The core documents to form a Turkish company as a non-resident are a valid passport, a Turkish tax number, a residential address and — for a remote setup — a power of attorney. Around these sit a handful of company documents that your advisor prepares, and the whole file typically takes two to four weeks to move from preparation to a registered company.
For an individual shareholder, the checklist is: a passport copy (with a sworn Turkish translation, notarised); a Turkish tax identification number; proof of address; two passport photographs; and the notarised, apostilled power of attorney if you will not sign in person. Your advisor then drafts the articles of association, the signature declarations and the Chamber of Commerce registration forms.
If the shareholder is a foreign company rather than an individual, additional corporate documents are required: an apostilled certificate of incorporation or activity certificate, a board resolution approving the establishment of the Turkish subsidiary and the appointment of a representative, and identification for the individuals who will sign. Everything issued abroad must be apostilled (or consular-legalised) and translated by a sworn translator — this is the step that most often determines the timeline.
On timing, a clean, well-prepared LLC is usually registered within two to four weeks. The registration events themselves — MERSIS filing, Trade Registry approval, tax-office enrolment — move quickly once the paperwork is correct. The variable part is document legalisation abroad and sworn translation, so gathering apostilles early is the best way to keep to the shorter end of that range.
Cost has several components, and it helps to separate them. First is the share capital itself, which is your own equity, not a fee. Second are third-party formation costs: notary fees, sworn translation, apostille or consular legalisation, and Chamber of Commerce and Trade Registry charges. Third are professional fees: your accountant's or lawyer's setup fee, and any legal drafting. There may also be smaller items such as a company e-signature, a potential registered or virtual office address, and books certification.
Because several of these depend on your document volume, translation length and choices such as office address, a precise figure is best given as a tailored quote rather than a fixed number — but the third-party and professional costs are generally modest relative to the capital you commit. It is sensible to ask for an itemised estimate up front so there are no surprises.
A little discipline with the paperwork pays off. Your name, address and dates should read identically across the passport, the tax-number record, the power of attorney and the articles of association, because even a small inconsistency — a middle name shown on one document but not another — can send the file back for correction and add days. Preparing the certified translations and apostilles as a single batch, rather than piecemeal, is the simplest way to keep the timeline tight and the cost predictable.
The recurring cost matters as much as the one-off. From registration, the company needs monthly bookkeeping and tax filings, which are provided by a licensed mali müşavir on a monthly retainer that scales with transaction volume and payroll. Building that ongoing cost into your plan from day one — alongside the formation budget — gives you a realistic picture of what running a Turkish company actually involves.
Key facts (2026)
Official & authoritative sources
- https://www.invest.gov.tr/en/investmentguide/pages/establishing-a-business-in-turkey.aspx
- https://www.ticaret.gov.tr/