Thinking of staying in Türkiye for a while and want to file a first-time residence permit application? That’s lovely to hear! Before getting too excited however, we should note that while this guide breaks down a typical short-term first-time residence permit application (generally for touristic purposes), that the actual approval rates for such an application are very low at the moment. In Istanbul particularly, the chances of an approval for touristic purposes are nearly 0%. Outside of Istanbul, chances are higher, but the hard truth is that there seems to be a concentrated effort to reduce the number of foreigners in the country.
A completed application requires a lot of money, time, and emotional investment. Keep this in mind when weighing your options.
Alternative approaches would be to enroll in a Ministry of Education approved language school or university, or if your circumstances allow it, apply for a work permit or family permit. However, we know that many people will still wish to try their chances for a short-term touristic permit, so this guide details most of the details for first-time applications.
Renewal applications, essentially extending the duration of an existing residence permit, have a higher approval rate, but do have some key differences. We will share a separate guide on this process.
All online applications should be done through the Directorate of General Migration Management (Göç İdaresi).
What constitutes a first-time residence permit application?
A first-time residence permit application is most commonly for individuals who have arrived in Türkiye and wish to extend their stay beyond the permitted duration of their visa (or visa-free, visa-exemption, etc. window). These are always recognized as ‘short-term’ permit types. This guide will largely focus on short-term ‘touristic’ permit types, for individuals over the age of 18 who are renting accommodation in Türkiye, which are overwhelmingly the most common application type.
It should be noted that ‘Family’, ‘Turkish Language Learning’, ‘University Student’, ‘Work’, and other permit types, while typically requiring additional requisites and paperwork, all have ‘first-time’ variants and nearly everything covered here will be required for those application types as well.
If applying for ‘Humanitarian’, ‘Asylum’, ‘Protection Status’, and other similar types of permits, we strongly recommend you contacting a professional in this area, as this is outside our scope.
Important Note: We will continue to use the terms “permit” and “visa” within this guide. These are commonly confused terms when reading quickly, so please be sure to keep in mind the distinction.
Who can apply for a first-time residence permit?
Foreigners in Türkiye in the country on valid documentation (visa, visa-free window, visa-exemption window, etc.) can apply from within Türkiye before the expiration of their documentation. The entirety of the online application must be submitted (reaching the confirmation page) before the expiration of said documentation.
There are unfortunately no exceptions to this requisite, and it is impossible to proceed with filing an application if one’s documentation is past the window of eligibility.
If approved, how long can a person stay on a first-time residence permit?
The most common application types request a duration of one year, and in nearly all cases, we are recommending applicants request the full duration of one year when filing the application. The standard permit types have a maximum limit of one year that can be requested for first-time applications.
In practice, the authorities are commonly giving less than the duration that applicants are requesting. For example, an individual applying for a short-term touristic residence permit for one year, will frequently receive durations of nine months or six months instead of the full year.
The decision is entirely up to the discretion of the anonymous bureaucratic official assigned to your case, and there is no way to guarantee the full duration requested will be granted.
Important reminder: There must be at least 60 days of validity on your passport beyond the date of your requested residence permit application duration. As first-time applications are typically for a year’s duration, please be sure that you have validity of at least 425 days/14 months on your passport from the date when you plan to apply.
What are the core basics of the application, review, and decision process?
The core aspects of the application process largely consist of:
- Filing the online application in its entirety – We are advising to file and prepare all documentation in advance of filing the application, unless specific circumstances dictate otherwise.
- Receiving your appointment – While sometimes you are given your appointment details at the conclusion of filing the online application, typically these are actually sent to you via text message/email within a few days or weeks of submitting the online application. Any last-minute paperwork needed for the appointment can be arranged in this window. Reminder: Generally, especially in bigger cities, you cannot choose the date or even the location of your appointment. Flexibility and patience is important here.
- Attending the appointment – Appointment dates are non-negotiable and it’s extremely important that you attend punctually to the appointment.
- Supplemental Materials – This guide aims to help prepare the most common materials required for a successful submission in advance, so ideally this ends up not being part of the process. However, the authorities will occasionally ask for supplemental paperwork to be submitted outside the scope of a normal application. This can be something like going to the hospital and getting a health report, going to the local justice offices and getting a criminal record, etc. While uncommon, if supplemental material is requested, clients should receive paperwork stating they have a window of time to return with the documents (usually 30 days).
- Receiving the decision – Typically a decision will be texted to you within a few weeks of submitting all the paperwork.
If approved, you will need to wait until your residence permit card arrives via registered cargo.
If declined, you will need to visit a particular immigration office and receive your exit paperwork, which grants 10 days to prepare and depart from Türkiye. (We suggest calling 157 to confirm which office will issue this paperwork based on your appointment place and address.)
Important Reminder: You are legally protected to continue to stay in Türkiye beyond the expiration of your visa as the application process resolves itself. However, you should plan to stay in Türkiye until the very end of the application process. Specifically, you should not plan to leave Türkiye without physically having received your residence permit card or until you have received the physical paperwork provided to you from their offices after a rejection.
That said, you are not protected from receiving a fine for an overstay, or a ban, when exiting the country in the event that your application is rejected and have overstayed as a result.
If you attempt to leave Türkiye without still being on a valid visa and in the middle of the residence permit application process, they will almost certainly fine (and possibly ban) you when leaving, and it may ultimately end up canceling your application process.
What are the requirements/What should I prepare for the online application and appointment?
We will break down everything we believe is necessary for a successful submission in the hopes of only requiring one visit to the immigration offices. As a result, some of the paperwork we mention as part of our guide are not clearly outlined in the list of required submissions for an appointment. However, they are requested as supplemental material frequently enough that we think it necessary to mention them outright to avoid complications and repeat visits. (Or potentially, they will be requested for future renewals, so it’s ideal to go ahead and have it in your records.)
Be sure that you have an active Turkish cell phone number registered in your name capable of receiving text messages throughout the entirety of the process. The online system faces many technical issues, and text messages are the most reliable method of proceeding.
We will outline everything typically needed for the appointment itself below, under the assumption everything will be/was prepared prior to submitting the online application. Applicants should have originals (to keep for themselves) and color copies (when applicable) or standard copies of every individual document to provide to the immigration authorities.
Applicants should attend the appointment with:
- Full online application form print-out (in color)
- Proof of residence documentation:
- Notarized rental contract
- Copy of landlord’s ‘tapu’*
- Copy of ‘numarataj’*
- Copy of earthquake insurance policy on accommodation*
- Most recent utility bill of gas/water/electricity featuring the address and landlord’s name
- Copy of the landlord’s Turkish ID (color)*
- Health insurance policy documentation covering duration of requested stay (in color)
- Copy of passport information/photo page (in color)
- Copy of most recent passport entry stamp (in color)
- Visa (or visa free) documentation with which they entered the country, typically an e-visa (in color if applicable)
- 4 biometric photos from a Turkish photo studio matching the same high resolution photo included in the online application
- Invoice of payment for taxes and card fee related to the application
- Pink folder (usually received outside appointment place or its nearest market) to neatly place all these documents
- Bookings for flights and hotels reflecting future travel plans in Türkiye*
- Bank statement*
We will elaborate on most of these requisites for the sake of clarity.
What are the requirements for ‘proof of residence’ and what should I know about preparing for it?
Undoubtedly the most comprehensive and complicated aspect of the application process, all individuals requesting a residence permit should demonstrate that they have a permanent address in Türkiye for the duration of their residence permit request.
In almost all cases, hotels and AirBnBs are unable to meet the necessary requirements. Flat-shares are also typically not suitable as you will usually find that you cannot arrange to get your name on the lease agreement.
In short, individuals will usually need to formally rent an entire flat, as they will need to ultimately provide several documents related to proof of residence. It is absolutely critical that accommodations are not located within one of the many restricted neighborhoods for foreigners. There are many online resources covering what neighborhoods are restricted, so always be sure to look these up before considering rentals in various neighborhoods.
We very clearly want to emphasize that renters should ensure they get all the documentation mentioned here together at once, at the same time as they are signing the contract for their accommodation. If a landlord seems uninterested in providing paperwork for an accommodation or is attempting to postpone offering paperwork mentioned here, we strongly recommend reconsidering renting from them.
Our guide does encourage getting paperwork that is likely not going to be requested for a first-time application. However, it may be requested as supplemental paperwork depending on the discretion of the assigned officer to your case, or it may be requested at a future renewal appointment. So in short, we recommend trying to collect everything we mention here.
If you try to arrange it later and your landlord needs to be involved, they will often try to leverage the situation to get more rent or realize they can muscle you out of your accommodation.
On the day of signing, applicants should be sure they also are arranging and receive:
- A notarized rental contract – This will require your name being on a standard rental contract (usually for one year and which automatically renews) that has been approved by a notary (relevant stamps and signatures). This typically means going to notary with the landlord at the time of signing your rental contract. Some important notes:
- Take your landlord to a notary that has an attached ‘tercüme’ (translator), as you will be required to translate your passport there before being able to include it with the rental contract notary documentation. [Tip: You can request an additional translated copy or two of your passport if affordable, as you will often need these for various bureaucratic processes in Türkiye.]
- It is important to know that the notary process will often cost several thousand Turkish Lira, and that the applicant (not the landlord) is expected to pay these fees. The exact amount involves a number of factors, primarily related to the amount of rent being paid. You will essentially be paying for a copy for yourself (always keep the original and use copies in future bureaucratic processes) and a copy for your landlord.
- It is important to know that at the end of the notary process you are meant to write a statement in Turkish that states you understood and accepted everything in the documents being notarized. If they feel your Turkish is not at a level to do this, they will often require you to use their translator (for an additional fee).
- If trying to avoid this extra cost, we suggest chatting with your landlord or real estate agent in advance and asking them to do most of the talking at the notary to cover for this. A professional real estate agent will usually join for the notarization process and might be more accommodating to helping you with this.
- Make sure your landlord is coming to the notary with the other documentation mentioned here and anything relevant to their ownership of the property, as they will often ask to see things like the ‘tapu’ (title deed), earthquake policy, Turkish ID, etc.
- An earthquake insurance policy that covers the accommodation, at least for a year. This will state DASK on the policy itself and should feature your address on it.
- Most landlords will already have the insurance coverage as it is technically their obligation to do so. However, some will try to have the tenant cover the costs. This is not technically your responsibility, but often for the sake of negotiations, tenants sometimes cover the fee.
- Utility bills (and optionally any documentation they want to give related to the utilities) – As you are not legally permitted to put a utility in your name without a residence permit, it’s important that the utilities are on and in your landlord’s name until you can make the switch to your name after a residence permit approval and receiving your card. (If they are not turned on, landlords can typically turn them on easily via the online e-devlet system.) You will need to take a recent utility bill for gas, electricity, or water with you to the appointment (and a color copy).
- A color copy of your landlord’s standard Turkish identity card
- A color copy (if relevant) of their ‘tapu’. This is essentially the title deed to the accommodation. This will typically also be included in the notarized documents you receive, but we suggest requesting a separate copy just in case.
- Paperwork for ‘numarataj’ – This is technically a supplemental bit of paperwork, but is requested with significantly increased frequency as of 2023. It is too detailed of a process to adequately cover in this document, but we do suggest at least mentioning it to them and getting a sense of their willingness to help with this. In short, while a tenant is technically able to receive it themselves, it is much easier and faster to simply have your landlord arrange it with you. The numarataj should feature your name in it, in which case, we do actually advise for you both to go together and receive it for the sake of simplicity and so they can include your name. If your landlord isn’t keen on attending with you, you can likely still receive it on your own, assuming you have all of the above paperwork listed here… but this unfortunately is up to the discretion of the municipality worker you end up dealing with.
Ideally everything mentioned here can be arranged with your landlord without too much of an issue, and will likely cover everything you need from them for your application and future renewals if remaining at the same flat. (Be sure to save everything!)
Important Note: This only covers what is relevant to your appointment in regards to the accommodation paperwork. Please be sure to carefully consider the many other usual aspects of choosing your accommodation.
Are there any alternatives to renting a flat for the ‘proof of residence’ requisite?
In short, yes, but the approval rates in our experience are so low and circumstances becoming increasingly complicated, that we cannot really suggest them with any genuine sense of optimism that it will translate into an approved application.
The most common alternative is a ‘taahhütname’, which is essentially finding a sponsor to host you in their residence and to put in writing at a notary that they will basically take on full responsibility and any and all risks associated with having you live in Türkiye. There are many complications to this process (such as notaries often requiring that the landlord also be informed and sign, restrictions on number of nationalities living together, etc.), so please make sure you have up-to-date intel when going this route.
Important Note: You are meant to actively be living/based out of the accommodation you put forward for ‘proof of residence’. Immigration police will often double check these places to ensure you are living there. If they deem that you have lied, your permit will be immediately canceled.
What should I know about health insurance for the residence permit application?
We strongly recommend arranging your health insurance policy to start on the exact same day that you plan to file the online application. This is because the duration of your residence permit request can only extend as far as the duration of your health insurance coverage in Türkiye, and policies are typically for one year.
Health insurance for residence permit purposes is, in truth, not particularly comprehensive. The health insurance company must be from a recognized list of Turkish providers and coverage is issued per year of coverage. Once you receive your residence permit card, you are then eligible and can then apply for more comprehensive options of coverage.
For a quick and easy insurance price quote, please fill out our form. The entire process can be done online, remotely.
If continuing with our health insurance policy, you only need to print the first four pages in color for the purposes of your appointment.
What should I know about the biometric photo requisite?
You must submit four photos of yourself meeting specific biometric requisites with your paperwork submission, as well as upload a high resolution matching image to the online application form. The photo must be taken within the last 90 days.
By far the easiest method is to simply visit one of the many boutique photo studios scattered all over Türkiye, almost all of which have experience with this. You will take the photo there, you can inform them it’s for a residence permit appointment, and then have them send you a high resolution version of the photo either via email or take a flash drive. The whole process should be relatively quick.
Receiving a high resolution photo is important, as the online photo uploader on the application form can be extremely picky in what type of photo it accepts. You’ll often need to tinker with the dimensions and crop the image for the photo to be accepted. (If you have a small photo file and not the high res version, you may end up being unable to have a successful upload.)
What should I know about providing proof I paid the taxes and fees related to the application and card printing?
At the conclusion of your online application, you will be given a sort of payment number (labeled ‘Tahakkuk No Accrue No’ in the application printout) and amount in total that is due. The total fee is paid either in person at your local tax office (Google ‘vergi dairesi’ and go to your nearest one), or can be paid online via a tax services portal, but is limited to a very small number of payment options it accepts (which excludes most online credit cards). Either way, you will be issued a receipt which you can then include in your documentation.
What should I know about the requisite in regards to preparing travel documentation such as flights and hotel reservations within Türkiye?
While there is no official statement on this to which we can refer you, it has increasingly become common practice for law firms and consultancy agencies to build stronger applications by encouraging clients to make travel reservations within Türkiye and then include those reservations and a basic travel itinerary as supplemental materials to include in their application submission. In general, the only type of paperwork accepted shows proof of payment already given.
This is especially true for applications where the purpose of stay is ‘tourism’, but in general, there is nothing to discourage anyone from including this as a supplemental reason for stay. Flights and hotel reservations in particular are common to include, but you may want to ensure you choose cancellable/refundable options in case you are not approved or ultimately are unable to go on the trip.
What should I know about ‘proof of income/finances’ and bank statements?
In the application form itself, there is a page and several fields in regards to declaring your financial means of stay in Türkiye. You as an individual must decide what you feel comfortable with for this.
That said, we can offer a bit more detail on how this section works. You are meant to truthfully declare a monthly budget for your time in Türkiye relevant to the overall duration of your stay.
In ALL cases, with the exception of a work permit, you are not permitted to actually be earning a monthly income from work in Türkiye. Most individuals who are coming to Türkiye are putting ‘savings’ or ‘family’ as their income source, while some individuals do end up choosing to mention passive or remote work (located outside Türkiye) as income sources.
Regardless, you should at minimum, have the means to cover slightly more than 1.5x the Turkish minimum wage per month of your stay. This means having records of this expendable amount individually available for each month reflected in the bank statement.
To complicate things a bit, this section that you fill in on the form serves as a “financial statement” of sorts, and will often suffice as all the paperwork needed for the application. Or rather, no paperwork at all, as you have declared this financial statement on the form.
However, in some cases, and with increasing frequency, they are requesting bank statements from applicants that cover at least the last six months of transactions. For first-time applications, this is from an international bank in your home country. It should typically be signed and stamped by the bank itself and then apostilled (which depends on individual countries and can usually be arranged via your consulate/embassy here), and then translated and notarized within Türkiye.
The bank statement itself is requested with enough frequency that we feel obligated to mention it. However, it really depends on luck as to whether or not they request it as supplementary material. That said, if requested, the monthly budget should be present within the last six months of transactions shown on the bank statement. (Be wary of having your bank statement with the most recent dates too early prior to your appointment, which is understandably frustrating for those planning ahead before arriving in Türkiye.)
What else should I know about filing the application and additional conditions?Applicants are typically meant to file their online residence permit application themselves. Near the conclusion of the application, the applicant must tick several boxes confirming that:
I have sufficient financial means to cover my stay.
I have a passport that is valid to cover my stay and an additional 60 days.
I do not have a disease that threatens public health.
I have housing conditions in accordance with health and safety standards.
I have health insurance that covers the length of my stay.
I declare that I will not use my permit for any purpose not stated.
I declare I will not work without a work permit.
I declare that I have not changed my name or surname.
I declare I am residing at the address I stated.
I declare I will pay any fees associated with overstaying or violation of laws.
I do not have a criminal record.
The applicant should also note if any of the following apply:
I have been rejected for a visa application before (Türkiye).
I have a residence permit application that was rejected before (Türkiye).
At the conclusion of the application, a .pdf is provided which the applicant should review to ensure all inputs are correct. (In the event a major error is present, you can cancel the application and reapply if done while still on a valid visa/visa-exemption. However we recommending doing this only once, as the system will not permit repeat cancellations beyond two.)
What should I expect at my appointment itself?
Unless working with a law firm that has power of attorney granted to one of their staff for this purpose, you will not be able to enter the appointment area with anybody else, such as a friend or translator.
Be prepared for nobody to speak English throughout the entirety of the process. Thankfully, the steps are fairly straight-forward and this should not be a major issue. In fact, it is less of an “interview” and more of them simply taking your paperwork from you, making sure you match your passport and photo submissions, quickly looking through everything, requesting supplemental paperwork if deemed necessary, and then giving you papers which either confirm your complete submission or highlight what they would like for you to return with. They have thousands of individuals a day to get through, so they will almost certainly not ask anything complicated. Unfortunately, this also means that you will not have an opportunity to elaborate on your application or clarify anything beyond minor typos or changes in your form.
Be sure to keep any paperwork they give you, especially if they request any supplemental paperwork for you to return with. You will not be able to enter the building and return to submit your supplemental materials if the paperwork is lost. Additionally, the paperwork for a completed submission is useful for ensuring you are able to prove you are still waiting for results if stopped by the authorities for any reason while not having a valid visa in play.
Finally, one other thing to note…
What should I do with this questionnaire that was given to me at my appointment?
As of 2023, and especially in recent months, many applicants have been given an additional piece of paperwork to fill at the conclusion of their appointment. It is not exactly a ‘supplemental material’, but rather additional details they would like from you before they confirm everything has been submitted. Unfortunately, there are minor discrepancies between similar versions of the questionnaire and it is, at least at the time of updating this guide, not possible to come with the document in advance.
They may encourage you to return another day with the questionnaire filled in. However, we encourage you to fill it in immediately and stay at the appointment center to complete your application. (You will perhaps have to go to a separate line for returning applicants and submit there, or try to convince them that you can fill it in just a few seconds while still at your interview.)
The form is quite brief and straight-forward, and should be easy enough to finalize with just a translation app.
They requested supplemental paperwork from me. Now what?
As mentioned above, make sure they give you the paperwork stating what type of supplemental paperwork they need and do not lose it.
There are many, many supplemental paperwork types that can be requested depending on the circumstances of the application being submitted. This must be resolved on a case by case basis.
They accepted my application submissions in full. Now what?
As mentioned above, make sure they give you the paperwork stating your submission was accepted and do not lose it.
Congratulations! This is a major victory!
You should be notified of the decision via text message in a matter of days, weeks, or potentially up to 90 days later. There is an online system where you can check for updates as well (but often lags behind text messages). We suggest keeping up with both and checking in with some frequency, particularly after 10 days or so has passed. It is unlikely, but possible, the system will be updated with a request for supplemental material.
I found out I was approved! How will I receive my card?
Your residence permit card will be delivered to the address that is listed under your ‘proof of residence’ in the application. You should receive a text detailing when the card is sent to you. A courier is meant to bring it to your home, where you will show them your passport and receive the card.
In many cases, you will receive a follow-up text via the cargo, saying that they weren’t able to deliver to your address, and that you must go pick up your card at your local PTT (post office) corresponding to that address. This is very common, even if it seems like they never actually tried to deliver to your address. Take your passport to your local branch to claim your residence permit card. The post offices in bigger neighborhoods are often very crowded, so we advise going as early as possible.
You must pick up your card as soon as possible (ideally within a day or two). If they deem that you have taken too long, they will send it back to the immigration authorities, which will complicate the entire process significantly.
I received my card! Now what?
Congratulations! You are meant to keep this card on your person as ID anytime you are outside your home. However, we suggest keeping a photocopy (and high resolution photos) somewhere safe.
You can now leave and enter Türkiye during the duration of your permit.
If you intend to renew your residence permit later on, some of the first things we suggest doing are opening a Turkish bank account and transferring your home utilities to your name. These will both prove immensely useful in your next application. The bank account in particular should have transfer records of you paying rent and utilities, so it is best to open this as early as possible.
You should also immediately register for an e-devlet account. Perhaps the most useful website for life in Türkiye and you’ll want to be sure your address is registered in the population system in the event you choose to renew.
Unfortunately my application was not approved. Now what?
We’re very sorry to hear about it. This is sadly a regular occurrence these days, even among the strongest of applications. It is likely the result of some internal quota policy by the immigration authorities, rather than anything you did as an individual. So please try not to take it personally.
We are very aware that an excessive amount of time, money, and effort goes into this application process. We wish we had something to offer that would help reduce the pain from such a decision.
As it stands, once you receive notice of your rejection, you must immediately go to the corresponding immigration office (call 157) and receive your 10-day departure notice. With this document, you will be able to exit the country with less of an issue at passport control or the visa offices, as long as you depart in the 10-day window. We suggest not waiting to go and receive this document, as they may create issues if they feel you’ve waited too long.
It is still possible that you will receive a fine (or potentially even a ban) even with the document, but in general, they tend to look upon having this documentation favorably and will often not fine the individual. This is entirely up to the discretion of the individual assigned to your exit.
We strongly advise not overstaying the 10-day window. It will negatively impact any future attempt to claim residency in Türkiye, and you will open yourself up to fines, bans, and possibly being detained within the country for some time.
Anything else?
We appreciate you taking the time to read this guide and familiarizing yourself with the details.
This is not meant to be a 100% comprehensive guide to the process, but rather a thorough breakdown of the typical application process. Exceptions may occur, complications can arise, and we encourage everyone to try to be patient throughout.
A good rule of thumb is to always leave an extra few days to deal with anything that has a deadline, and to arrive at any bureaucratic office early.
Best of luck with your application! While we aren’t able to respond to all inquiries, if you feel we can be of assistance with something, or have any feedback, feel free to write to us at help@yabangee.com.
