When your documents expire mid-application

A file that runs eighteen months will outlive some of its own documents. This page explains which ones, and what has to be redone when it happens.

Two categories

• Documents that do not age: diplomas, transcripts, court judgments, birth records of a past event. They describe something fixed.
• Documents that do: criminal record extracts, residence certificates, bank statements, register extracts intended to show a current situation.

The second group has no expiry printed on it. The limit is set by the receiving authority, which is why it cannot be looked up in advance and has to be asked.

Does a new document need a new translation?

Yes, if the document itself is reissued: it is a different document with a different date and reference, and the old translation belongs to the old one. There is no way to transfer a translation from one issue to another, and attempting to do so would misrepresent the file.

Does the apostille have to be redone?

The apostille does not expire, but it is attached to a specific document. A newly issued record needs its own apostille — so a refreshed document means the full short chain again: issue, apostille, translation.

The sequencing rule

Slow and permanent first, fast and perishable last. Get diplomas, transcripts and assessments out of the way early, since they never expire. Leave police certificates and bank statements until the rest is nearly complete. Files that reverse this pay for the same document twice, and sometimes three times.

If an authority asks for an update mid-process

It usually gives a deadline shorter than the Turkish chain. Start immediately, and tell us the deadline rather than the document — we will say straight away whether it is reachable, and if it is not, that is information you need on day one rather than in week three.

Keep spare certified copies

Documents that do not age are worth duplicating while you are already ordering. A second certified copy today costs a fraction of a fresh retrieval from abroad a year later. See obtaining Turkish documents from abroad.

Watch the passport too

A passport expiring during processing creates its own problems, since numbers recorded in the file no longer match. If yours has under a year to run, renew it before starting rather than midway. See how long the Turkish side takes.

Renewals of the file itself

Some processes ask for updated documents at a defined interval rather than only at the end, particularly where a file sits in a queue for a long time. If yours is one of them, plan for a second round of the perishable documents from the outset rather than treating each request as an emergency. Knowing that a criminal record extract will probably be needed twice changes how you budget both money and time for it.