Residence and work permits, renewals, refused applications, deportation files and entry bans (tahdit). We work in English and we file to the clock — 7 days on a deportation decision, 60 on a rejection.
Deadlines here are short — seven days on a deportation decision. Answered in English, by a founding partner.
Contact the firmMost immigration problems we see in Türkiye are not hard legal questions. They are paperwork. An address never registered with the muhtar, a health policy that lapsed for eleven days, a renewal filed the week after expiry instead of the month before — any one of these turns a routine file into a refusal, a fine, or a deportation record that follows you for years. We act for foreign nationals, families and investors before the Presidency of Migration Management (Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı) and, where necessary, the administrative courts.
Turkish immigration law rests on two central statutes. The Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection governs visas, residence permits, deportation and entry bans, while the Law No. 6735 on International Labour Force governs work permits and the right of foreigners to be employed or to run a business in Türkiye. Almost every foreigner's status is shaped by how these two laws interact — for example, a work permit under Law 6735 also functions as a residence permit, while family members usually rely on a residence permit under Law 6458.
The residence permit (ikamet izni) is the foundation of lawful stay for anyone remaining in Türkiye beyond the visa or visa-exemption period. Choose the wrong category and you are not corrected, you are refused — and you lose three to six months re-filing. The main types:
The most common category, the short-term permit covers foreigners who own property in Türkiye, are conducting business or commercial connections, are here for tourism or medical treatment, or are enrolled in Turkish-language or education programs. It is typically issued for up to two years at a time and requires valid health insurance, proof of sufficient and regular income, and a registered address. Property owners frequently combine this route with our real estate practice when the permit is tied to a title deed.
Granted to the foreign spouse and dependent children of a Turkish citizen or of a foreigner holding a valid residence permit. It allows minor children to access education and provides a stable basis for family life. The sponsor must meet minimum income and housing conditions. Expect scrutiny. PMM screens for marriages of convenience, and officers may call at the registered address without warning.
Issued to foreign nationals enrolled at a Turkish university or higher-education institution. It is tied to active enrolment and does not, by itself, confer the same long-term accrual rights as other categories, which matters when a graduate later plans to remain in Türkiye for work.
An indefinite permit available to foreigners who have resided lawfully and without interruption in Türkiye for at least eight years, provided they have not received social-assistance support in the last three years, hold sufficient means, valid health insurance, and pose no threat to public order or security. It grants near-parity with citizens in most civil rights and is often the natural bridge toward naturalisation.
Most refusals are appealable. The problem is rarely the merits — it is that the client waited three weeks to ask, and the 60 days had already started running from the date on the notice, not the date they understood it.
Foreigners generally may not work in Türkiye without a work permit (çalışma izni), which is issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and simultaneously serves as a residence permit for its duration. Applications are usually filed by the employing company, which must satisfy criteria such as capital thresholds and, in many sectors, a ratio of Turkish employees to each foreign worker. Independent (self-employed) work permits and permits tied to Turquoise-card status follow their own rules.
Because most work permits are employer-driven, the process sits at the intersection of immigration and company law. We routinely coordinate work-permit files with our corporate and commercial team so that the sponsoring entity is correctly structured, its documentation is compliant, and the foreign hire's status is secured without delay. When a permit is refused, the same administrative-appeal mechanisms available for residence permits apply.
File the renewal before the permit expires — generally within the sixty days preceding expiry. Let it lapse and you are an overstayer, whatever your grounds were the day before. That means a fine, possibly a deportation file, and a tahdit code recorded against your passport. We also handle transitions between categories — for instance, a student moving to a work permit after graduation, or a short-term holder shifting to a family permit after marriage — where a poorly timed switch can create a dangerous gap in lawful status.
A deportation decision (sınır dışı etme kararı) under Article 52 of Law No. 6458 is among the most serious outcomes a foreigner can face, and it is frequently accompanied by administrative detention in a removal centre. Critically, most deportation decisions can be challenged before the administrative court within seven days, and lodging that appeal generally suspends removal until the court rules. The short deadline is exactly why early legal intervention matters.
Separately, foreigners are often confronted with an entry ban — a tahdit restriction recorded against them, typically shown as codes such as V-69, G-87 or Ç-113, reflecting reasons like overstay, prior deportation, unpaid overstay fines, or public-order concerns. Depending on the code, a ban may last months or several years. We assess the specific restriction code, advise on whether it can be lifted or shortened, and where appropriate pursue the payment-and-lift route or judicial review to restore your ability to enter Türkiye.
The family residence permit is the usual route for a spouse or dependent child to join, or stay with, a relative lawfully resident in Türkiye. Two things decide these files: the sponsor's documented income and accommodation, and whether the authority believes the relationship is real. We build both, and we answer the objections when they come.
Residence is usually a means, not an end. Years of continuous lawful residence count toward the Article 42 long-term permit and toward naturalisation, but only if they are unbroken — one gap between two permits can reset the count to zero. Investors with qualifying property or capital may be eligible for a faster route. Our citizenship and residency team works backwards from the year you want a passport and tells you which permit you should be holding now.
We take the whole file: documents, the filing with the Presidency of Migration Management, the deadline diary, and the administrative court when PMM gets it wrong. Most of it runs on a power of attorney, so clients abroad do not need to fly in. And if we read your file and think an appeal has no realistic prospect, we will say so instead of taking the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Under Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection, the main categories are the short-term residence permit (Art. 31), the family residence permit (Art. 34), the student residence permit (Art. 38) and the long-term residence permit (Art. 42). Each carries its own conditions and renewal rules. The category follows your real reason for being here — property, family, study, work — and applying under the wrong one is the most common reason a first application fails.
Yes — to the administrative court (idare mahkemesi) under Law No. 2577, generally within 60 days of notification. Read that as 60 days from the date on the notice, not from the day you understood it. Most refusals we see turn on a missing document, thin income evidence or an unregistered address, and those are the ones worth arguing.
A tahdit is a restriction or entry ban recorded against a foreigner, often shown as codes such as V-69, G-87 or Ç-113 for issues like overstay, deportation or public-order concerns under Law No. 6458. Depending on the code, the ban runs from several months to five years, sometimes longer. Not every code is negotiable. Some lift once an unpaid overstay fine is settled; others need an application to the governorate or an action in the administrative court. Find out which one you have before you book a flight.
A deportation decision (sınır dışı etme kararı) under Article 52 of Law No. 6458 can, in many cases, be challenged before the administrative court within 7 days, and filing that appeal generally suspends removal until the court decides. Seven days is the entire margin. You may also be held in a removal centre while it runs, which is why the filing usually has to be done by someone on the outside.
Under Article 42 of Law No. 6458, a foreigner who has resided continuously and lawfully in Türkiye for at least eight years may apply for a long-term (indefinite) residence permit, subject to conditions such as not relying on social assistance and posing no public-order risk. Lawful residence also counts toward eligibility for Turkish citizenship by naturalisation, which our citizenship team can assess.
Stage One
Everything downstream depends on one early decision: which permit you apply for. We map your actual situation — a title deed, a Turkish spouse, a university enrolment, eight quiet years of residence — onto the categories of Law No. 6458, and we check for anything that could sink the file before it starts: an expiring visa window, an old overstay, a tahdit record you may not know about.
Stage Two
The application itself is lodged online, through the e-İkamet portal of the Presidency of Migration Management. The date of that filing matters more than most clients expect — a first application made while your stay is still lawful, or a renewal lodged inside the window before expiry, keeps your status intact while the file is examined. The system then fixes an appointment and produces the form that anchors the rest of the procedure.
Stage Three
Between filing and appointment, we assemble what the directorate will actually read: an insurance policy covering the full permit period, income evidence that stands up to scrutiny, the tapu or a notarised lease, and the address registration behind it. Foreign civil documents — marriage and birth certificates — are apostilled and translated by a sworn translator before they go anywhere near the file.
Stage Four
On the appointment day the file is handed to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management (İl Göç İdaresi Müdürlüğü) and fingerprints are taken. You leave with a müracaat belgesi — the application document — which typically evidences your lawful stay while the decision is pending. Keep it with your passport; officials will ask for both together.
Stage Five
The directorate reviews the file and does not always say yes or no straight away. Missing-document letters arrive with short, fixed deadlines; family files may draw an unannounced address check. This is the stage where applications quietly fail through silence — so we track the file, answer every request, and put additional evidence in before it is asked for twice.
Stage Six
If the permit is granted, the card is printed and sent by PTT courier to your registered address, and we diary the renewal window so the next filing lands early, not late. If it is refused, we read the reasoning before anything else — many refusals can be taken to the administrative court, generally within sixty days of notification, and we will tell you plainly whether yours is worth running.
Select the route that fits your stay. The checklist below reflects a standard first application under Law No. 6458 — open any item to see exactly what the document is and where to obtain it, then copy the full list for your records.
First application — 10 documents
0 of 10 prepared
The document the whole file rests on. It should remain valid comfortably beyond the end of the permit period you request — a passport expiring mid-permit shortens what can be granted — and the identity pages need a notarised Turkish translation.
Translation from any sworn translator with notarisation; we arrange it the same day near our office in Kağıthane.
The signed printout of the application lodged on the Migration Management portal. The filing date recorded on it is what typically preserves your lawful stay while the application is examined, so the form is filed first and everything else is built around it.
Generated by the e-İkamet system once the application is submitted — print it in full and sign where indicated.
Four recent biometric photographs on a white background, taken within the last six months. Old visa photos and phone snapshots are a routine reason files come back from the counter.
Any photography studio in Türkiye — ask specifically for a biyometrik fotoğraf.
Cover for the entire permit period requested — either a private policy carrying the standard residence-permit compliance wording, or SGK general health insurance where you qualify. A policy that lapses mid-permit creates exactly the kind of gap that surfaces at renewal.
Any licensed Turkish insurer; check that the policy dates match the permit period on your application form.
Bank statements, pension letters or salary records showing regular and sufficient means for the stay. Thin or irregular income evidence is one of the most frequent grounds we see behind refusals, so this is worth assembling properly rather than quickly.
Your bank or employer; foreign statements should carry a notarised Turkish translation.
A tapu if you own the home, or a notarised lease if you rent — matched by the official residence record (yerleşim yeri belgesi) showing the address is actually registered to you. An unregistered address undermines an otherwise complete file.
Lease notarised at any Turkish notary; the residence record from the Nüfus Müdürlüğü or via e-Devlet once the address is registered.
The ten-digit number (vergi kimlik numarası) used for the fee payments and for any bank or insurance step in the file. Obtain it early; several other items on this list depend on it.
Any tax office (vergi dairesi) with your passport, or online through the Interactive Tax Office.
Receipts showing the permit fee and the card fee have been paid before the appointment. Without them the file is not taken into processing, however complete the rest of it is.
Paid at the tax office or through the payment channels stated on your application form; keep the stamped originals.
Marriage and birth certificates, needed wherever the application rests on family ties — a family permit, or a spouse joining a permit holder. Each must carry an apostille from the issuing state and a notarised Turkish translation.
The civil-registry authority of the issuing country; secure the apostille there before travelling, as it cannot be added from Türkiye.
Requested in some categories — notably long-term permit files — and sometimes during examination of other applications. A foreign certificate needs an apostille and a notarised Turkish translation; the Turkish record is the adli sicil kaydı.
The competent authority of your home country for the foreign record; e-Devlet or any courthouse for the Turkish one.
Send us your list and permit type — we will tell you what is missing before you file or book the appointment.
Istanbul Attorneys · Gürsel Mah. Karataş Sk. SNS Plaza Kat:3 No:6, 34413 Kağıthane / İstanbul · +90 544 809 1942 · info@istanbulattorneys.com. This checklist is general information, not legal advice; requirements vary by nationality and file.
Bilingual Glossary
Residence-permit and deportation files run in Turkish — but your status should never be a mystery to you. Hover over, tap or tab to any term below to see its plain-English meaning and the statute behind it.
Try a shorter spelling — or ask us directly; we translate Turkish law for a living.
Send it to us. We respond in plain English and, where useful, with the statute reference — so you always know exactly where your file stands.
This glossary is provided for general orientation only and does not constitute legal advice. Statute references are to the principal governing provisions; individual cases may engage further legislation.
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Seven days on a deportation decision. Sixty on a rejection. If either is running, message us today — in English, and by power of attorney if you are outside Türkiye.
Ask about your permit or banDeadlines here are short · In English · A partner reads it
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