HES code (Hayat Eve Sığar) is a personal ten-digit code containing information about a person’s location and necessary to control the movement of people across the territory of the state. The abbreviation is literally deciphered as “life moves to the house”, and in Turkish – “better at home.” HES allows timely tracking of the movement of citizens with a positive test for COVID-19, using domestic flights or long-distance transport, and to prevent the spread of the disease. Later, the Turkish authorities decided that a health code is also required when entering any institution, be it a bank, a shopping center or a post office.

Does Hayat Eve Sığar have an expiration date? Yes, absolutely. The validity period of the HES code is indicated when it is generated, which we will talk about later in our article.

Who needs a HES code?
The health code is required for Turkish citizens, as well as foreigners with a valid residence permit in Turkey. An individual code is not required for children under two years of age.

Foreign tourists do not need Hayat Eve Sığar if you are going to have a vacation on a voucher and upon arrival at the resort plan to restrict yourself to rest on the territory of the hotel. If you plan to travel and relocation using intercity transport, airplanes, as well as visiting banks, government agencies, shopping and entertainment centers, then you may be asked for the code.

Ways to get HES (Hayat Eve Sığar) code

The HES code for Turkey travel can be obtained in several ways:

by sending SMS;
using the developed mobile application Hayat Eve Sığar;
on the e-Devlet portal.
Let’s take a closer look at each of the options.

Receiving a health code via SMS is the easiest way for foreigners. However, it is important to know that this can be done exclusively from the number of one of the Turkish mobile operators. From foreign numbers, or if you are on the territory of another country, you will not be able to generate a code.

To receive the HES code, we send from a mobile SMS to 2023 in the following formats:

For Turkish citizens: HES 11112222333 1122 60.

The first digits are the identification number, the second 4 digits are the last digits of the passport series, and the last two are the number of days for which the code is issued. In order for the information to be processed and the code generated, you need to put a space between each group of numbers.

For foreign citizens with a residence permit in Turkey: HES 11112222333 1985 365.

The first group of numbers is the Kimlik number, the second is the year of birth, and the third is the validity period of the health code. In this case, you can get a code with no expiration date, for which, instead of the last digits, you need to write the word “süresiz”. However, in fact, it will be valid for 18 months.

Get HES code in Turkey for a foreigner: HES RUS 99887766554 1985 IVANOV.

RUS or another abbreviation – means nationality (we focus on the spelling as in a passport), followed by the series and number of the passport, indicated without spaces, year of birth and surname.

After sending a message to the specified number, within a few minutes you will receive a response with an individual HES code and its validity period, as well as an SMS with a link to a page on the Internet where you can generate a QR code for instant reading. You can save it and present it on demand.

Important!
One phone number can receive a health code for two people.

HES code through the application “Hayat Eve Sığar” can only be used by Turkish citizens and foreigners with a residence permit. To do this, you need to download the application from Google Play or the AppStore and install it on your smartphone. To register in the application, you will need to enter your phone number (Turkish mobile operator) and information from Kimlik. After entering the data, the user presses the button for creating a new HES code and performs the actions according to the instructions.

The generated codes will be saved in the application. They can either be forwarded or shown by opening Hayat Eve Sığar.

The health code through the state website e-Devlet can be obtained only after registering a personal account. Once in the personal account, the user needs to go to the section Hes kodu üretme ve liseleme, where new codes are created and old codes are deleted. Also, through the portal, you can track the end date of the quarantine of a person with a positive test for covid or those who had close contact with him. If another person sends you their health code, you can check on the e-Devlet if they are currently sick with coronavirus.
Minor children (under 18 years old) can receive a code via SMS or the state portal e-Devlet.

How does a HES code work and what is its use?

We have covered the main ways to get a health code in Turkey and the cases when it is used. However, how does this happen in practice?

To buy plane or bus tickets, go to a shopping center, get into a bank or service center, a person needs a HES code.

Each time the code is presented, information about this is transmitted to the Ministry of Health. For example, if a citizen has recently been ill with a coronavirus and is still on self-isolation, the code will show this during scanning, and the data will go to the police. In turn, police officers are fined for violating quarantine. However, the main goal of the Hayat Eve Sığar program is to prevent and reduce the spread of COVID-19.

In some Turkish cities, public transport cards are linked to the HES code. If a person is sick with coronavirus, his transport card will be blocked until the end of treatment and the period of self-isolation.

And another task of the health code is to warn people about possible infection. Let’s say you want to go on a trip and have bought tickets in advance. Of course, a lot can change during this time. The day before the flight date, the transport company checks the individual codes of all passengers and if a person is diagnosed with coronavirus, he will not be allowed on the bus or plane. Thus, other passengers remain safe. But even if the passenger himself did not know that he was infected with covid and was an asymptomatic carrier, after being diagnosed by the Ministry of Health, receive information with whom he was traveling on the same flight. The passengers are contacted by employees of the Ministry of Health, they recommend taking a coronavirus test and observing the rules of self-isolation.

How and where is the HES code used in Turkey
Personal HES code is required in such cases:

When purchasing travel documents for intercity buses and for domestic flights, as well as for Northern Cyprus.
When visiting government agencies (Cadastral Office, Migration Service, etc.).
For using public transport.
If you want to get to a shopping center, bank, post office, places of customer service for the provision of utilities.
When settling in hotels, hotels, boarding houses.
It is worth noting that while in some remote cities, the health code is not always required and not everywhere.

Let’s look at how to use the health code using several of the most common cases.

When visiting organizations, you will need to show an SMS with a code or QR code at the entrance. The code is read and the data is recorded.

When entering city transport, each passenger applies his / her travel document to the validator. Information is read from the card tied to the HES code and checked against the database of the Ministry of Health of Turkey. If the card is not tied to a code, it may be temporarily blocked. Passengers at risk will be temporarily banned from public transport.

When buying tickets for domestic flights, there is a line in the travel documents for entering the health code. It is mandatory to fill it out for Turks and foreigners with a residence permit. Other foreign citizens do not need to fill in these data yet.

Of course, the situation with the presence of the HES code is changing very quickly. Therefore, we recommend that you check the current rules on the airlines’ website and follow the news.