Is Turkish Citizen Mandatory

Hello:

I'm an 18 year old male born in the U.S. to a Turkish father and American mother. My father abandoned us when i was 2 years old and he returned to Turkey.

I have a friend a couple of years older in same situation as mine, who informed me that he tried to register his birth in Turkey for legitimacy of his birth only, but that he has been told that citizenship will be automatic upon birth registration and as such that he will have to serve the army.

I read on another forum that registration is possible without becoming citizen.

Can someone help me out here...i would like to finish my schooling in the U.S. first before deciding how I can start learning Turkish and if i want to become citizen, but in the meantime, I would like to have my birth registered while my father is still alive. I'm thinking that if I don't register and later wish to become citizen, that it will be next to impossible should my father not be alive by then, especially since he has kept me a secret from his Turkish family and never told anyone about his American wife/son he deserted 16 years ago.(he is not denying I'm his legitimate son, but is not helping me either). I have another 8 years of study and this is a long time for things to happen.

Please help....i have contacted embassy and they told me same, that i will become citizen whether i chose to or not. I need to know the legal answer to this and hope someone will answer my post...thank u.

Dear konuk,
You just have one year to apply for Turkish citizenship after you became 18.
double hurry

Thanks for your answer, but it does NOT seem correct. If expats, spouses, etc., can become citizens at any age, how could children of Turks not have the same option after age 19?.

As an adult child of a Turkish father, the following which i read in a Turkish paper applies to me:

"In Article 66 it can be found that "the child of a Turkish father or a Turkish mother is a Turk," which means that Turkish nationality is usually handled according to the principle of blood ties".

So I already know that my blood qualifies me to become Turkish citizen (regardless of age), however, what i wanted to know is whether i can have my birth registered without being given citizenship. I am only 18 and don't know if i want to serve the army, for that reason i don't want to request citizenship YET, but I would like to have my birth registered. So can I register birth without becoming citizen or is citizenship automatic upon birth registration?

Please someone who knows this law, please help me. Thank you.

About military service... You have short term service opportunity (aproximetly 3 weeks training term+ 5.112 Euros paying) Visit these web site http://www.allaboutturkey.com/army.htm & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_Turkey

Thanks for your reply Mr.Toprak, it seems that the service time has decreased. However,that was not my question.

I am not Turkish (my father is), I do not live in Turkey nor do I want citizenship. My question is: can my foreign birth be registered without becoming citizen?. If anyone knows, i would appreciate an answer. Thank you.

You are Turkish because your father is Turkish. You gain Turkish citizenship with blood. Turkish citizenship Law topic 1 " whom born in Turkey or out of Turkey, his father or mother is Turkish, he is Turkish and he gain citizenship with born." Because of this you are Turkish (from your father) and if you want you can lose your Turkish citizenship.

Dear Ufukyener,

U are completely right, I'm Turkish in theory & legally, but not officially yet because I have not done the official paper work, Turkish government does not even know I exist so how can I be Turkish officially? I don't have citizenship papers because my foreign birth has not yet been registered in Turkey because my father wanted to keep it a secret, you see, he left us in the US and never even wanted me to come and visit him in Turkey. He took another wife and has other children and they don't know about me.

I may even want to live in Turkey eventually, but not now and I don't want my studies or my life to be interrupted by army service, so my original question is still unanswered, can a birth be registered without giving citizenship?. But anyway, thanks for your comments.

Dear konuk,

The issue that first needs to be solved is your citizenship status which is still not certain whether to be American, Turkish or both. You should have no doubt that a person gains the Turkish citizenship automatically even if he/she is born in abroad provided that coming from a Turkish ancestry.

In the light of this information, you are a natural Turkish citizenship since having a biological father who's carrying a Turkish passport. However, you are formally not, considering that your birth and other related records were not registered in Turkish entitled offices.

Under this circumstance, you first need to file a paternity case against your father in order to fix your father-son relationship in the presence of Turkish law, offices and authorities. The rest of the issue concerning your military service will get clarified way easier after this stage.

Ps. Turkish citizens who have dual citizenships are not obligated to serve their military duties in Turkey if they had already served a duty in the army of the other country. Hence, you won't be compelled to serve in Turkish army if you serve/served in the US forces.

I've tried to englighten you as far as I could. If there's still something not clear in your mind, please don't hesitate to ask with another message.

Best wishes