Divorce tourism emerges as new trend among Turkish nationals abroad

Turkish expatriates are increasingly returning to their homeland for an unusual purpose: divorce proceedings. This emerging trend, set against Türkiye’s already established health tourism sector, highlights how global economic disparities are creating new patterns of cross-border legal services.

The phenomenon is particularly pronounced among the Turkish diaspora in the United Kingdom, where an estimated 500,000 Turkish residents face prohibitively expensive legal fees for divorce proceedings.

“Recently graduated attorneys in Türkiye work for minimum wage. And because of economic difficulties, attorney fees in Türkiye have become very inexpensive,” Erdem Kilic, founder and chairman of U.K.-based Bosphorus Legal Gateway, told a local news website, Patronlar Dunyasi, which dubbed the trend ‘divorce tourism,’ in a recent interview.

The financial contrast is stark. While divorce attorneys in the U.K. charge minimum fees of 3,000-4,000 pounds for uncontested divorces, their Turkish counterparts handle similar cases for just 200-500 pounds, according to Kilic.

Turkish law facilitates this practice by requiring only a local address to establish jurisdiction, making the process relatively straightforward for returning expatriates.

“In England, both divorces and legal fees are expensive. That’s why Turks have recently preferred to come to Türkiye to get divorced. There’s no legal obstacle. Providing an address here is enough,” Kilic explained.

Turkish hairlines to divorce tourism

This legal migration occurs alongside Türkiye’s substantial health tourism industry, which drew over 1.5 million visitors in 2024 and generated more than $3 billion in revenue, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK).

The country has become so renowned for procedures like hair transplants that Turkish Airlines has been jokingly dubbed “Turkish hairlines” on social media.

Meanwhile, domestic divorce rates in Türkiye reached 187,343 last year, with economic pressures driving year-over-year increases.

The interview with Kilic also revealed another legal consideration for expatriates visiting Türkiye: unsuspected legal proceedings stemming from social media activity.

“This happened to one of our clients. He had previously insulted the health minister. When he entered Türkiye, he was detained. He wasn’t aware of this,” Kilic recounted.

“Our client was acquitted, but it caused problems. It takes time for everyone and creates a workload. There’s correspondence between ministries; the Foreign Ministry made international notifications. And the process can take up to seven months. Those unaware of lawsuits against them are detained the moment they enter Türkiye.”