A residence permit in Turkey makes it possible to reside in the territory of the state on legal terms for 1-2 years without having to travel outside its borders. On legal grounds, you can renew the residence permit as many times as you like at the end of the validity period. In the Republic of Turkey, this document is called ikamet. As a rule, Ikamet is issued for a period of a year or two, as well as a compulsory medical insurance policy. The final decision is made on the duration of the residence permit in the state service for migration issues.
In general, ikamet provides foreign citizens with such advantages as: treatment under an insurance policy in private and public Turkish clinics, buying a car and the opportunity to get a driving license, obtaining a mortgage loan, and receiving education for children in local educational institutions.
It is worth knowing that with a residence permit in Turkey, you acquire the same tax status as local residents.
Short-term and long-term residence permit in Turkey
There are two types of residence permits in Turkey:
-Short-term (Kısa Dönem İkamet İzni);
-Long-term (Uzun Dönem İkamet İzni).
The reasons for issuing a long-term residence permit are:
Buying Turkish property
Tourism
Accommodation for learning Turkish in a natural environment (in this case, you will need to provide permission from the Ministry of Education)
Student exchange program and internship
Treatment in medical centers of the Turkish Republic
By invitation to work
Starting your own business
Family ties and family reunification, etc.
As for people of retirement age, for them a Turkish residence permit is issued on the same conditions as for other categories of foreign citizens. However, not all insurance companies are willing to provide a medical policy for the elderly, or it will be necessary to pay a large amount for it. A long-term residence permit can be issued to those foreigners who have been applying for a residence permit in the country continuously for 8 years, and over the past 5 years have been outside Turkey for less than 365 days, or less than 180 days in one year.
Who is not issued a residence permit in Turkey?
The country’s legislation distinguishes several groups of citizens:
Foreigners whose foreign passport expires two months before the expiry of the residence permit.
Citizens who are prohibited from entering the country.
Those who pose any threat to the safety of people or the rule of law.
People with dangerous diseases transmitted from person to person and posing a threat to health.
Citizens subject to various Conventions and Agreements, one of the parties to which is the Republic of Turkey, criminals, convicted.
If a person was previously convicted of deception, that before justifying his purpose of arrival and stay in the state.
Tax debtors and those who have not paid fines, which is before the violation of the visa regime or an expired residence permit.
If there was no medical insurance for the entire time in the state.
In the absence of adequate financial support.
Forgery of documents.
How to get a residence permit in Turkey
A residence permit in the Republic of Turkey can be divided into several stages, which directly depend on the reason for the application.
Let’s consider the procedure for obtaining a residence permit for real estate buyers using the example of the Alanya resort.
This procedure is called the “Centralized Rendezvous System”. Since 2015, all buyers of real estate in Alanya or other areas of Antalya province, when applying for a residence permit, are required to register electronically by filling out an online application and a questionnaire on the website of the Migration Service: http://www.goc.gov.tr
Website visitors are offered three options for filling out the questionnaire:
To renew the current residence permit.
Checkout for the first time.
To switch from one type to another.
After choosing the desired option, upload the photo taken on a white background into a special window and go through the answers to the list of questions. Today, several filling languages are available for foreign citizens:
Russian;
English;
Turkish;
Arabic;
Dutch.
Important!
There is a time limit for entering information into the online form. If a site visitor does not invest on time, the current session is automatically terminated.
Upon completion of filling, the application will be accepted and it will be possible to print it out. The application is accompanied by a sheet with recommendations (in English or Turkish), as well as a list of papers for a residence permit.
Where and by whom the residence permit is issued
Since last year, there has been an option to select the date and time of the rendezvous at the Alanya Migration Board when applying for a residence permit online. Once the date is selected, it can no longer be canceled or rescheduled. If the applicant does not come within the appointed time for the rendezvous to obtain a residence permit in the city of Alanya in 2020, his failure to appear will be equal to the cancellation of the request and the whole process will have to be repeated.
For the registration of a Turkish residence permit, the state tax must be paid at the Tax Service of the city of Alanya, where you need to appear with a questionnaire (with the indicated amounts of payments) and a passport. At the checkout, a receipt is filled in and, after paying for it, with the signature of the employee, and with the seal of the management, it is handed over to the applicant.
Residence permit Turkey, the price of the registration fee for a year for citizens of the CIS is approximately 275 Turkish liras. The payment is available both at the Tax Office cash desk and via electronic transfer.
Tax office in Alanya, opening hours: 08.30 – 17.30
Lunch break: 12:30 – 13:30
Day off: Sunday.
Documents for obtaining a residence permit
As we have already specified, when filling out an application on the website of the Migration Board, the applicant will be offered a list of necessary documents that must be collected before the date of the meeting at the office. The papers are folded into a folder. Since 2019, the sending of documents by mail has been canceled and now they are accepted only if the applicant appears in person.
Turkey residence permit documents for property owners – list:
A completed application form;
individual taxpayer number;
4 passport-sized photos;
original passport and a copy of the pages with the applicant’s photo, seals of the last entry into the country, as well as the validity of the passport
if available, an expired residence permit;
income statement or bank statement with appropriate content (about USD 1,000 per month);
TAPU and its copy, confirming the ownership of Turkish real estate;
Valid medical insurance.
For a family residence permit you will need:
Birth certificate;
Permission to consent to a residence permit from a mother or father;
Marriage certificate;
Death certificate;
Court statement.
All documents are preliminary translated into Turkish, notarized and apostilled at the consulate of your country of residence.
Estimated prices:
Translation – 60 liras / document
Notary work – 90 liras
Apostille – about 140 lire
The residence permit in Turkey is transferred through the central post office in the city of Alanya. The finished IKAMET plastic card arrives at the department and at the same time the foreign citizen receives a notification of this in the form of an SMS to the specified mobile number.
Delivery is made by courier to your home. If there is no residence permit owner’s house, the postman leaves a notice with a request to come to the post office and pick up Ikamet. The postal service is located in Alanya at Ataturk Caddesi. Open from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Monday-Saturday, no lunch break. To receive a card, you must take a passport and a notice.
The office of the Migration Service in Alanya is: Şekerhane Mahallesi, Gücüoğlu Sk No: 18.
Opening hours: Monday – Friday from 8:30 to 17:30, lunch from 12:30 to 13:30.
Phone for consultation in Russian: 157. Works 24/7.