Residence Permit Turkey | ikamet tezkeresi

If you are a foreigner who would like to reside in Turkey, you will need to apply for a residence permit before expiry date of your Turkey visa or visa exemption period. According to the Law on Residence and Travels of Foreigners, it is a must to make such application within 1 month as from your arrival of Turkey and without taking any employment. When calculating your length of legal stay in Turkey, it is taken into consideration whether you have stayed more than 90 days within the last 180 days as from your legal entry into Turkey.

Residence Permit applications need to be submitted to Foreigners’ Department of the District Security Department of your prospective location of residence except some exceptions.

Required documents vary depending on the type of residence permit you would like to apply for.

Type of residence permit is determined based on your purpose of stay in Turkey and in some cases, type of your Turkey visa. You might have come to Turkey for holiday, education, spouse visit, business meeting, hands-on training, domestic work, or any other purpose. It is possible for you to obtain a definite or indefinite leave to remain. For the first time, you can obtain a 6-month or 1-year residence permit in general, varying from country to country of your origin. There are 28 types of residence permit on the official web site of the Foreigners’ Department of Istanbul General Directorate of Security. Your supporting documents will be determined by us accordingly based on your purpose and status.

Besides, bilateral agreements being in force by and betwen Turkey and your country of origin, and your criminal records will be considered. Therefore, required supporting documents, residence permit fee payable, type of petition to be typed on your behalf, and duration of residence permit will also differ accordingly.

We highly suggest you not to attach importance to cliche, out-of-date lists of documents published by consultany companies because lists of required documents differ according to your specific status. Otherwise, cliche, out-of-date lists of documents may cause you having trouble with your application, even its refusal.

(Some additional documents will be added to the list upon analysis of your personal status.)

Notarised power of attorney (if application will be made in your absence),

Your original passport + copies of its photo page and processed pages showing your entrances and exits,

6 (six) passport photos with white background,

Application form and petition,

Residence permit book fee of TRY 50.00 (some USD 25) + a fee to be determined based on your country of origin (average USD 20.00 for 6 months)

An evidence of your address in Turkey (If you stay with a friend/relative of Turkish citizen, her/his notarised letter of sponsorship will be required. On the other hand, a notarised tenancy agreement will be required if you will rent a flat or a copy of title deed (property deed) if you will stay at your own flat.)

Evidence of your status (student certificate for students, letter of traineeship for trainees, a letter from relevant federation for sports persons, a letter from your employer for employees.)

An evidence showing you have enough savings (required amount of money to show may differ based on length of residence permit. However, you will need to prove that you hold USD 500.00 in your bank account for each month (e.g. USD 3,000 for a 6-month residence permit) or a foreign exchange conversion receipt from a bank in Turkey, which shows that you have exchanged required amount of foreign exchange into Turkish Lira.

Foreigner’s tax identity number (You must have a foreigner’s tax identity number for residence permit application. If you do not have, we can help you obtain it.)

If any, copy of your spouse’s residence permit in Turkey,

If you previously held a residence permit in Turkey, copies of its processed pages,

According to the new regulations that have been in force since May 2014, foreigners have to take out a health insurance policy. For this, we help you do so.

DASK (Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool) insurance policy of the flat where you will stay.

Even if your residence permit application is made by us in your absence, residence permit will be given by Security Department to the applicant only against her/his signature as required by rules.

If you need to go out of Turkey before issue of your residence permit, you will need to have a travel card issued by security department, which is also covered by our service.

Your residence permit will be issued for a particular period, and expiry date will be specified on residence permit in Turkey. You must apply for extension no later than 15 days before expiry date. If you fail to do so, it may cause you to pay a fine, harm your immigration status, or cause you being subject to a higher fee. Extension will be processed on your residence permit.

You can apply for an extension max. four times.

Firstly, you should contact your lawyer in order for her/his to assess your personal status. Afterwards, you will need to complete the Info Form to be e-mailed to you. After you complete and return the Info Form and make the payment to the lawyer, your appointment will be booked first.

Your specific list of required documents will be sent to you upon booking of appointment. Other necessary transactions are carried out by your lawyer in the meantime. On the appointment date, you will submit your papers in accompany with us. Residence permit book fee and residence permit fee are paid by us to relevant authorities and receipts thereof are shared with you.

Processing time is average 2 weeks. However, it might take up to 6 months depending on workload of Security Department.

Our residence permit application service fee is USD 800 (excluding expenses) for applications in Istanbul and USD 250 for applications outside Istanbul (service fee not including accompaniment).