attorney is frequently used in the event of a principal's illness or disability, or when the principal can not or does not want to be present to sign required legal documents for financial transactions.

The power of attorney must be signed either at a notary in Turkey or at a Turkish consulate in any country.
Once trust is built up towards the real estate agent property buyer`s in Turkey frequently make use of the power of attorney. The most common reason is to not want to stay for the completion of the purchase process or to not be bothered with administrative details, such as registration and waiting in line at the land registry, tax department, utility companies, and or population directorate (e.g. Nüfus Müdürlüğü Beşiktaş).
You may also find the power of attorney handy when your time for your stay in Turkey is limited and you do not want to come a second time for signatures at the land registry.
Timondro advises customers to provide power of attorney to a trustworthy person. This can be the real estate agent of your choosing, an independent lawyer, or any other individual.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Types of Power of Attorney
2. Required Documents for Power of Attorney
3. Giving Power of Attorney in Turkey
4. Giving Power of Attorney from abroad
5. Costs of Power of Attorney in Turkey
6. Period of validity of the Power of Attorney
7. Example of Power of Attorney
8. Useful links

I. Types of Power of Attorney

1. Limited
2. General
3. Durable
4. Springing / Conditional

1. Limited Power of Attorney

A limited power of attorney gives someone else the power to act on your behalf for a specifically stated purpose, thereby "limited".
For example, a limited power of attorney can give someone the power to sign a title deed for a property in your name. It usually ends at a time specified in the document.

2. General Power of Attorney

A general power of attorney is comprehensive and gives your attorney-in-fact all the powers and rights that you have yourself.
For example, a general power of attorney may give your attorney-in-fact the right to sign documents for you, pay your bills, and conduct financial transactions on your behalf.
You can use a general power of attorney if you are not able to conduct required matters by yourself. Due to the extensive power given by a general power of attorney it should be avoided.

3. Durable Power of Attorney

A durable power of attorney can be general or limited in scope, but it remains in effect should the Principal become incapacitated.
Without a durable power of attorney, if the Principal becomes incapacitated, he can not be represented any longer unless a court appoints a conservator or guardian. A durable power of attorney on the other hand will remain in effect until canceled by notarial procedures. Due to the extensive power given by a durable power of attorney it should be avoided.

4. Springing (or conditional) Power of Attorney

Like a durable power of attorney, a springing power of attorney can allow your attorney-in-fact to act on your behalf if you become incapacitated, but it does not become effective until you are incapacitated.
If you are using a springing (or conditional) power of attorney, it is very important that the standard for determining incapacity and triggering the power of attorney be laid out in the document itself.

Regardless of what type of power of attorney you use, it is important to think carefully about who will be your attorney. Your attorney-in-fact depending on the provisions in the POA can have a lot of control over your finances, and you must trust this agent to act in your best will.

Il. Required Documents for Power of Attorney

• Applicants must be over eighteen years.
• Original passport which needs to be valid for at least three more months.
• Translated and notarized passport copy; the passport needs to be translated into Turkish by a sworn translator and then notarized by a Turkish notary.
• Two bio-metric photos, against a white background, not older than six months and preferably also available as an electronic file on your computer in case it is needed for online applications (please refer to article Residence Permit in Turkey) .
• A tax number from the tax department if you are applying from Turkey, if not your passport number is used in place of your tax number.

III. Giving Power of Attorney from within Turkey

When you visit a notary with the required documents (in Turkey no prior appointments are required), the responsible employee will prepare the POA for you. For non-Turkish speakers, a certified interpreter will be required to attend and translate in front of the notary the complete content of all documents.
After the signatures, the notarial fees are paid directly to the notary. You will receive receipts stating the nature of the work performed as well as the POA which is effective immediately.

The power of attorney prepared in Turkey must be correctly executed as a legal document under Turkish law and certified/attested and notarized by a Turkish notary.
Notarial certification by a Turkish notary is proof that a document has been duly executed or duly signed following Turkish law. There is no substitute for this procedure.

Notaries will require the grantor of the power of attorney to sign in their presence to allow them to identify the signatory and witness the signature, If the POA is drawn on behalf of a legal entity such as a company, the notary may also ask to see evidence of the existence of the company and that the person executing the POA is authorized to sign on behalf of the legal entity.

Opening hours of notaries in Turkey
Monday - Friday: 9 am to 5 pm
Saturday: closed
No prior appointment required

IV. Giving Power of Attorney from abroad

There are two ways of giving a POA from abroad. These are;

• After you make an appointment over the internet, you can go to the Turkish consulate in your country and give a POA, the process is exactly as described above for a POA given from within Turkey. Then you mail it to your proxy in Turkey.
  Some European countries have a Turkish consulate in more than one city. In Middle Eastern countries there may be a Turkish consulate respectively embassy in their capital cities.
• This second option works only for countries with an apostille agreement with Turkey.
  You can go to a notary office in your country to issue a POA, then you take your POA to a competent authority, district governorate, municipality, etc. to make an apostille.
  Afterwards, you post the documents to Turkey, and the documents must be taken to a notary office in Turkey for notarized translations, the critical point is some POAs are valid only with photos.
  Please ask your local notary to add your picture to this POA as demanded.

V. Cost of Power of Attorney in Turkey

The cost of giving a POA depends on the length of the document that contains the POA. Notary offices have certain prices for word character numbers, the price is calculated after the POA is written.

Additionally, costs differ like the power given. Price typically ranges from 260 to 3000 TL. This price does not cover the costs for a certified translator. Certified translators again charge per page, usually for one page around 85 to 150 TL.

VI. The Period of Validity of the Power of Attorney

The power of attorney can be valid for as long as intended by the Principal, but in this case, the expiration date needs to be stated within the document.

If you set an expiration date for a power of attorney, it will stay valid until that very date. If you give a general power of attorney and set no date for it to expire, it will stay valid until you die or become incapacitated.

VII. Example of a Power of Attorney

Below is an example of a Power of Attorney in Turkey.

I, the undersigned representative of Istanbul **** notary public .............., authorized signatory's head ***************, was approached by (customer name) while carrying out my duties at **** mah. *************, no: **/* **** apt., Istanbul, who presented his / her (................... details of identification presented.........................), who verbally requested through a translator that a power of attorney be prepared.

As it was not possible to communicate with him/her, I selected the authorized translator of our notary public *****......., who I knew would be able to communicate with him/her to act as interpreter.

I learned through the interpreter that the relevant person possessed the required authority to undertake the said procedure, that he/she did not speak Turkish, but that he/she was literate, he/she made the following request through the said authorized translator, who I knew to possess the necessary skills, and evidence of whose identity was presented to me in the form of his identity documents.

Purchase of Property:

I do hereby appoint *********, holder of T.C. identity no: ..........., whose father's name is .........and mother's name is......., and who was born on ............in *********, as the qualified and authorized person to act on my behalf in the following matters:

• To make the necessary applications to the various organizations and authorities to obtain the required permissions so that I may be able to purchase land and property within the boundaries of the Republic of Turkey.
• To track all of the procedures I would need to track on this matter, to present and collect documents in person, to prepare and sign petitions, to request and collect any documentation to be prepared in my name on the above-stated matter, to pay all duties, and receive back any expenses that have been overpaid.
• To collect the necessary documents from the land registry and present them to the foreign nationals branch of the police to obtain a residency permit, to undertake the necessary written communication, to obtain a tax number in my name, to purchase any land or property within the boundaries of any of the districts and villages of the province of Istanbul at any time he wishes, for a price of (********), under the conditions (********), at the location (********), and from the private individual(s) (********) / legal entity (********) .
• To pay the purchase price, to accept any assignments to be made in the presence of the relevant land registry director or authorized officer, to sign the title book and records and all documents, to request registration, to collect the title deeds, to make arrangements for electricity, water and natural gas to be connected to the property he is to purchase, to prepare and sign the contracts for these in the presence of the necessary authorities.
• To make declarations and submit petitions, to protect my interests and rights concerning this property, to send all types of warnings to third parties, to carry out all of the required legal and other procedures in connection with the above-stated matters, in the presence of all official organizations and authorities, and to sign them.
• To give undertakings to the necessary authorities and organizations, that under the principles of reciprocity, the independent and permanent limited real rights over properties which I will procure within the boundaries of the Republic of Turkey will not exceed *. * (********) hectares, and that should it be determined as otherwise, I unconditionally accept and undertake that the excess properties be sold in return for cash.
• To prepare and sign any documents necessary in this respect, to obtain the necessary written permissions from the ministry of defense or the authorized military organizations, the land registry general directorate and relevant land registry directorates or the relevant organizations and authorities, so that I may obtain property within Turkey, to undertake all of the necessary written communication, and to make and accept declarations.
• The written statement has been read by the interpreter to the relevant part, the relevant person declared through the interpreter that what was written on the statement is by his / her wishes, and the statement has been signed by the relevant person, the authorized translator, and by myself.
  At **/**/****.

Declaration by the Interpreter:

I have communicated the wishes of the relevant person who speaks (e.g.) English to the notary public.
I have translated the above statement written by the notary to the relevant person, and he/she has stated that the above is by his / her true wishes.
And I as a result of this declare that the relevant person has accepted this statement and signed it in my presence.

Authorizing Office:

Translator ****........ T.C. no: ....................................
your name and signature.

The above translation is an example of the power of attorney translated to English, and the power of attorney shown below is a practical example of a power of attorney in Turkish. Please note that as the Turkish version is taken from an original deal only the first page is shown, therefore the contents of the English and Turkish versions in these two examples do not match.

VIII. Useful Links

Turkish Consulate in Germany/Berlin


The official website of the Turkish embassy in Berlin, the embassy is eligible to conduct all legal transactions including Power of Attorney.

For further information you can visit and for taking an appointment please visit Türkische Botschaft Berlin.

Turkish Association of Notaries


The official website of the Turkish Association of notaries, they are responsible for listing and regulating notaries.

For further information, finding the closest notary and other official services please visit Turkish Association of Notaries.

Find the closest emergency notary open on weekends


In most cities Turkey has emergency notaries for urgent matters that are open on public holidays as well as on weekends.

For further information please visit the Emergency Notary List Turkey.

Turkish Embassy in London


The official website of the Turkish consulate in London, the embassy is eligible to conduct all legal transactions including Power of Attorney.

For further information please visit the Turkish embassy in London.

Turkish Consulate in Pakistan


The official website of the Turkish Consulate in Pakistan, the embassy is eligible to conduct all legal transactions including Power of Attorney.

For further information please visit the Turkish Consulate in Pakistan.

Turkish Embassy in Sweden


The official website of the Turkish embassy in Sweden, the embassy is eligible to conduct all legal transactions including Power of Attorney.

For further information please visit the Turkish embassy in Sweden.