Immigration Lawyer in Istanbul
Residence permits, citizenship, work permits, refusals and deportation — argued and translated by the same attorney.
Turkish immigration law runs through every part of a foreigner's life in Turkey — the right to stay, to work, to bring family, to remain when a decision goes wrong. SP Law & Consultancy represents foreign nationals before the Presidency of Migration Management, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and the administrative courts, with one structural difference: the attorney who argues your file is also a certified English–Turkish sworn translator, so the legal strategy and the documents that carry it are built by the same hands.
What an immigration matter looks like from our desk
Immigration files are won on two fronts at once: the legal position and the paperwork that proves it. Our work covers both, across the full range of matters a foreign national meets in Turkey.
Residence permits
From first applications to renewals and transitions between categories — short-term, family, student, long-term. We assess eligibility honestly before filing, prepare the file and its sworn translations, and manage the process with the provincial migration directorate. Start with our guide to Turkey's six residence permit categories or the long-term (indefinite) permit.
Turkish citizenship
Citizenship by investment, by marriage, and by ordinary naturalisation each follow different rules and different proofs. We advise on which route actually fits, prepare the application, and handle the interview and verification stages. Where the route runs through property — the investment threshold met by real estate — we run the purchase and the citizenship file together with our real estate practice. Our guides to citizenship by investment, citizenship through marriage and naturalisation after five years' residence set out each path.
Work permits
Employer-sponsored permits, renewals, the permanent (indefinite) work permit and the Turquoise Card — including the interaction between work authorisation and residence status that employers and employees often discover too late. See our work permit guide and the permanent work permit.
Refusals and appeals
A refused permit or citizenship application is an administrative act, and administrative acts can be challenged — on short deadlines. We run objections before the issuing authority and annulment actions before the administrative courts. How these challenges are built: appealing a refused residence permit or citizenship decision.
Deportation and entry bans
Removal decisions, entry bans and restriction codes move fast and are fought on strict timelines. We act in deportation proceedings and applications to lift entry bans and codes. Background: deportation, entry bans and restriction codes in Turkey.
Family matters with an immigration dimension
Family residence permits, the immigration consequences of marriage, divorce and loss of a sponsor — the points where family law and migration law meet.
Why the sworn-translator side of the practice matters here
Turkish immigration procedure is unforgiving of paperwork. Files are built from documents that originate abroad — civil-status records, diplomas, income evidence — and every one of them enters the file only through apostille and sworn Turkish translation. In most firms, the translation is outsourced and the lawyer sees the result; in this practice, the certified sworn translator and the attorney are the same person. Discrepancies between a passport, a foreign certificate and its translation — the small inconsistencies that make a migration officer hesitate — are caught while the file is being built, not explained after it is questioned. For a process that fails on detail, this is not a convenience; it is a defence. The wider case for working with an English-speaking attorney who is also your translator is set out separately.
How an engagement runs
1. Assessment — You describe the situation; we review the documents and tell you plainly whether the application is viable, what it needs, and where the risks are. If a route does not fit, we say so before you spend money on it.
2. File building — We prepare the application, produce the sworn translations in-house, and reconcile every document against every other before anything is filed.
3. Filing and follow-up — We file with the competent authority, track the assessment, and respond to requests for information or interview preparation.
4. If it goes wrong — Where a decision is negative, we advise honestly on the merits of a challenge and, where it is worth fighting, run the objection and the court case.
Start with the guides
Much of what an immigration lawyer is asked in a first consultation is already answered, carefully and for free, in our guides. Reading the one that fits your situation is the fastest way to arrive at a consultation prepared.
Residence: residence permit types (the pillar guide) · long-term residence · digital nomad permit · family residence permit · residence permits for Iranian citizens · retiring in Turkey.
Work: Turkish work permit · permanent (indefinite) work permit.
Citizenship: citizenship by investment · citizenship through marriage · citizenship by naturalisation.
When it goes wrong: appeals against refusals · deportation and entry bans.
About the Attorney
Selim Polat is the founder of SP Law & Consultancy, an attorney registered with the Istanbul Bar Association (Reg. No. 68892) and a certified English–Turkish sworn translator. His practice concentrates on foreigners' law — residence, citizenship, work permits, appeals and deportation matters — for international clients, combining representation and certified translation in a single office in Istanbul. The firm's legal guides are researched, written and signed by the attorney and published in the Law Blog.
This page is general information about the practice and does not constitute legal advice, and contacting SP Law & Consultancy does not create an attorney–client relationship. Immigration conditions, thresholds and deadlines change; seek specific advice on your own situation before acting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you handle cases outside Istanbul? Yes. Immigration files are administered provincially, but representation is nationwide, and much of the process — including for clients abroad — is handled remotely under power of attorney.
Can you work with clients who are not in Turkey? Yes. A properly issued power of attorney, arranged through a Turkish consulate or with apostille, allows us to file and follow applications while the client remains abroad.
Do I need to speak Turkish for any part of the process? No. The practice operates fully in English, and all Turkish-language documents in your file are prepared and explained by a certified sworn translator who is also your attorney.
My application was refused — is it worth challenging? Sometimes yes, sometimes honestly no. Refusals are administrative acts subject to objection and court challenge on short deadlines, and the first step is a frank assessment of the refusal grounds. We tell you the merits before you commit to a challenge.
Which citizenship route is fastest? For those with capital, investment citizenship is typically the fastest and most predictable. Marriage and naturalisation routes take years by design. Which fits depends on your situation — not every fast route is the right one.
Do you use intermediaries or consultants? No. Your matter is handled personally by the attorney, from first assessment to final decision.
What documents should I bring to a first consultation? Passport, current and previous permit cards, any refusal or notification letters you have received, and the foreign documents relevant to your matter — even untranslated. Assessing what the file needs is part of the consultation; sworn translations are prepared in-house afterwards.
Are you also the translator for my documents? Yes. The attorney handling your matter is a certified English–Turkish sworn translator, so the translations filed with your application are produced by the same person who argues the file — and to the standard the Land Registry, notaries and the migration directorate require.
Discuss your immigration matter
Whether you are preparing a first application, facing a refusal, or planning a route to citizenship, describe your situation and we will tell you plainly what Turkish law and practice allow.