Immigration & Residence Permits

Everything about living lawfully in Türkiye runs through Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection and the Presidency of Migration Management. For most foreigners the system is manageable, but it is unforgiving about two things: dates and addresses. A permit that lapses while a renewal sits unfiled, or an address that was never registered where the file says it was, creates problems that take far longer to unwind than the original application would have taken.

The permits differ more than their names suggest. A short-term permit, a family permit, a student permit and a work permit each carry their own conditions, their own renewal logic, and their own consequences if the underlying reason disappears — a job that ends, a marriage that ends, a course that finishes. Work permits are administered separately by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and are tied to the employer, not to you.

The other half of this area is what happens when a decision goes against you: a refused application, an entry ban recorded against your passport, a removal decision at the airport. Those are administrative acts with their own appeal routes and their own clocks, and the clocks are short.

The guides below cover both sides. For matters that begin at the border rather than at a desk, start with the airport and entry-ban material. For the commercial employer's view of hiring foreign staff, see corporate and commercial law.