RESIDENCE PERMIT

WHAT IS A RESIDENCE PERMIT?

If a foreigner will stay in Turkey for more than the period allowed by his visa, He/she must do this by obtaining a residence permit, that is, residence.

 Otherwise, it will not be possible for a foreigner to stay in Turkey for more than 90 days, and repatriation will be initiated for the foreigner. 

Again, it should not be forgotten that if a residence permit has been issued by Turkey for a foreigner, this residence permit will lose its validity if it is not used within 6 months.

WHICH FOREIGNERS ARE EXEMPT FROM RESIDENCE PERMIT?

- Those who come to Turkey with a visa valid for up to 90 days or with a visa exemption are exempt from a residence permit for the duration of this visa or visa exemption period. 

- Those who have a stateless person identity document do not have to obtain a separate residence permit, as this identity document replaces a residence permit.

- Diplomatic and consular officers working in Türkiye

- Those who are notified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the families of diplomatic and consular officers working in Türkiye

- Those who work in the representative offices of international organizations in Türkiye and whose status is determined by agreements

- Exempt from residence permit with the agreements to which the Republic of Turkey is a party. Those who are detained.

Those who are within the scope of Article 28 of Law No. 5901 (citizenship law) (i.e., those who benefit from the rights granted to people who have lost their Turkish citizenship by obtaining a permission to leave)

- Those who have documents within the scope of the 1st paragraph of Articles 76 and 83 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection.  In other words, those who have an international protection identity document (76/1) and those who are given a refugee, conditional refugee and secondary protection status identity document (83/1)

HOW TO APPLY FOR A RESIDENCE PERMIT?

The application for a residence permit is made in 2 ways.

-  If the foreigner is in one of the following exceptional cases, within Türkiye as an exception,

- If outside Türkiye or as an exception. If the foreigner does not meet the following conditions, he/she can do so in the country where the foreigner is a citizen or legally resides.

Residence Permit Applications to be made from within Turkey

- Residence permit applications within Turkey can exceptionally be made to the governorships in the following cases:

a) In decisions or requests of judicial or administrative authorities

b) In cases where it is not reasonable or possible for the foreigner to leave Turkey

c) Long-term residence permits

ç) Student residence permits

d) Humanitarian residence permits

e) Residence permits for victims of human trafficking

f) Transitions from family residence permit to short-term residence permit

g) Applications to be made by parents who have a residence permit in Turkey for their children born in Turkey

ğ) In applications to obtain a residence permit suitable for the new purpose of stay due to the expiration or change of the basis for granting a valid residence permit

h) In residence permit applications to be made within the scope of the second paragraph of Article 20

ı) In transition to a short-term residence permit for those who have completed their higher education in Turkey

Foreigners who meet the above conditions must apply for a residence permit through the e-residence system and make an appointment.  This application is a preliminary application and as a result of the application, the foreigner is given an appointment date and time. The foreign person completes the application by going to the Provincial Immigration Administration with the necessary documents on the determined appointment day and time.

When foreigners who will apply for a residence (residence) permit must obtain documents from their own country and submit them to the provincial immigration administrations, these documents must be submitted with apostilled and notarized Turkish translations.

Foreigners who are not present at the Provincial Immigration Administration on the appointment day without a valid excuse,

WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS FOR OBTAINING A RESIDENCE PERMIT IN Türkiye?

> First of all, not to be one of the persons who are not allowed to enter Turkey and not to be one of those who will not be given a visa.

> Foreign persons who will apply for a residence permit must have a passport or a passport substitute document that is at least 60 days longer than the residence period they request from Turkey. Therefore, residence permits are issued separately for each foreigner, depending on the purpose of stay, for a period of 60 days shorter than the validity period of the passport or passport substitute document. 

> If there are deficiencies in the information and documents required for the residence permit application, the evaluation of this application may be postponed until the deficiencies are completed. However, of course, this missing information and documents are reported to the relevant person for completion. 

> If the application is made through consulates, the consulates; It forwards the residence permit applications together with its opinions to the General Directorate of Migration Management. 

General Directorate; If deemed necessary, after finalizing the applications by taking the opinions of the relevant institutions; It informs the consulate to issue the residence permit or reject the application.

> Residence permit applications are finalized within 90 days at the latest.

> Procedures regarding the rejection of the residence permit application are notified to the relevant person. 

ONCE THE RESIDENCE PERMIT IS GIVEN, HOW TO FOLLOW IT?

Residence permit inquiry is made by entering the e-residence website. When you log in to the site, the "I Want to See the Result of My Application" button is clicked and an inquiry is made with the foreigner's application number.

RESIDENCE PERMIT EXTENSION

- In case of an application, the residence permit can be extended by the Governorships.

- Applications for extension must be made to the Governorships 60 days before the residence permit expires and, in any case, before the residence permit expires.

- Those who apply to extend their residence permit are given a document that is not subject to fees. These foreigners can reside in Turkey with this document until a decision is made about them, even if their residence permit has expired.

- Extended residence permits start from the expiry date of their legal permit periods.

- Extension applications are finalized by the governorships. 

                                                                                     RESIDENCE PERMIT TYPES

In our law, residence permit types are evaluated and governed under more than one heading, as it is taken into consideration that not all foreign persons will have the same conditions and attributes. As a matter of fact, each of these residence permit types requires different conditions depending on its type, and if these conditions disappear or change their form, the residence permit type may also change or expire. Types of residence permits issued under the Foreigners and International protection law; 

1- Short-Term Residence Permit

2- Long-Term Residence Permit

3- Student Residence Permit

4- Family Residence Permit

5- Humanitarian Residence Permit

6- Human Trafficking It is in the form of Residence Permit. 

- You can review detailed information about the relevant residence permit forms in the documents of the same title on our website.

Of course, it is possible for foreigners to carry out all these processes individually. However, it would be much more advantageous to do so through a lawyer, in terms of collecting the relevant information and documents, determining in advance whether it is legally possible for the foreigner to obtain a residence permit in Turkey, and of course following the application process from start to finish.

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