Levent Law Firm handles foreign diploma equivalence in Izmir: we examine the degree and academic record, prepare the application to the competent education authority, answer its requests, and challenge an adverse decision. As your Izmir diploma equivalence lawyer, we turn a university's transcript, course work, and official decisions into a clear legal case for the Turkish qualification you need. Our work covers the application itself, a required assessment, and an annulment claim when the authority refuses equivalence.
A foreign graduate planning to practice a profession in Izmir, accept a role here, or continue an education may face different questions about the same diploma. We identify the decision the institution actually needs and take responsibility for obtaining or contesting it.
We file and run your equivalence case under a power of attorney
Under Article 4 of the Regulation, a recognition or equivalence application can be made in person or by a representative holding a power of attorney issued by the competent authorities. With that power of attorney, Levent Law Firm submits your application and documents to YÖK, receives the dated filing record and handles every exchange that follows. You send us the records, and we take the file through to the decision.
The Regulation calls for the original diploma and transcript with copies certified by a Turkish consulate or a Turkish notary, together with the diploma supplement, transfer records or thesis where they apply. We determine which records your degree requires, check each one before filing and assemble a complete set, so the file is ready for review on the day it reaches YÖK.
When YÖK finds a missing document or asks for more, it sets a period to complete the file, and a file left incomplete is returned. We track that period, obtain the record from the university or foreign authority and file the response on time; where more time is needed, we request the extension the Regulation allows.
We establish what your foreign degree means in Türkiye
A diploma equivalence certificate identifies the field and level in the Turkish higher education system to which a foreign degree corresponds. The Regulation on Recognition and Equivalence of Foreign Higher Education Diplomas places associate, bachelor's, and master's degrees within the Council of Higher Education's review, commonly known as YÖK. We examine the degree, the awarding institution, and your intended position in Izmir, then prepare the file for the qualification decision that matters to that position.
For a doctor, dentist, pharmacist, engineer, or other graduate entering a regulated field, the question includes the professional rules governing the intended activity. The Regulation preserves those separate rules for legally regulated professions. We identify the degree decision and the professional record that must support the client's intended activity in Izmir.
An employer's description of a role, a university's admission letter, and a professional authority's correspondence can each show why the degree is being assessed. We read these records alongside the diploma and frame the application around the specific Turkish field and level in dispute. That gives the authority a focused basis for reviewing your education.
We build the evidence around the institution and the course record
YÖK examines whether the foreign institution and program are recognized and whether the education corresponds to a Turkish degree in duration, credits, and learning outcomes. We obtain and compare the diploma, transcript, course descriptions, diploma supplement where relevant, and records of any transfer between institutions. We address differences in course names and credit systems by showing what the applicant actually studied, including practical training and projects.
The Regulation allows the authority to seek verification and further information about a diploma, the program, and its level from the applicant, university, or competent foreign authority. We track that inquiry, secure the underlying academic record, and answer the question raised in the file. Where a graduate changed universities, we trace the transfer and the recognized institution's contribution to the final degree.
Official documents may use different spellings of a name, a different grading scale, or a program title that has no word-for-word Turkish equivalent. We reconcile identity and study records, explain the academic content behind the title, and present the certified documents required for the application.
Recognition and equivalence serve different decisions
A recognition certificate records whether YÖK recognizes the foreign institution and its program; an equivalence certificate states the Turkish field and level of the graduate's qualification. The 2024 amendment to the higher education equivalence regulation expressly defines that distinction. We examine the letter or rule from the Izmir university, employer, or professional body and pursue the document that answers its actual requirement.
Recognition can settle a question about the standing of a university or program while the degree itself still calls for equivalence review. We obtain the institution and program record and explain its effect on the applicant's individual diploma. When a prior recognition document is already in the file, we use it to narrow the remaining issue and press the equivalence question on the course evidence.
We claim direct equivalence and preserve earlier enrollment rules
The Regulation provides routes to equivalence without a separate Level and Competence Assessment System, known as SYBS, when the qualifying academic record supports them. Its 2024 amendment addresses degrees from institutions appearing in specified world rankings and preserves earlier rules for people who enrolled before that amendment took effect. We check the university, the year you began the program, the applicable ranking evidence, and the transitional provision before YÖK decides which assessment route applies.
Another route rests on the substance of the education. Where the commission accepts that a program's core outcomes, theoretical and practical courses, internships, and projects meet the Turkish counterpart, the Regulation permits equivalence without SYBS. We compare those elements and present the academic evidence that supports a direct decision, including an expert or university opinion already obtained in the file.
Enrollment timing is especially important when a new rule changes how an application is judged. The 2024 amendment's transitional article keeps specified earlier provisions applicable to people enrolled before its effective date and excludes specified new requirements for them. We verify the actual enrollment record and invoke the applicable rule in the submission or in a challenge to a decision based on the wrong period. A change in the regulation becomes a concrete issue we can resolve from your own dates and documents.
We handle an exam or completion decision as part of the same case
YÖK may direct a graduate to SYBS when it identifies a gap or uncertainty in the program's learning outcomes. That system can involve an exam, completion of courses or practical training, or another assessment suited to the field. We obtain the reasoned decision, compare its stated gap with the transcript and course content, and present evidence that the requirement should be defined or reconsidered where the academic record supports it.
For a professional moving to Izmir, an assessment decision has an immediate effect on when a degree can be used in the intended setting. We follow the university or assessment body's correspondence, examine the syllabus and practical-work record, and answer each academic point through the YÖK file. If the assessment is required, we keep the legal record aligned with the decision and pursue the equivalence outcome after the required assessment is completed.
The same review can expose an error in how a course, internship, or transfer was counted. We identify the document that resolves the issue and ask the authority to evaluate the substance of the training. When a final decision rests on an inaccurate academic premise, we carry that record into the administrative challenge.
We apply the 2026 language exemption to the right file
The February 2026 amendment gives applicants a useful language-document exemption: where the language of the studied program is the applicant's native language, the document specified in the Regulation's application provision is not requested. The same amendment removes the language-score requirement in the covered foreign-language degree fields when that field is in the applicant's native language. We compare the program's official teaching language with the applicant's language record and assert the exemption where its terms fit.
This can change the evidence a graduate whose native language is English needs to present to YÖK when the degree was taught in English. We examine the diploma supplement, transcript, and university confirmation of the program language, then address an authority request that overlooks the amendment. The claim rests on the actual language of the program and applicant, documented in the file.
We contest a refusal or an incomplete assessment
A refusal is an administrative decision that can be tested against the institution's recognition, the degree level, the course comparison, and the rule in force for the applicant. We obtain YÖK's decision and its notification, examine the complete application record, and identify the finding that determined the outcome. We then prepare the supporting academic documents and legal argument directed at that finding.
A refusal may turn on an asserted mismatch between the foreign program and its Turkish counterpart, a recognition finding, or a disputed educational record. We examine the precise comparison YÖK made and supply the course, credit, transfer, or institutional evidence that answers it. Where the authority has left a material document or applicable transitional rule out of account, we put that issue squarely before it and, when necessary, before the court.
Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577, Article 2 permits an annulment claim against an unlawful administrative act affecting a person's interests. We calculate the filing period from the actual notification, draft the petition, and represent the client in the administrative court. The court claim asks for review of the specific equivalence decision and the legal or factual error behind it.
School equivalence for an Izmir family follows the MEB route
The Ministry of National Education, known as MEB, assesses foreign primary and secondary school records. The 2024 MEB Equivalence Regulation covers foreign school reports, transcripts, and diplomas and determines the corresponding Turkish class, field, or school level. We review a family's school records and the proposed Izmir enrollment, then bring the question to the competent equivalence center.
The regulation gives a child arriving during the school year a path to temporary school attendance based on a parent's written account while the education documents are obtained. It also provides a review of an issued equivalence certificate after an objection made within three months of its date. We examine the school history, the certificate, and the stated placement, then prepare the objection when the equivalence does not reflect the child's documented education.
For an older student entering a Turkish program, the foreign school's grading and year structure may differ from the Turkish system. We assemble the record that explains completed years and subjects, address a request from the equivalence center, and pursue the level that the documents establish. This school route is a focused part of the family's Izmir move; the higher education degree file remains with YÖK.
Put your degree decision in our hands
Send us the diploma and transcript, any YÖK or MEB correspondence, and the letter explaining how you intend to use the qualification in Izmir. We will identify the authority and legal route, prepare the power of attorney, build the academic record, answer the decision-maker, and bring the court claim if an equivalence refusal calls for one. You can review our Izmir practice areas and our attorney's background while we assess the documents.
Levent Law Firm takes responsibility for the equivalence application and the challenge that follows an adverse decision. Contact us about your foreign diploma or school equivalence case in Izmir and place the degree record or refusal notice before us.