SHORT TERM RESIDENCE PERMIT

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Revised November, 2024 – Resource, Directorate General of Migration Management Turkey
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SHORT-TERM RESIDENCE PERMIT IN TURKEY

There are 6 residence permit types in Turkey that shall be regulated by ARTICLE 30 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458.

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ARTICLE 30 – Residence Permit Types
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(1) Types of residence permits are the listed below:
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a) Short-term residence permit;
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b) Family residence permit;
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c) Student residence permit;
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ç) Long-term residence permit;
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d) Humanitarian residence permit;
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e) Victim of human trafficking residence permit.
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Short term residence permit in Turkey shall be regulated by ARTICLES 31,  32 and 33 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458.

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ARTICLE 31 – Short-term Residence Permit
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(1) A short-term residence permit may be granted to those foreigners listed below who:
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a) arrives to conduct scientific research;
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b) owns immovable property in Turkey;
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c) establishes business or commercial connections;
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ç) participates in on-the-job training programmes;
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d) arrives to attend educational or similar programmes as part of student exchange programmes or agreements to which the Republic of Turkey is a party to;
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e) wishes to stay for tourism purposes;
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f) intends to receive medical treatment, provided that they do not have a disease posing a public health threat;
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g) is required to stay in Turkey pursuant to a request or a decision of judicial or administrative authorities;
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ğ) transfers from a family residence permit;
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h) attends a Turkish language course;
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ı) attends an education programme, research, internship or, a course by way of a public agency;
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i) applies within six months upon graduation from a higher education programme in Turkey.
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(2) Short-term residence permits shall be issued with maximum one year duration at a time.
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(3) Residence permits within the scope of subparagraph (h) of the first paragraph shall only be issued twice.
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(4) Residence permits within the scope of subparagraph (i) of the first paragraph shall only be issued once with maximum one year duration. Conditions for short-term residence permit
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ARTICLE 32 – Conditions for short-term residence permit
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(1) The following conditions shall apply when issuing short-term residence permits:
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a) to apply, claiming one or more of the reasons stipulated in paragraph one of Article 31 and submit supporting information and documents regarding the application;
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b) not to fall within the scope of Article 7;
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c) to live in accommodation conditions that conform to general health and safety standards;
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ç) upon request, to present criminal record certificate issued by the competent authorities in their country of citizenship or legal residence; e) submit information on their address of stay in Turkey.
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d) submit information on their address of stay in Turkey.

** Update Nov 2022, the government knows easily… most applications are rejected from d) because they stay in a hotel and at the same time declare a different address of stay or use a sponsor address in their applications, and there are 2 addresses during the residence permit process. After your application is finalized you can stay in other places only.
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ARTICLE 33 – Refusal, non-renewal or cancellation of short-term residence permits
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(1) Under the following cases a short-term residence permit shall not be granted, shall be cancelled if has been issued, and shall not be renewed when:
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a) one or more of the conditions provided for in Article 32 are not met or no longer apply;
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b) it is established that the residence permit is used outside the purposes of those it is issued for;
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c) [the foreigner] lived outside of Turkey for longer than one hundred and twenty
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Additionally, short term residence permit in Turkey shall be regulated by ARTICLES 26 and 29 of the Regulation for Implementation of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection.

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ARTICLE 26 – Other provisions concerning residence permits
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(1) Time spent as a prisoner or detainee in prison or under administrative detention in removal centers [beyond the expiry date of the residence permit] shall not be considered as a breach of the time limit of the residence permit. Residence permits, if any, held by such persons may be cancelled. Any such person, who does not have one, may be issued a foreigner identity number without the requirement of holding residence permit.
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(2) Foreigners arriving Turkey with a residence [or] a work permit issued by the consulates should register with the address based registration system no later than twenty working days as of the date of arrival.
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ARTICLE 29 – Transfer between residence permits
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(1) In cases where the reason, on the grounds which the residence permit is issued, no longer apply or a different reason appears foreigners may lodge an application for a residence permit which conforms to the new reason for their stay.
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(2) The principles and procedures governing transfers between residence permits shall be stipulated in a Directive.
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WHO MAY APPLY TO SHORT-TERM RESIDENCE PERMIT
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1- Foreigners who will arrive to conduct scientific research;
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Foreigners applying for a residence permit for this purpose are required to obtain a license from relevant institutions and organizations (The Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Energy, universities etc.) if the scientific research is subject to permission. If it is not subject to a permission, it is required to present a statement concerning to the research subject.
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2- Foreigners who will own immovable property in Turkey;
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If foreigners who own immovable property demand residence permit, the immovable property must be house and used for this purpose. Moreover, immovable property used as house in shared or cooperated property covering family members gives residence permit application right also to the family members.
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3- Foreigners who will establish business or commercial connections;
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If the foreigners demand residence permit more than three months for this purpose, invitation letter or similar documents will be requested from the persons or companies to be contacted.
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4- Foreigners who will participate in on-the-job training programmes;
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The residence permit which is granted on this purpose will be issued covering the duration of training based on the documents showing the content, duration and place of training provided by the state institutions and organizations.
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5- Foreigners who will arrive to attend educational or similar programmes as part of student exchange programmes or agreements to which the Republic of Turkey is a party;
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The foreigners who will request residence permit on this purpose of staying are required to obtain documents from the relevant institutions.
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Residence permit duration cannot be longer than the educational and similar purposes.
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Students in the scope of exchange programs (Erasmus, Mevlana, Farabi vb.) will not be required to submit an additional health insurance as long as they are registered to the Social Security Institution (SGK), general health insurance within three months from the date of enrollment. However, they are required to take out a private health policy unless they are registered to the Social Security Institution (SGK) and fail to take advantage of being covered by the Social Security Institution (SGK) general health insurance.
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6- Foreigners who wish to stay for tourism purposes;
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The statement on matters concerning travel plans (where, when and how long to stay, etc.) of the foreigners who wish to stay for tourism purpose will be taken into consideration. The documents and information may be required to submit if it is necessary.
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7- Foreigners who intend to receive medical treatment, provided that they do not have a disease posing a public health threat;
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Foreigners coming in order to receive treatment must be admitted to public or private  hospitals. Valid health insurance condition is not required for foreigners who certify that treatment expenses are paid.Residence permit will be issued pursuant to duration of treatment.Foreigners whose expenses of accommodation, subsistence and health are covered by public institutions and agencies during treatment, will not be required to submit determination of financial possibility and health insurance.Documents and information regarding treatment might be required from related public institutions and agencies if it is necessary.
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The residence permit procedures of care takers of the foreigners under the scope of existing “Health Cooperation Agreements” (unless there is an additional general provision regarding care takers) are carried out based on general provisions.
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Furthermore, valid health insurance is not required for residence permit applications of care takers of the foreigners not exceeding two persons, according to the additional Article 14 of Health Services Fundamental Law No 3359.
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8- Foreigners who are required to stay in Turkey pursuant to a request or a decision of judicial or administrative authorities;
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The duration of the residence permit for this purpose is issued by taking into consideration duration stated on the decision and demand.
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9- Foreigners who transfer from a family residence permit;
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10- Foreigners who will attend a Turkish language course;
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Residence permit can be issued maximum twice for this purpose to the foreigners who enroll to institution authorized to provide language course (must have permission by Ministry of National Education) in Turkish.
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If the period of the course is less than a year residence permit duration cannot be longer than the period of the course.
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The institution providing the course is responsible with reporting the commencement and attendance of the foreigners registered to the Turkish course to the Provincial Directorate.
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11- Foreigners who will attend an education programme, research, internship or, a course by way of a public agency;
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The residence permit duration cannot be longer than a year for this purpose. The valid health insurance and determination of financial possibility are not required from the foreigners whose expenses of accommodation, subsistence and health are covered by public institutions. Documents and information might be required from the relevant institutions.
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12- Foreigners who will apply within six months upon graduation from a higher education programme in Turkey;
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If the foreigners apply within six months upon graduation for this purpose, the residence permit is issued only once. It can be issued maximum for one year
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13- Foreigners who do not work in Turkey but will make an investment within the scope and amount that shall be determined by the Council of Ministers, and their foreign spouses, his and her foreign minor children or foreign dependent children;
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The residence permit based on this purpose is issued five years at most.
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The purpose of the changes which International Labor Law numbered 6735 generated in the Law numbered 6458 is to promote the foreigners who will contribute to the national economy and to provide convenience to them on residence permit processes.
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14- Citizens of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus;
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The residence permit based on this purpose is issued for five-year period at most.
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FOR HOW LONG CAN THE SHORT RESIDENCE BE ISSUED
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Short-term residence permit is issued maximum for a two-year period each time except the foreigners mentioned in 13 and 14 items above.
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WHAT ARE THE CONDITIONS FOR SHORT-TERM RESIDENCE
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The foreigner are required to fulfill the conditions stipulated in Article 32 of the Law No. 6458 to have short-term residence permit.
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• To submit supporting information and documents regarding the reason of stay in Turkey,.
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• Not to fall within the scope of Article 7 of the relevant law,
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• To live in accommodation conditions that conform to general health and safety standards,
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• Upon request, to present criminal record certificate issued by the competent authorities in their country of citizenship or legal residence,
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• To submit information on their address of stay in Turkey.