Having a Baby in Turkey

Turkey gives great importance to the principle of blood ties. Newborn babies can acquire Turkish citizenship as long as the mother or father is a Turkish citizen, regardless where the baby is born.

Turkey accepts the notion of dual citizenship and allows foreigners to become citizens in certain situations such as marriage, birth, and the intention to live permanently in Turkey. According to the new conditions on Turkish citizenship, a child born to foreign parents in Turkey can receive Turkish citizenship if the child is not able to obtain the citizenship of his or her foreign-born parents' country.

Each embassy or consulate will have different requirements when registering a new born baby. Expats will need to go to their respective consulate or embassy to apply for a birth registration and passport which has corresponding processing fees. Once the passport and birth certificate have been issued, parents need to apply for a resident permit for the baby at the local police headquarters in the area to complete forms and pay for necessary fees. However, a child that acquires Turkish citizenship at birth will need to be registered with the Vital Statistics Office (Nufus Mudurlugu). 

It is important to have international health insurance in Turkey that will cover maternity costs such as giving birth in a private hospital, which is is expensive. The cost of giving birth in a public hospital is approximately USD$1,000 (for C-section) while private hospital cost ranges from TRY3,500 (approximately USD$2,309) to TRY4,000 (approximately USD$2,638).

Usually, babies added to the health plan of the parents are covered for only 30 days. It is never too early to get separate private health insurance in Turkey for the baby since infants require a routine check-ups and immunizations once born.