Immigration and residence

Residence permits: who needs one, and which type

A foreigner who will stay longer than a visa or visa exemption allows, or longer than 90 days, needs a residence permit (ikamet izni); a permit not used within six months lapses (Law on Foreigners and International Protection, YUKK art. 19). Blue Card holders need none (art. 20/1(f)), and a valid work permit counts as one (art. 27). As a rule, the application is made to the Turkish consulate in the country of nationality or legal residence. Applications to the governorship (valilik) inside Türkiye are allowed in listed cases, such as long-term, student and humanitarian permits (art. 21–22). Applications go through e-ikamet, with a passport valid at least 60 days longer than the permit requested (art. 21/2). There are six types (art. 30):

For a property-based permit, the Ministry sets the type and value of qualifying property (art. 31/6); the current figure is in the e-ikamet list and can change (buying property).

Family permits. The sponsor needs a monthly income of at least a third of the minimum wage per family member and not below the minimum wage in total, suitable housing, health insurance, no conviction for an offence against the family order in the past five years, an address registration and, as a rule, a year on a residence permit (art. 35). If the governorship establishes that a marriage was made only to obtain a permit, the permit is refused or cancelled (art. 37). After three years on a family permit, a Turkish citizen’s foreign spouse may receive a short-term permit on divorce, or sooner if a court decision establishes domestic violence (art. 34/6).

Long-term permits require 8 years’ uninterrupted residence on permits, no social assistance in the last 3 years, sufficient and regular income, health insurance and no threat to public order or security (art. 42–43). Holders have citizens’ rights except military service, voting and standing for election, public office and duty-free vehicle import (art. 44). More than six months in total abroad in a year, or more than a year in total over the last five, interrupts residence unless the reason is compulsory public service, education or health; student permits count half (art. 28).

Extensions, refusals and the court route

Extensions are filed with the governorship from 60 days before the permit expires and in any case before it expires. The receipt, which is not subject to fees, lets the foreigner stay until the decision, even after expiry (YUKK art. 24/2). Before refusing, not extending or cancelling a permit, the governorship weighs family ties in Türkiye, the length of residence, the situation in the country of origin and the best interests of any child, and the decision must explain how to challenge it (art. 25). A foreigner who does not leave within ten days of a refused extension faces a deportation decision (art. 54/1(j)).

The Foreigners Law sets no special time limit for these challenges, so the Administrative Procedure Law (İdari Yargılama Usulü Kanunu, İYUK) applies:

1. Sue in the administrative court within 60 days of written notification, counted from the next day. A period that ends on a holiday runs to the end of the next working day (İYUK art. 7–8).
2. Or first ask for reconsideration within those 60 days, from the higher authority or, if there is none, the one that decided. This stops the clock. After 30 days without an answer the request counts as refused, and the clock restarts with the days already used counted (art. 11).
3. Ask for a stay if needed. Filing does not suspend the decision. The court may stay it (yürütmenin durdurulması) if it is clearly unlawful and carrying it out would cause damage that is hard or impossible to undo (art. 27).
4. Appeal if you lose. The appeal (istinaf) goes to the regional administrative court within 30 days of service (art. 45). In Foreigners Law cases there is no further appeal to the Council of State, even when the regional court reverses the judgment (art. 46/2(d)).

In a short-term permit case, if the court cannot serve the claimant at the address given, the file is taken off the court’s list. The case is then treated as never filed unless a new address is given within two months (YUKK art. 31/7; İYUK art. 26/3). Deportation is different: the time limit is seven days, removal is suspended by law, and the court’s decision is final (YUKK art. 53/3).

Work permits

Foreigners covered by the International Labour Force Law may not work, or be employed, without a work permit (Law 6735 art. 6/2). A residence permit gives no right to work, except to refugees and subsidiary-protection holders (art. 12/1). Blue Card holders keep their right to work (art. 6/4).

• Applying. In Türkiye to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security; abroad through the Turkish embassy or consulate-general in the country of nationality or legal residence. A complete application is decided within 30 days (art. 7).
• Length. The first permit lasts up to 1 year, for a specific job with a specific employer. The first extension with the same employer is for up to 2 years, and later ones for up to 3; an application for a new employer is treated as a first application (art. 10/1–2). Extensions are filed from 60 days before expiry and before it ends, and late applications are refused (art. 7/3).
• Indefinite permit. Holders of a long-term residence permit, or of at least 8 years of legal work permits, may apply, but meeting the conditions gives no absolute right to one (art. 10/3).
• Turquoise Card (Turkuaz Kart). For qualified foreigners. The first three years are a transition period. To have the transition-period entry removed from the card, the holder applies from 180 days before the period ends and in any case before it ends; a late application is refused and the card becomes invalid (art. 11).

An objection to a Ministry decision can be made to the Ministry within 30 days of notification; if it is rejected, the decision can be taken to the administrative courts (art. 21/2). Students in formal higher education may work with a work permit; associate and bachelor’s students only after their first year (YUKK art. 41).

Deportation and how to challenge it

The governorship decides on deportation, on the instruction of the Presidency of Migration Management (Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı; most of the Law’s articles still call it the Directorate General) or on its own initiative. The decision and its reasons are served on the foreigner, their legal representative or lawyer (YUKK art. 53/1–2).

The grounds include false information or forged documents in entry, visa or permit procedures; a threat to public order, security or health; overstaying a visa, visa exemption or residence permit by more than ten days; working without a work permit; illegal entry or exit; and entering despite an entry ban (art. 54/1). No deportation decision is taken where there are serious indications that the person would face the death penalty, torture or inhuman treatment in the destination country, where travel is risky because of serious illness, age or pregnancy, or where a life-threatening illness under treatment could not be treated there. Trafficking victims in a support process and victims of violence under treatment are also protected (art. 55). The decision normally gives 15 to 30 days to leave, except to foreigners at risk of absconding, who used false documents, who broke entry or exit rules, or who threaten public order, security or health (art. 56).

To challenge the decision (art. 53/3):

1. Note the date of service. The seven days run from it.
2. Apply to the administrative court within seven days, and notify the authority that made the decision.
3. The file is complete once the authority’s defence is filed or the time for it runs out. A hearing is at the court’s discretion.
4. The court decides within 15 days of the file being complete or, if an interim order or hearing is needed, of its completion. Its decision is final.

Unless the foreigner consents, they are not removed during the seven days or, once a case is filed, until it is decided (art. 53/3). A humanitarian residence permit may be granted while the case is pending (art. 46/1(ç)). If the court cannot serve the claimant at the address given, the same two-month rule applies as in short-term permit cases (art. 53/3).

Administrative detention. After an apprehension, the governorship decides on deportation within 48 hours (art. 57/1). Where there is a risk of absconding or another listed ground, it orders administrative detention (idari gözetim) or imposes alternatives to it, such as reporting or electronic monitoring, which may last at most 24 months (art. 57/2, 57/A). Detention lasts at most six months and can be extended by up to six more if the foreigner does not cooperate; it is reviewed monthly (art. 57/3–4). The criminal judge of peace (sulh ceza hâkimi) decides a challenge within five days, and that decision is final. The challenge does not suspend detention, and those who cannot afford a lawyer receive legal aid on request (art. 57/6–7).

A worked example (hypothetical). A deportation decision for staying more than ten days after a residence permit expired, without an acceptable reason (YUKK art. 54/1(g)), is served on a Monday. The seven days start on Tuesday (İYUK art. 8/1), so the last day to apply to the court is the following Monday, or the next working day if that Monday is a public holiday (art. 8/2). The governorship is notified of the application. Once its defence arrives or its time to reply runs out, the court has 15 days to decide. Until that judgment, which is final, the foreigner is not removed without consent (YUKK art. 53/3). Detention, if ordered, is challenged separately before the criminal judge of peace, who decides within five days (art. 57/6).

Entry bans

The Presidency may ban the entry of foreigners on grounds of public order, public security or public health (YUKK art. 9/1). Foreigners deported from Türkiye are banned from entering, by the Presidency or a governorship (art. 9/2).

• Length. At most five years; for a serious threat to public order or security, up to ten more years may be added (art. 9/3).
• Discretion not to impose a ban. The authorities may decide not to impose one on a foreigner who, after a visa or permit expired, applied to the governorship to leave before the overstay was detected, paid the fines and did not exceed the overstay periods set by the Ministry, or who left within the time given under art. 56 (art. 9/4–5).
• Lifting. The Presidency may lift a ban, or allow entry for a set period while the ban remains (art. 9/6).
• Prior permission. Entry may be made subject to prior permission: by the Presidency on public-order, security or health grounds, and by governorships for unpaid administrative fines or other public debts (art. 9/7).
• Notification and court. A ban under art. 9/1 is notified at the border when the foreigner arrives; a ban imposed after deportation is notified by the governorship. The notice must explain how to challenge it (art. 10). The general 60 days from written notification apply (İYUK art. 7).

Entering despite a ban is itself a ground for deportation (YUKK art. 54/1(ı)). The Law regulates entry bans and prior permission; it does not mention restriction codes (tahdit kodları).

Turkish citizenship

Meeting the legal conditions gives no absolute right to citizenship (Citizenship Law art. 10/1). The main routes for a foreigner are:

Absences of up to 12 months in total during the qualifying residence count as residence (art. 15). If the Turkish spouse dies after the application, the condition of living together lapses (art. 16/2). The investment amounts for the exceptional route are set in secondary legislation and can change, so they are not repeated here.

Applications go to the governorship where the applicant lives or, abroad, to a Turkish mission, in person or through a representative with a power of attorney for this purpose (art. 37; see giving a power of attorney from the UK). For naturalisation and marriage, a provincial commission checks the conditions and the Ministry decides (art. 18–19). Citizenship obtained by false statements or concealment is annulled (art. 31). A citizen who acquires another nationality can have it recorded in the civil register on presenting the documents (art. 44).

Former Turkish citizens and the Blue Card

People who were Turkish by birth and gave up citizenship with permission, and their descendants to the third degree, keep the rights of Turkish citizens. The exceptions are voting and standing for election, duty-free import of vehicles or household goods, military service and permanent civil-service posts; acquired social-security rights are preserved (Citizenship Law art. 28/1–3). The Blue Card (Mavi Kart) is issued on request and is enough to exercise these rights. It carries an identity number used wherever a Turkish identity number is required. A descendant must document the line of descent (art. 28/5–8). Holders need no residence permit (YUKK art. 20/1(f)) and keep the right to work (Law 6735 art. 6/4).

Deadlines in one place

Mistakes that cost the right to stay

• Counting the seven days from the wrong date. They run from service of the deportation decision, and a case filed after the seventh day is out of time (YUKK art. 53/3).
• Applying to extend after expiry. A residence-permit extension must be filed before the permit ends (YUKK art. 24/2), and a late work-permit extension is refused (Law 6735 art. 7/3).
• Staying on after a refused extension. Not leaving within ten days is a ground for deportation (YUKK art. 54/1(j)), and suing does not by itself suspend the refusal (İYUK art. 27). The Law does not address whether a pending case changes this.
• Long absences. More than six months in total abroad in a year, or more than a year in total over the last five years, interrupts residence (YUKK art. 28). Naturalisation allows absences of up to 12 months in total (Citizenship Law art. 15).
• An address the court cannot reach. In deportation and short-term permit cases, the file is taken off the court’s list and the case is treated as never filed unless a new address is given within two months (YUKK art. 31/7, 53/3; İYUK art. 26/3).

Documents to prepare

• A passport valid at least 60 days longer than the permit applied for (YUKK art. 21/2), and current and previous residence permits.
• Entry and exit records, the e-ikamet printout, health insurance for the whole permit period and proof of address.
• Documents for the purpose of the stay, such as a title deed, proof of enrolment or a marriage certificate.
• Foreign documents with an apostille or consular approval and a notarised Turkish translation.
• For deportation or detention: the decision and its date of service, and evidence for protection under art. 55, such as medical reports.
• For citizenship by marriage: the marriage registered in the Turkish civil register, and proof of living together.
• For a Blue Card: proof of loss of citizenship with permission, or of descent from such a person (Citizenship Law art. 28/5).