Eight years, and which ones count
The years you spent here and the years Turkey counts are not always the same number.
Last verified 2026-10-21Next review 2027-04-211 official source
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Long-term residence in Turkey is granted after eight years of uninterrupted residence on a permit, under Law No. 6458. Uninterrupted is doing a lot of work in that sentence, and not every permit year counts the same way.
What breaks the chain
Gaps between permits. Long absences. Letting a permit expire and applying fresh rather than renewing. People who spent nine years in Turkey and discover they have six qualifying ones are usually looking at one of those three.
What else is tested
Alongside the eight years, the applicant has to show stable income, health insurance and no reliance on social assistance, and public order has to be satisfied. The permit is open-ended once granted, which is why it is examined more carefully than a renewal.
What it gives you
Indefinite residence without renewals and most of the rights of a citizen, with the obvious exceptions: no vote, no military service, and the reserved occupations stay reserved.
How you lose it
By being outside Turkey for too long. The permit is for residents, and extended absence undoes it. That is an unpleasant surprise for somebody who treated it as permanent in the plain-English sense.
And tax
It changes nothing about tax. Long-term residence is a migration status. Tax residency is still domicile or the six-month count, and the 20-year exemption still needs its certificate, applied for in your first year of tax residency rather than your eighth.
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Sources
Every legal, fee and procedural statement on this page is taken from the sources below and was checked on 2026-10-21. Where they change, this page changes.
- Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection (mevzuat.gov.tr) — Visa-free stays, residence permit types, conditions, validity and long-term residence
This page is general information about Turkish rules as published by the authorities named above. It is not legal or tax advice for your circumstances, and immigration outcomes depend on your nationality, documents and individual case. See our legal and tax information disclaimer.