If you are considering moving to Turkey, keep reading. We’ve crafted a useful guide to walk you through the process of obtaining a Turkish tourist residence permit, also known as ikamet.

About Turkish Tourist Residence Permit

A Turkish residence permit is your official authorization to reside in the country legally. Among the various types of residence permits, the Turkish tourist residence permit, known as “touristik”, is the most popular choice among foreigners seeking short term stay in Türkiye.

Types of Turkish Residence Permits

Turkish residence permits can be divided into short-term options such as tourist, student, and family permits, as well as indefinite residence permits.

There is also  flexibility to switch to a different type. For example, if you start with a Turkish tourist residence permit and then decide to enroll at a local university, you can easily switch your residence permit to a student one.

How to Extend a Turkish Tourist Residence Permit in 2024

Obtaining a Turkish tourist residence permit may seem daunting, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the procedures and paperwork involved.

Residence Permit Application Preparation 

Applicants must submit the following documents to the relevant Provincial Directorate of Migration Management after filling in the online application form on the e-residence system of the Directorate General Migration Management website:

1. Printed and signed Application Form.
2. Passport and photocopies of the main page that has your photo, name, passport number, and the page that has the Immigration stamp when you entered the country. If you entered the country on an E-visa, you must provide a copy of the document.
3. 4 passport-sized biometric photos.
4. Health Insurance Policy.
5. Document of Residence
   (One of the following documents is considered sufficient.)
   o If you are staying in your own home, a photocopy of the title deed; (“residence document” is sufficient for extension applications.)
   o If you are staying in a rental house on a rental agreement, a notarized copy of your rental agreement;
   o If you are staying at a hotel, etc. proof of your stay in these places;
   o If you are staying in a student dormitory, e-signed/signed and sealed/stamped document showing that you are staying in the dormitory.
   o If you are staying in a third person’s residence, the notarized undertaking of the host (if the host is married, also the notarized undertaking of the spouse).

Step by Step Guide to Extend Turkish Tourist Residence Permit

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through each step, from understanding the requirements to submitting your application, ensuring an extended stay in Turkey hassle-free.

Preparations

Before starting the application process for Turkish tourist residence permit on Directorate General Migration Management , we recommend you to have these documents ready in order to complete your process successfully:

• Your passport
• Your old ikamet
• Biometric photo
• Your detailed address in Turkey
• Valid Health Insurance (You can get health insurance from Turkey Expat Insurance)
• Your own or trusted Turkish Mobile number (recommended)
• UETS address (You can get it from PTT)

Now let’s begin. 

First, go to https://e-ikamet.goc.gov.tr/. Choose “I apply for the extension of the duration of residence permit”.

Click “I would like to lodge a new application”, and you’ll be directed to the “Pre-registration Form”.

Then you will be directed to the “Activation Page”. If you put your mobile number and email correctly in the previous step, you’ll receive a verification code.

Put the code received and continue the application.

Since Turkish tourist residence permit is short term, choose “application for short term residence permit”. You’ll be directed to the application form. 

You should fill your details with the information on your passport. If you have a middle name on your passport, you should put it as well. If your names have special letters like “é, ã”, you should use “e, a” instead. 

When you’re filling the Personal Information page, if you’re using the English version of the website, the birth date is American format (mm/dd/yyyy). If you’re using the Turkish version of the website, you should use the European date format (dd/mm/yyyy). 

After filling the red fields, click “Next”.

Here, you are going to fill out your passport details.

If you are older than 18 years old and you are going to show up at your appointment, you should select “I lodge the application on my behalf”.

The “Abroad Contact Information” page is also mandatory, requiring you to provide your home country address and contact details.

The next page is “Contact Details in Turkey”. Here, you should pay attention when filling your address information. This address is your postal/home address and your residence permit card will be delivered to this address. You should be very careful when you are filling this part. 

The address data is retrieved from the “Turkish National Address Database”. So, you should put first Istanbul as Province (il), then your District (İlçe), then “Mahalle” then “Cadde/Sokak/Bulvar” and finally your Building Number and Apartment Number.

For phone contact, it’s necessary to provide a Turkish mobile number. Once all your documents are submitted and payments processed, your documents will be sent to Ankara. Once your residence permit card is ready, the tracking number will be sent to your Turkish mobile number via PTT (Turkish National Post Service).

Then, it comes to the Insurance Page. You have to fill out the insurance company, police number, validity period. Usually, foreigners get private health insurance for ikamet.

HORT TERM DECLARATION INFORMATION

Please take a moment to read this section carefully. You have to tick all the ones highlighted in red but you should read carefully and understand what it means. In a word, you are acknowledging your understanding of the law and the requirements of the residence permit, committing not to misuse it.

Now, we’re on the last page of your application.  You can fill in the information according to your needs, the period of your stay, and the reason.

After completing all the information correctly, click “Create an appointment request”, and choose an immigration office for the appointment. 

You’ll receive an email or phone message in a few days regarding the appointment date. You can also login to your application page and print out the new application form with the appointment date.