Schools for Expat Children in Fethiye, Antalya and Bodrum: State, Private and International Options

Moving to the Turkish coast with children raises one question early: where will they go to school? Families in Fethiye, Antalya and Bodrum have three broad options: free state schools that teach in Turkish, fee-paying private Turkish schools, and international schools that only foreign nationals may attend. This guide explains how each works and how to enrol a foreign child, step by step. It reflects the position in November 2026.

Key points

• Schooling in Türkiye is compulsory for 12 years, in three four-year stages: primary school (ilkokul), middle school (ortaokul) and high school (lise).
• State schools are free, and foreign children who are legally resident can attend. Your child does not need to speak Turkish before enrolling.
• School records from abroad are recognised through an equivalence process (denklik) run by the provincial directorate of national education.
• International schools (milletlerarası okul) are by law open to foreign-national pupils only.
• The 2026-2027 school year runs from 14 September 2026 to 25 June 2027.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules and school places change, so check with the school and your local education directorate.

How the Turkish school system works

The system is often called "4+4+4": four years each of primary, middle and high school. The migration authority’s guide for foreigners says 12-year education is compulsory for all children aged 6 to 17 in Türkiye. Preschool for younger children is optional.

For the 2026-2027 year, ages were counted on 30 September 2026. Children aged 72 months or more had to be enrolled in grade 1. For children aged 69 to 71 months, parents could ask for a one-year delay. Children aged 66 to 68 months could start grade 1 at their parents’ request.

The Ministry of National Education (MEB) sets one calendar for the whole country. For 2026-2027:

• First day of school: 14 September 2026
• Autumn break: 16-20 November 2026
• Winter (semester) break: 25 January to 5 February 2027
• Spring break: 8-12 March 2027
• Last day of school: 25 June 2027

Lessons in state schools are in Turkish and follow the national curriculum.

Step 1: Get your residence permit and address in order

The migration authority states that a child must be legally staying in Türkiye to use the right to education. In practice, schools register pupils in e-Okul, the ministry’s online student system, using the child’s foreigner identity number (yabancı kimlik numarası, YKN). This number is on the residence permit card and starts with 99 or 98.

State schools mostly place pupils by registered address, so make sure your address is recorded in the national address system. In October 2026 the ministry ordered fixes for some e-Okul problems affecting foreign pupils, including address mismatches and sibling transfers. We covered this in our report on how the education ministry moves to ease school registration for foreign children.

See also our guides to registering your address as a foreigner and renewing a residence permit in 2026.

Step 2: Prepare school records from abroad

If your child has been at school abroad, the completed grade must be recognised. This is called equivalence (denklik). It is governed by the MEB Equivalence Regulation (Denklik Yönetmeliği), published in the Official Gazette on 9 July 2024.

In Türkiye, equivalence is handled by provincial directorates of national education (il millî eğitim müdürlüğü), plus some district directorates the ministry designates. For our three areas, these are the Muğla directorate (Fethiye and Bodrum) and the Antalya directorate. You can also start online at e-Denklik (edenklik.meb.gov.tr).

The regulation lists these documents:

• An application form, filled in on e-Denklik.
• For primary level, the certified report card for the last year completed, or a leaving certificate.
• For middle and high school, earlier report cards or transcripts, and for grade 9, proof that primary education was completed.
• A Turkish translation, made by a notary or approved by a Turkish embassy or consulate.
• An apostille on the document, or approval from the issuing country’s education or foreign ministry or embassy. The regulation states this for graduation documents. Ask your directorate whether it also wants an apostille on report cards.
• An identity or residence document for the child.

Bring originals as well as copies. Getting documents apostilled before you leave home saves time.

Step 3: Apply to the school or district directorate

The migration authority guide says families apply through the directorate of national education where they live, and children usually go to a school near home. In Fethiye and Bodrum this is the district directorate (ilçe millî eğitim müdürlüğü). In Antalya, it is your district’s directorate, such as Muratpaşa or Konyaaltı.

Take:

• The child’s passport and residence permit (with YKN)
• A parent’s passport and residence permit
• Proof of address
• The equivalence document or the school records from Step 2

If documents are missing mid-year, the regulation allows a child to attend temporarily on the parent’s written statement of country, school and grade. The parent must then bring the documents within three months.

Step 4: Placement by age and level

Grade placement starts from the child’s age. The regulation uses Turkey’s school starting age to match foreign years to Turkish grades. A child with an unbroken school record is placed in the grade shown on the equivalence document. Parents may ask in writing for placement one grade lower, which some families choose when Turkish is weak.

A level test (seviye tespit sınavı) is used mainly where documents are missing because of war, disaster or asylum. It is not given for grades 1-4: younger children are placed by age and the parent’s statement. For grades 5-8 it covers Turkish and maths. For high school it covers the compulsory subjects of the chosen track.

Step 5: Turkish-language support

The migration authority is clear that children cannot be refused a school place because they do not speak Turkish. In 2025 the ministry adopted a programme for teaching Turkish to foreign pupils in primary, middle and high school (Yabancılara Türkçe Öğretimi Programı), covering levels from pre-A1 to B1.

What is available varies by school. Ask the principal about extra Turkish lessons, and consider a tutor for the first months. Public education centres (halk eğitim merkezi) also run Turkish courses, often free, mainly for adults.

Private Turkish schools

Private schools (özel okul, often called kolej) are licensed by MEB, follow the national curriculum and set their own fees. Classes tend to be smaller, and many add more English. Foreign children enrol with the same documents as for state schools.

If you are considering a private school, ask each school how many lessons are in English, what help it gives non-Turkish speakers, and for its fees in writing.

International schools: who can attend

Turkey’s Private Education Institutions Law (No. 5580) defines international schools (milletlerarası özel öğretim kurumu) as schools that only foreign-national pupils may attend. A pupil who becomes a Turkish citizen while enrolled may finish the current school stage there. Enrolling Turkish citizens at an international school can lead to sanctions and the loss of the school’s licence.

This matters for mixed families. If your child holds Turkish citizenship, including alongside another nationality, an international school will generally not be an option. Ask the school and the directorate before you plan around one.

The ministry is also acting against unlicensed schools. In August 2024 it announced that two French schools operating without legal status would take no new Turkish pupils. In April 2026 it told provincial directorates to check whether Turkish pupils attended schools running without permission. Before paying a deposit, ask any school for its MEB licence and check with the provincial directorate’s private education department.

Schools in Fethiye, Antalya and Bodrum

We tried to find foreign-curriculum international schools in Fethiye, Antalya and Bodrum that we could confirm are operating in 2026-2027, using the schools’ own websites or ministry lists. We could not confirm any, so we do not name any here. Some online directory entries are clearly out of date or wrong.

How to check what is available locally:

1. Contact the private education department (özel öğretim kurumları) of the Muğla or Antalya provincial directorate, at mugla.meb.gov.tr or antalya.meb.gov.tr, and ask which licensed international and private schools operate in your district.
2. Visit the school, and ask to see its licence and its admissions rules for foreign pupils.
3. Ask other parents locally which schools take younger children, as some private schools only cover older grades.

For more on each area, see our guides to living in Fethiye, living in Antalya and living in Bodrum. For the wider move, use our moving to Turkey checklist for 2026.

Home-schooling and online schools

We found no MEB rule that recognises home-schooling as an alternative to school for children of compulsory age. Turkish law (Laws No. 222 and 1739) requires children of primary age to attend Turkish primary schools, and older children to attend ministry-supervised schools. We could not find an official statement on how these rules apply to foreign families whose children follow online schools from abroad. Ask your district directorate in writing first.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Are state schools free for foreign children?

A: Yes. State primary and secondary schools charge no tuition, and the ministry provides free textbooks. Your child must be legally resident, which in practice means holding a residence permit.

Q: Does my child need to speak Turkish to enrol?

A: No. Children cannot be refused a place for not speaking Turkish. Teaching is in Turkish, though, so plan for extra lessons.

Q: Can we enrol our child at an international school?

A: Only if your child is a foreign national. Law No. 5580 limits international schools to foreign pupils, and schools face sanctions for enrolling Turkish citizens.

Q: Where do we get school records from abroad recognised?

A: At the provincial directorate of national education, which acts as the equivalence centre, or online through e-Denklik. Bring originals with notarised Turkish translations, and an apostille where one is required.

Q: What if our child has no school records?

A: Primary-age children (grades 1-4) are placed by age and the parent’s statement, with no test. Where older children’s records are missing because of war, disaster or asylum, the school runs a level test. In other cases, ask the directorate how it will place your child.

Planning a move with your family? Download our free property guide for a step-by-step checklist.

Sources

• Compulsory 12-year education in three 4-year stages for children aged 6 to 17; must be legally staying to use right to education; registration via provincial/district directorate, documents, children usually placed near home; no placement test at primary; e-Denklik; children cannot be refused for not speaking Turkish; free state schools and textbooks; private schools set own fees; public education centre Turkish courses (Presidency of Migration Management, ‘Education System in Türkiye’ brochure)
• 2026-2027 school calendar: start 14 Sept 2026, breaks 16-20 Nov 2026, 25 Jan-5 Feb 2027, 8-12 March 2027, end 25 June 2027 (MEB, 13 June 2026)
• 2026-2027 school starting age rules, ages counted on 30 Sept 2026: 72+ months compulsory, 69-71 months may be postponed by petition, 66-68 months optional (Saray District Directorate of National Education)
• MEB Denklik Yönetmeliği, Official Gazette 9 July 2024, No. 32597: equivalence centres are provincial directorates; documents; three-month temporary attendance; level test not given for grades 1-4; placement by age (Alomaliye)
• Denklik Yönetmeliği full text: Art. 4(3) temporary attendance, Art. 5 documents (translation, apostille, identity/residence document), Art. 6 age basis, Art. 13 continuous records, Art. 14 one grade lower on request, Art. 15 level test subjects (Diyarbakır Bar Association copy)
• Law No. 5580 on Private Education Institutions, Art. 2 and 5: international schools only for foreign-national pupils; pupils who become Turkish citizens may finish the stage; Art. 7 sanctions for enrolling Turkish citizens (Lexpera)
• MEB statement on international, minority and foreign schools and unlicensed French schools; no new Turkish pupils (MEB, 10 Aug 2024)
• MEB instruction to provincial directorates on Turkish pupils at unauthorised schools; Laws 222 and 1739 on school attendance (Daily Sabah, 6 April 2026)
• MEB Turkish-teaching programme for foreign pupils at primary, middle and high school levels, pre-A1 to B1 (NTV, 10 Aug 2025)
• Foreigner identity numbers beginning with 99 or 98 (Ministry of Labour and Social Security, 10 May 2023)
• MEB letter on e-Okul registration barriers for foreign pupils (Eğitimge, Oct 2026)

Photo: Janlight / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons