Why is it necessary for the Turkish student studying in the US to have their student status recognized by the Turkish education attaché?

In order for Turkish citizens studying abroad to benefit from student-related privileges such as postponement of military service, obtaining a passport without paying fees, clearing social security debts, and applying for student loan in Türkiye, students must first apply to the education attaché responsible for the state where their schools are located and ensure that their student status is recognized by the education attaché.

States where applications are accepted from

Los Angeles Education Attaché Office only accepts applications from the following states: Alaska (AK), Arizona (AZ), California (CA), Colorado (CO), Hawaii (HI), Idaho (ID), Montana (MT), Nevada (NV), Oregon (OR), Utah (UT), Washington (WA), Wyoming (WY).

Students studying in states other than these must apply to the education attaché office responsible for the state in which they study. Click here for attaché offices responsible for other states.

Application by mail

Students who want their student status to be recognized by the education attaché should apply to our office by mail, along with the required documents listed below. The mailing address is as follows: 6380 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 907 Los Angeles, CA 90036 (Attn: Office of the Turkish Education Attaché)

In-person application

Application can also be made in person at our office. However, for this, an appointment request must be sent to the email address losangeles@meb.gov.tr before coming to the office.

After receiving required documents

After the application documents reach our office, they are reviewed for compliance with the relevant regulations. If any information or document is missing, the applicant will be immediately notified via the email address provided in the application form, and asked to complete the missing part. Once all the documents are completed, the student status of the applicant is recognized, and a document is sent to the applicant. Additionally, a student certificate is sent to the relevant parties in Türkiye, such as military offices. If all the documents are complete, the application process is usually completed within an average of two business days. 

Please note that, to maintain the student status recognized by the education attaché, the student is required to sent our office an enrollment letter at the beginning of each new semester, and an official transcript at the end of each semester. If these documents are not delivered to our office, the student's status will be considered to have ended, and the registration created in our office on behalf of the student will be closed. Additionally, the relevant institutions will be notified of this change.

Required documents for application

1- Application form

The form is in PDF format and can be filled out on a computer. After downloading and filling it out, a printed copy must be signed. Forms without a signature will not be accepted.

Since all notifications to applicants will be made through the email entered on the form, a valid email address must be provided.

The military office information asked in the form is the province-district where the applicant is registered in the population register, and can be obtained through e-Government (e-Devlet). The e-Government password is provided by Turkish consulates abroad and by PTT branches in Türkiye upon in-person application.

All dates asked on the form must be entered in the day-month-year format.

Click here to access the application form.

2- A photocopy of the ID document

A photocopy of either Turkish ID card or valid Turkish passport page that shows personal information is required.

3- Documents for entry to the USA

A copy of the visa page of the passport, a copy of the I-20 or DS-2019 form, the I-94 document showing the most recent entry to the USA, and the entry-exit document for Türkiye that can be obtained via e-Government are required.

4- Military status document

This document can be obtained online through the e-Government (e-Devlet) website or at a local military office in Türkiye. The document must be current.

If the military status document indicates "remnants" or "roll-call evader," or if the e-Government (e-Devlet) system indicates that the student needs to apply to the nearest military office, the student must follow one of the following procedures:

a) If the student was not a remnants or roll-call evader at the time of enrollment, but has become one at a later date, the form at the link should be filled out, signed, and submitted.

b) If the student was a remnant or roll-call evader before the date of enrollment, the form at the link should be filled out, signed, and submitted.

Individuals who are not subject to military service do not need to submit the documents mentioned in this section.

5- Diploma or graduation certificate of the last completed educational level

A notarized photocopy of the diploma of the last education level the applicant graduated from is required. This document can also be obtained through the e-Government (e-Devlet) platform. If the diploma is obtained from a school in another country outside of Türkiye, the student must also provide an equivalency certificate. Click here to see how to obtain equivalency certificate for high school diplomas. Click here to see how to obtain equivalency certificate for university diplomas.

Military service postponement is not available for a degree program at the same or lower level as the most recently completed program. For example, a second bachelor's or associate degree cannot be a reason for postponement if a bachelor's degree has already been rceived. Postponement of military service may only be available for a master's degree program in this case.

6- Proof documents of current enrollment

Enrollment verification letter and official transcript related to current enrollment are required. These documents should be presented either in a school-sealed and stamped letterhead envelope or directly sent to our office's email address at losangeles@meb.gov.tr by the school upon the student's request. Other forms of submission will not be accepted.

7- School recognition letter

In order to create a student registration at our office, the university where the student is enrolled must be among the universities recognized by the Turkish Council of Higher Education (YÖK).

For universities in the US, the school recognition letter can be obtained by applying to YÖK by mail or in person. For an application by mail, it is required to first transfer the application fee to the bank account of YÖK, and then fill out the printed application form and send it along with the payment receipt to YÖK's  mail address.

8- Photograph

One passport-sized photograph is required. The name of the applicant should be written on the back of the photograph.

9- Compulsory government service document

If the applicant has a compulsory service obligation to the government, it must be documented that he/she has fulfilled this obligation, or has paid for it, or has agreed to pay for it in installments. This certificate is not required for those who do not have a compulsory service obligation to the government.

10- Notification letter 

Only the *, **, *** marked fields on the form at the link must be filled out by the applicant, and the "Tebellüğ Eden" section must be signed with the applicant's name, then it must be sent to our office by mail along with other required documents.

If the applicant is not subject to military service, there is no need to submit this document.

11- Declaration form

This form is only for students who will apply for a student loan to the Turkish Student Loan and Dormitories Institution (KYK). Students who will not apply for student loan do not need to provide this document.