Obtaining a residence permit in Turkey: organizing and supporting the procedure. Service offer

Turkey has six categories of residence permit (Ikamet):

• Short-term residence permit;
• Long-term residence permit;
• Family residence permit;
• Student residence permit;
• Humanitarian residence permit;
• Residence permit for victims of human trafficking.

For those who wish to stay in Turkey other than for education purposes or as a family member of a Turkish citizen, the two main options are short-term and long-term residence permits. The long-term residence permit has an unlimited validity period, but can only be obtained if an individual has already permanently resided in Turkey for the last 8 years.

Therefore, those who are just arriving in the country need to apply for a short-term residence permit.

It is granted to the following categories of persons:

• Foreigners who arrive in Turkey for tourism purposes;
• Foreigners who intend to do business;
• Foreigners who own immovable property in Turkey;
• Foreign investors;
• Foreigners who arrive in Turkey for medical treatment;
• Foreigners who intend to take professional retraining courses, language courses, etc.
• Citizens of Northern Cyprus.

A short-term residence permit is issued for a period from 6 months to 2 years and can be extended. In each specific case, the period is determined at the discretion of the migration office employees, but having a lease agreement and insurance for two years will increase your chances of obtaining a residence permit for the maximum period.

The quickest and easiest way is to obtain a short-term residence permit as a tourist. It gives you the right to reside in, enter and leave the country during the entire validity period, but does not give you the right of employment.

To obtain a tourist residence permit, the following documents and information will be required:

1. Application form (submitted electronically, but necessarily from Turkey);
2. A copy of a passport;
3. Biometric photos (four), against a white background, not older than 6 months;
4. Proof of payment of the application fee (the amount may vary) and fee for making a plastic residence permit card;
5. Medical insurance (sigorta) for the entire period during which you would like to use the residence permit. It can be purchased either from the state insurance system or a private company;
6. A notarized copy of the lease agreement for accommodation in Turkey for a period of at least 6 months. Notarization must be arranged by the landlord and accompanied by copies of his ID card and title deed for the premises.

7. Travel itinerary for the period of your residence permit (this item included in the list of required information, but is not requested in practice);

8. Confirmation of your income that you indicate on the application. Such a document can be, for example, a certificate from the place of work indicating the salary or a statement of a personal bank account. There is no exact sufficient income established by regulation, but in practice a monthly income of USD 500 is acceptable.

There is a possibility, though not very large, that you will be asked to provide additional documents (for example, utility bills for the address of the rented property).

The procedure includes the following steps:

1. An electronic application is submitted.
2. You are invited to an interview at the migration office.
3. At the interview, you submit a signed application in paper form and other necessary documents. You can pay an application fee during the interview. If additional documents are requested or something is missing, they can be submitted later. The interview itself is usually short and not in-depth.
4. Within a maximum of 90 days, a plastic residence permit card is issued by the migration office and delivered by messenger to your address in Turkey. During this period, you have the right to stay in Turkey.

[1] The fees are valid as of November 2024.