The 4th Administrative Court of Ankara has ruled that the age of two children included in an application for exceptional Turkish citizenship along with their parents must be evaluated as of the application date. It has been found unlawful to reject the citizenship requests tied to the parents on the grounds that, although the children were not of legal age on the application date, they had reached the age of majority by the date the proceedings were concluded.

Short answer: According to the 4th Administrative Court of Ankara, whether a child has reached the age of majority in a citizenship application made jointly with the parents must be determined based on the circumstances at the time of application. It is legally unacceptable for the time elapsed during the conclusion of the administrative procedure to produce adverse consequences for children who met the requirements as of the application date.

The lawsuit examined in this article, in the capacity of counsel for the plaintiffs, Filed and managed by Atty. Batın Yılmaz. The judgment is examined by redacting data that could allow identification, such as the names, dates of birth, nationalities, application details, and electronic notification information of the plaintiffs and family members. Since the facts of each citizenship file differ, the judgment does not constitute a guarantee of automatic outcomes regarding other applications.

Judgment Summary

Court	Ankara 4th Administrative Court
Case file number	2024/864
Decision number	2024/1653
Decision date	October 25, 2024
Subject of the lawsuit	Rejection of the citizenship request derivative of the parents who acquired exceptional Turkish citizenship
Core legal issue	Whether the majority of the children is to be determined based on the application date or the date on which the procedure is concluded
Ruling	Annulment of the rejection act
Legal remedy	Appeal before the Ankara Regional Administrative Court within 30 days following the day after service

How Did the Dispute Arise?

On November 24, 2022, a family jointly applied for the exceptional acquisition of Turkish citizenship pursuant to Article 12 of the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901. The application included the mother, father, and children. The two children who are the subject of the lawsuit had not yet reached the age of majority on this date.

While the citizenship process was ongoing, the children reached the age of majority. By a Presidential Decree dated March 30, 2023, the mother, father, and another child in the family acquired Turkish citizenship; however, the same outcome did not apply to the two children subject to the lawsuit.

Subsequently, an application was made for the children to acquire Turkish citizenship dependent upon their mother and father. The Directorate General of Civil Registration and Nationality of the Ministry of Interior rejected the request by a transaction dated March 18, 2024, on the grounds that the children were of legal age on the date the mother and father acquired citizenship. A lawsuit was filed in the Ankara Administrative Court seeking the annulment of the rejection transaction.

Chronology of the Litigation Process

Date	Transaction or event	Legal Significance
November 24, 2022	An exceptional citizenship application was filed on behalf of the family.	The two children subject to the lawsuit were not of legal age on this date.
During the application process	The children reached the age of majority.	A change in age occurred between the application date and the decision date.
March 30, 2023	The mother, father, and another child in the family acquired Turkish citizenship.	The administration based its decision on the fact that the children in question reached the age of majority by this date.
March 18, 2024	The citizenship application dependent on the mother and father was rejected.	The administrative act subject to the annulment lawsuit was executed.
October 25, 2024	The Ankara 4th Administrative Court annulled the rejection.	It was accepted that the age on the application date must be taken as the basis.

The Core Legal Issue to be Resolved in the Case

In the dispute, there was no controversy that the children had not reached the age of majority on the application date. Furthermore, it was a settled fact that the mother and father subsequently acquired Turkish citizenship through exceptional procedures. The debate focused on which date should be used to determine the child's age:

If the application date is taken as the basis: The children were included in the application along with their parents and met the condition of not being of legal age on this date.
If the date of the citizenship decision is taken as the basis: Since the children completed their eighteenth year while the process was ongoing, they would be excluded from the acquisition dependent on the mother and father.

The court evaluated that the second approach would impose the negative consequences arising from the duration of the completion of the administrative procedure upon the applicants, who were not at fault for the delay. Therefore, in the specific case, it based its decision on the age status as of the application date.

Citizenship Derived from Mother and Father Pursuant to Law No. 5901

The primary legal basis of the dispute is the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901. Article 20 of the Law regulates the validity and consequences of acquiring Turkish citizenship by a competent authority decision.

Provisions concerning children under Article 20 of the Law

Article 20 of the Law stipulates that children of parents who acquire Turkish citizenship together shall also acquire Turkish citizenship. The same article states that if children, who were processed together with their mother or father at the time of acquiring Turkish citizenship, apply for citizenship after reaching the age of majority, the provisions of Article 11 regulating the general acquisition conditions shall apply to them.

The distinction between these two provisions makes the question of at which point a child is considered an adult significant. In the reviewed judgment, the court considered that the mother, father, and children were processed within the same family application, and that the children were not of legal age at the application date.

The relationship between exceptional citizenship applications and derivative acquisition

The family's primary application was based on the exceptional citizenship pathway under Article 12 of Law No. 5901. The status of the children should have been evaluated not solely through the discretionary power in Article 12, but in conjunction with Article 20, which regulates the effect of the parents' acquisition of citizenship on the children.

Exceptional citizenship does not solely refer to citizenship by investment; it may cover different groups of persons specified in the Law. The scope of exceptional citizenship and investment conditions must be distinguished from one another. For information on investment-based procedures Turkish citizenship by investment you may review our guide.

Why Did the Court Base Its Decision on the Application Date?

The Ankara 4th Administrative Court concluded that in citizenship applications made jointly by family members, the examination must be conducted in accordance with the legal status as of the application date. In its reasoning, the court stated that the contrary approach would impose the negative impact of delays in the finalization of the administrative act upon blameless interested parties.

The rationale of the decision can be summarized as follows:

A joint citizenship application was filed for the mother, father, and children.
The children who are the subject of the lawsuit were not of legal age as of the application date.
The timeframe within which the application would be concluded was not under the children's control.
The children only turned eighteen while the administrative proceedings were still ongoing.
Basing the determination on the age as of the date of the decision would shift the consequences of administrative delay onto the children.
Therefore, regarding the acquisition derived from the parents, the age as of the application date was taken as the basis.

Inimputability of administrative delay to the applicant

The duration for concluding an application may depend on the administration's workload, security clearances, inter-agency correspondence, and the decision-making process. Even though the applicant submitted the required documents in a timely manner and did not cause the prolongation of the process, deeming them to have lost their eligibility at the date of application solely because the procedure was completed late may raise issues in terms of legal certainty and equity.

The court's approach is grounded on the premise that a general and mechanical assessment in the form of 'all conditions at the time the procedure is concluded shall be taken as the basis' cannot be accepted in the specific case. However, it cannot be stated that this approach will be automatically applied with respect to every citizenship requirement and every type of application.

Scope of the Ruling: Did the Court Directly Grant Citizenship?

No. The administrative court did not rule on directly granting Turkish citizenship to the plaintiffs. The court reviewed the legality of the administrative act regarding the rejection of the citizenship request derived from the parents and annulled the rejection act.

What the annulment decision does	What the annulment decision does not do
It removes the rejection act from the legal order.	Does not mean that the court replaces the administration and makes a citizenship decision.
Obligates the administration to take action in accordance with the court's reasoning.	Does not automatically confer the right to citizenship upon third parties.
Requires the application date to be taken into account in the age assessment.	Does not mean that other legal conditions in the application are excluded from review.
Determines that the specific grounds for refusal are unlawful.	Does not indicate that every delayed citizenship application will necessarily be accepted.

For detailed explanations regarding the administrative and judicial remedies available to individuals whose citizenship applications have been rejected, the competent court, and the limitation period for filing a lawsuit, rejection of citizenship application and annulment action you can review our article.

Rejection of an Application and Revocation of Acquired Citizenship Are Not the Same

In the dispute under review, the Turkish citizenship previously acquired by the children was not subsequently revoked. The children's requests for citizenship dependent on their parents were denied, and the lawsuit was filed against this rejection act. Therefore, the dispute differs from the revocation, withdrawal, or deprivation of citizenship.

Transaction type	Legal status	Conclusion
Rejection of the citizenship application	The individual has not yet acquired Turkish citizenship.	The application is dismissed.
Annulment of the decision of acquisition	The citizenship decision is subsequently revoked on the grounds of false statements or the concealment of material facts.	The decision of acquisition is affected with its legal consequences.
Revocation of the citizenship decision	It is asserted that the decision was rendered without the fulfillment of legal conditions or in a duplicate manner.	The previously established decision is withdrawn.
Deprivation of citizenship	This is a distinct status loss proceeding based on behaviors specifically stipulated in the law.	Loss of citizenship comes into question through a decision of the competent authority.

This distinction alters the applicable statutory provision, the prayer for relief in the complaint, and the evidence that must be submitted. For disputes concerning the subsequent revocation of acquired citizenship, revocation and cancellation of Turkish citizenship our guide may be reviewed.

Is the Ruling a General and Binding Precedent?

The decision of the Ankara 4th Administrative Court produces effects primarily with respect to the parties and the administrative act subject to the lawsuit. The first-instance administrative court decision is not a general regulatory act compelling all administrative authorities and other courts to reach the same conclusion.

Nevertheless, the decision may provide a strong legal argument in files involving similar material facts. It may be particularly significant in applications where the following conditions coexist:

Citizenship applications being made jointly on behalf of the mother, father, and children,
The child not being of legal age as of the application date,
The child turning eighteen while the application is pending,
Both parents acquiring Turkish citizenship at the conclusion of the same application process,
The child being excluded from derivative acquisition solely on the grounds of their age at the date of the decision.

If the application date, whether family members are included in the same file, the required consent and custody documents concerning the child, and the exact grounds for the rejection differ, the applicability of the decision will also change.

Which Documents Are Important in Citizenship Derived from Parents?

In disputes concerning age and family ties, not only the existence of documents but also the dates they reflect are crucial. Depending on the specific case file, the following records may need to be examined together:

The family's initial citizenship application form and application date,
The family list or file records showing that the child was included in the application,
The birth certificate and duly translated and certified documents,
Official records establishing the lineage between the parents and the child,
The date and scope of the decision by which the parents acquired citizenship,
The citizenship file showing whether proceedings have been carried out regarding the child,
Subsequent derivative citizenship application,
Rejection decision and grounds for rejection,
Document showing the date of service of the rejection act,
Records regarding custody or the consent of the other parent, where necessary.

In the official statement by the Directorate General of Population and Citizenship Affairs Official statements regarding the acquisition of Turkish citizenship, set forth the general conditions for different acquisition pathways. Current laws and regulations can be accessed via the General Directorate's laws and regulations pages.

How is the Application Date Proven?

In such a lawsuit, precisely determining the application date is of central importance. The date the application is prepared may not be the same as the date it is received by the administration. During the review, the citizenship application document, document registration number, delivery report, electronic system record, application commission documents, and family roster must be cross-referenced.

The evaluation may change if the child was subsequently added to the application or if no proceedings were conducted in their name in the initial file. Therefore, showing only the mother's or father's application date may not be sufficient; it must also be demonstrated through file records that the child was processed on the same date and within the scope of the same application.

Why is procedural integrity in family applications important?

The inclusion of the child's name in the application form may not, by itself, indicate that all legal conditions have been met. It must be investigated whether the birth and lineage documents regarding the child were submitted in the administrative file, whether they were evaluated together with the mother and father, and at what stage the child was severed from the file. A distinction may exist between merely being reported as a family member on the application date and being processed together for the purpose of acquiring derivative citizenship alongside the mother and father.

Therefore, when establishing the litigation file, the chain of proceedings from the initial application to the rejection decision must be requested in full. When the application list, internal institutional review records, and the family members covered by the final decision are brought side by side, it becomes clearer whether the administration initially accepted the child as part of the application.

Statute of Limitations in Lawsuits Concerning the Rejection of Citizenship Applications

The rejection of a citizenship application constitutes an individual administrative act. In cases where no specific litigation period is stipulated, pursuant to the Administrative Litigation Procedure Law No. 2577, general limitation periods apply. As a rule, the period to file an annulment lawsuit in the administrative court is 60 days starting from the day following the written notification.

In calculating the period, the date of proper service is decisive, not the date of the rejection decision. However, earlier awareness of the act, filing an administrative application, electronic notification, or service to family members on different dates may give rise to disputes regarding the time limit. Therefore, the rejection letter, envelope, delivery receipt, and electronic notification record must be retained together.

Competent and authorized court

The competent judiciary branch for an annulment lawsuit to be filed against the rejection of a citizenship application is the administrative judiciary. The authorized court is determined by taking into account the authority that enacted the act, the nature of the act, and special jurisdiction rules. Although the jurisdiction of the Ankara administrative courts frequently comes into question in citizenship proceedings instituted by the central administration, a separate evaluation must be made for each file based on the rejection document.

Conclusion of the Court's Judgment

By its decision dated October 25, 2024, the Ankara 4th Administrative Court unanimously annulled the act concerning the rejection of the citizenship application dependent on the mother and father. The decision ruled that litigation expenses amounting to 988 TL and attorney's fees amounting to 18,000 TL, in accordance with the tariff at the date of the decision, shall be collected from the defendant administration and granted to the plaintiffs. The right of appeal before the Ankara Regional Administrative Court was left open within 30 days following the service of the decision.

Litigation expenses and attorney's fees are applicable to the tariff on the date of the decision and to the specific case file. It should not be inferred that the same amounts will apply in current or other lawsuits.

Significance of the Decision in Terms of Enforcement

The decision sets forth a concrete judicial approach regarding which date shall be taken as the basis when evaluating a condition that may change over time, such as age, in a citizenship application. It accepted that changes arising from the administration's own examination period cannot be applied mechanically to the detriment of individuals who met the required status as of the application date.

Another significance of the decision is that it draws attention to the integrity of the family application. The acquisition of citizenship by the mother and father and the legal status of the children were not treated as completely disconnected from each other; the age and capacity in which the child was included in the initial application were examined.

For the general scope of citizenship and other aliens law proceedings, from our aliens and citizenship law services page, on our immigration law service page.

Frequently Asked Questions

If the child is 17 years old at the time of application and 18 years old at the date of the decision, which date serves as the basis?

In the specific case reviewed, the Ankara 4th Administrative Court took the application date as the basis. It accepted that the children met the condition of being minors at the time they were included in the family application and that the prolongation of the administrative process should not produce results against the applicants.

Does a child automatically acquire citizenship when the mother and father are Turkish citizens?

A general conclusion cannot be drawn in this manner for every case. Whether the mother and father acquired citizenship together, whether the child was included in the application, their age, lineage, custody and consent status, together with the relevant provisions of Law No. 5901, must be examined as a whole.

Does a court decision directly grant Turkish citizenship?

No. The reviewed decision annuls the administrative act concerning the rejection of the citizenship request. The administration is required to re-issue an act in accordance with the reasoning of the court decision.

Is this decision binding on all citizenship applications involving children?

No. The decision produces effects primarily with respect to the parties of the lawsuit and the specific transaction. However, it can be put forward as a legal precedent for children who were minors at the date of application, turned eighteen while the proceedings were ongoing, and were processed under the same application with their parents.

What is the statutory period for filing a lawsuit against a citizenship rejection act?

In citizenship rejection acts where there is no special regulation, the period for filing a lawsuit in the administrative court is, as a rule, 60 days starting from the day following the proper written notification. In the specific case, the service of process and any administrative applications must be examined separately.

How is it proven that the child was included in the initial application?

The application form, family roster, application file number, birth and lineage documents, delivery receipts, and citizenship examination records may be used. It is important to document not only that the child is a family member, but also that they were processed under the same application.

Conclusion

In the decision of the Ankara 4th Administrative Court, E. 2024/864, K. 2024/1653, it was accepted that the ages of two children included in an exceptional citizenship application along with their mother and father must be evaluated as of the application date. It was found unlawful to exclude children who were minors at the application date from derivative citizenship solely because they turned eighteen while the process was ongoing.

The decision is significant on the grounds that the adverse consequences of administrative delays cannot be imposed on children who bear no fault in the application. However, the applicability of the decision depends on concrete elements such as the child's actual inclusion in the initial application, their age at the date of application, how the parents acquired citizenship, and the grounds for the refusal.

Full Anonymized Text of the Decision

You can access the full text of the decision of the Ankara 4th Administrative Court, Case No. E. 2024/864, Decision No. K. 2024/1653, examined in this article, with anonymized personal data, as a PDF via the link below.

Download Anonymized Court Decision (PDF)

This decision is shared solely for informational purposes and the analysis of judicial practice. Personal data and any information that could directly or indirectly allow identification contained within the decision have been anonymized. In the event that the anonymization and editorial work performed on this page are used or shared on another website, publication, or digital medium, batinyilmaz.av.tr must be cited as the source.

Author Information

Attorney Batın YILMAZ

Istanbul Bar Association Bar Registry No: 77008

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Attorney Batın Yılmaz