Guide to Get a Residence Permit in Turkey 2024
Turkey is an attractive country for many people with its deep-rooted history, rich culture, and natural beauties. Anatolia invites many foreigners to live with its geographical location and mild climate. If you plan to stay longer than 90 days to work, study or enjoy the beauty of Turkey, you must obtain a residence permit.
Global Mobility Turkey, with its 5 years of experience in the field of consultancy and serving thousands of customers, prepared what is Residence Permit and how to get Residence Permit in Turkey> article for you. If you want to live in Turkey for a long time, you can find the types of residence permits and the fastest way to get residence permit below.
Let's start!
Table of contents
- Residence Permit
- Residence Permit Types
- Obtaining a Residence Permit
- Residence Permit and Card Fees in 2024
- What is a Residence Permit?
- What are Turkey's Residence Permit Types?
- Short Term Residence Permit
Foreigners who want to obtain a short-term residence permit card must meet the requirements, stated in the law. The first condition is that Turkish Law must cover the purpose of the foreigner's stay in Turkey. Education, tourism, investment, health or family can be counted among these purposes. Short-term residence permit can be issued for a maximum of 2 years.
- Tourism Residence Permit
- Immovable Property Owners Residence Permit
- Commercial Purpose or Company Establisment Residence Permit
- Investment Residence Permit
- Other Residence Permit Types
Foreigners who will stay in Turkey longer than the visa or visa exemption period can apply for a Short-Term Residence Permit for Tourism Purposes. If they cannot meet the reasons for their stay specified in the law, tourist residence can be applied. You can find our comprehensive article on Short Term Residence Permit for Tourism Purposes here.
Foreigners, who own real estates who meet certain conditions, can apply for a short-term residence permit. Short-term residence permit for immovable purposes can be obtained for 2 years. You can find our comprehensive article on the Short-Term Residence Permit for Immovable Property here.
Foreigners, who want to establish a company in Turkey or who will do business with resident companies, can apply for a Short Term Residence Permit. You can find our comprehensive article on Short Term Residence Permit for Commercial Connections or Business Establishments here.
Foreigners who invest more than certain investment amounts in Turkey can obtain a Short-Term Residence Permit. You can find our comprehensive article on Short-Term Residence Permit for Investors here.
Foreigners who come to Turkey for scientific research, Turkish language learning, treatment and education or upon the request of the Judicial or Administrative authorities can apply for a Short Term Residence Permit.
- Family Residence Permit
- Student Residence Permit
- Long Term Residence Permit
- Humanitarian Residence Permit
- Victims of Human Trafficking Residence Permit
- How to Get Residence Permit from Turkey?
- How Much is the Residence Permit Fee and Card Fee in 2024?
Residence permit is a document given to those, who want to stay in Turkey longer than the visa period. Foreigners who want to stay legally in Turkey longer than the visa or visa exemption period (maximum 90 days) are required to obtain a residence permit. According to Turkish Law there is no visa extension method inside the country.
According to the Foreigners and International Protection Law No. 6458 , the types of residence permits are specified. In this context, persons who want to obtain a residence permit must apply for a residence permit type that meets the conditions specified in the law.
Residence permits have some special conditions and requirements. If you are asking what is the easiest type of residence permit, you can find the types of residence permits in the rest of our article.
Global Mobility Turkey frequently receives such questions, which residence permit should I apply for, which residence permit is the easiest to be taken, how can I get a residence permit in the fastest way from foreigners, who want to obtain a residence permit in Turkey. In order to give a clear answer to these questions, the types of residence permits should be known very well. There are 6 types of residence permits in Turkey.
If you are unsure about which type of residence to apply for, you can take our Free 3-minute quiz below. If you wish, you can contact us by filling out our contact form at the bottom of the page.
Within the scope of Article 28 of Law No. 5901, family members of Turkish citizens and foreigners who have a work permit or have resided in Turkey for at least 1 year are granted a Family Residence Permit under certain conditions.
Residence permits are granted to foreigners who will receive associate, bachelor's, master's or doctorate education in Turkey. Also foreigners who will continue their education in Turkey can get residence permit for education purpose under certain conditions.
Permanent, in other words Long Term, Residence Permit is given to foreigners who have stayed in Turkey for at least 8 years uninterruptedly or who meet the conditions determined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Foreigners with humanitarian status, specified in the law, can obtain a Humanitarian Residence Permit for the periods determined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, without seeking the conditions in other residence permits.
A 30-day residence permit is given to foreigners who are victims of human trafficking, or who are likely to be, so that they can decide to cooperate with the authorities.
We mentioned that foreign nationals who want to stay in Turkey for a long time need to obtain a residence permit. Questions like how to get a residence permit, what are the documents required to obtain a residence permit, how can I make an appointment from Provincial Directorates of Immigration, how to make an application inquiry to the Immigration Administration, what is e-residency, how to make a foreign residence permit inquiry are frequently asked to our Global Mobility Turkey Team by foreigners who want to obtain a residence permit in Turkey. You can find comprehensive answers to all these questions and more under this title.
First of all, it should be noted that obtaining a residence permit is not an easy process. As in every official process, we should not forget that foreign residence application procedures also require competence. Global Mobility Turkey offers you all kinds of support with its experienced and competent staff gained over many years in the sector. We support you in determining the most suitable residence permit type, preparing the necessary documents for obtaining residence, applying for a residence permit, querying for a residence permit and following up the application.
The basic requirements of obtaining a residence permit are that the foreigner enters Turkey legally and has a valid passport. After that, the most suitable type of residence is determined, and applications are made through the e-residence (e-ikamet) system of the Presidency of Migration Management.
What is e-Residency (e-İkamet)?
e-Residency (e-İkamet) is the name of the system used for the online portal prepared by the Presidency of Migration Management. It can be accessed at https://e-ikamet.goc.gov.tr/. You can apply for a residence permit from the e-Residency (e-İkamet) portal, make an appointment to extend your current residence, or apply for a change of residence permit type/city of residence.
After the residence permit application is made via e-Residency (e-İkamet), the appointment date for document delivery is notified via SMS and e-mail. The Presidency of Migration Management has a Provincial Directorate of Migration Management in each province. While the residence permit appointment date in Ankara and Istanbul provinces is determined by e-Residency (e-İkamet), the applicants can choose the appointment date in other provinces. Click here for the contact information of the Provincial Directorate General of Migration Management.
The documents required for a residence permit may differ depending on the type of residence to be applied for. For example, the "Immovable Valuation Report", requested from foreigners who own real estate in Turkey, is not required for other types of residence. In general, a photocopy of passport, biometric photograph taken within the last 6 months, receipt of application fee payment, address certificate and insurance policy can be counted among the documents required for residence permit. For more detailed information on the documents required for residence, you can fill the contact form below the page.
The foreigner must be in Turkey when applying for residence via e-residence. Document delivery for residence permit can be made by the foreigner's representative. However, Provincial Directorates of Immigration Authorities has the right to call the applicant personally. In this case, the foreigner him/herself must be present at the Provincial Immigration Administration appointment date.
Provincial Directorates of Immigration Authorities makes an evaluation after receiving the necessary documents for the residence permit. During the evaluation period, the foreigner can go out of Turkey, not exceeding 15 days, only if by obtaining an Travel Permit. Foreigners can enter Turkey with an Travel Permit without the need for a visa.
The residence permit application can be made through the e-Residency (e-İkamet), which is the application page of the Immigration Administration. Information. Applicants can trach their application and residence card printing status from e-Residency (e-İkamet) page under the ‘Application Registration In Progress’ section.
If any of required documents is missing, to obtain a residence permit, the missing documents must be completed within 30 days. Provincial Directorates of Immigration evaluate the residence card application and notify the result to applicant by SMS or e-mail.
In cases where the residence application is rejected, an objection can be made, and legal rights can be used within 60 days. In general, foreigners whose residence permit is rejected must leave Turkey within 10 days and cannot apply again within six months for the same reason. For this reason, it is very important to make the residence application correctly and completely at the first time.
Global Mobility Turkey assists you in making your application accurate and complete. Our company also has consultancy services in extending the current residence permit. You can take your place among our customers who have successfully completed the residence permit process.
Fees and other payments made to public institutions are updated at the beginning of each year. The residence permit fee and card fee for 2024 have been clarified. In order to obtain a residence permit, you must pay the residence permit fee and card fee before going to the Provincial Directorates of Migration appointment. While the residence permit card fee is fixed, the residence permit fees vary according to the requested residence period and the nationality of the foreigner.*
| Residence Permit Card Fee 2024 |
|---|
| 565.00 TL |
* Citizens of the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Kosovo, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Syria and Turkmenistan do not pay residence permit fees..
** Residence permit fees are paid in half for children.
*** Foreign students studying in Turkey are exempt from the residence permit fee.
| Single Entry Visa Fee** |
|---|
| 5,476.80 TL |
Foreigners who come to Turkey with visa exemption must also pay a single entry visa fee in their residence permit applications.
Countries exempt from single entry visa fee: Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, South Africa, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, TRNC, Luxembourg, Malta, Russian Federation
**Foreign students studying in Turkey are exempt from the single entry visa fee.
