Residence Permit in Izmir, Turkey

Non-Turkish citizens who intend to stay in Turkey over the time limit that has been set out by their visa, or they intend to stay for more than ninety days, has to obtain a residence permit in Izmir, Turkey (ikamet) to make their stay legitimate under Turkish law. 

Applications shall be lodged to the Provincial Directorate of Immigration Administration (Göç İdaresi) located at the applicant’s domicile, in which the evalulation of the documents are carried out by the state officers.  

Residence Permit Types

According to purpose of the stay, residence permit in Izmir, Turkey could be listed under 6 (six) main categories; 

1. Short-Term Residence Permit
2. Long-Term Residence Permit
3.  Family Residence Permit
4. Student Residence Permit
5. Humanitarian (Asylum Seeker) Residence Permit
6. Residence Permit for Victims of Human Trafficking

Considering the high number of application based on touristic purpose, that would be more useful to share the list of documents for tourism purpose residence permit that are required by the public authority.  

Residence Permit for Touristic Purpose

• Application Form 
• Copy of the first two page and other stamped pages of the passport.
• Four (4) passport size pictures
• Declaration of financial status (documents which proves that applicant has sufficient financial income during the residence permit in Izmir, Turkey) 
• Rental contract or title of deed as a proof of your residency address
• Valid health insurance (obtained in Turkey)

It is important to remind that as of May 2015, the application procedure for all of the above mentioned residence permits have been updated under the regulation.

Previously, all application were lodged to the Security General Directorate and were processed by the local Police Authorities. However, as of May, 2015, a new state authority has been introduced, namely the General Directorate of Immigration Administration, and they took over the work and started to welcome all of the applications regarding residence permit in Izmir, Turkey. 

What steps need to be taken for the residence permit application? 

• Firstly, an online application to the  Immigration Administration of General Directorate is to be lodged and an appointment date is to set through the office where the applicant plans to stay.
• Applicant shall fill in the form with information of name, birthdate, birth place, mother’s and father’s name, health insurance policy (that has been obtained in Turkey), proof of documents (generally bank account reports) which state that during your stay in Turkey you have sufficient funds etc. 
•  Once the online application has been filed, you will be given an appointment date which you will be required to be present by the Immigration Administration at such date along with all the requested documents. 
• Should if the legal authority finds your application valid and the documents you have provided has meet the conditions, then residnce permit (ikamet) is usually granted within 1-2 weeks after the interview. Residence permit card will be sent to your designated address via courier. 

Attention: According to the newly introduced Immigration Law of 6458 Art.31-1 (e)(Touristic residence permit), Non-Turkish citizens who already obtained their residence permit for 1 year on tourist reason, will not be able to extend their residence permit as of 01.01.2020, unless they change the status of their residency purpose. It implies that, 

What are the acceptable grounds for extending the residence permit in Izmir, Turkey?

• Being married with a Turkish citizen
• Having 80,000 USD or its equivelant deposited in one of the Turkish banks
• Owning a property in Turkey
• Having mutual child with a Turkish citizen (applicable even if there is no official marriage)
• Being a parent to child who is younger than 18 and studying in Turkey
• Those who continue medical treatment in Turkey
• Those who applied to the Turkish citizenship but the application is pending
• Those who is the family member of a Turkish citizen (citizenship through naturalization is also accepted)

For more information about applying to residence permit in Izmir, Turkey,  please feel free to contact us.