90 days in any 180, counted backwards
The rule is simple. The counting is where it goes wrong.
Last verified 2026-10-21Next review 2027-04-211 official source
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A visa or a visa exemption lets you stay in Turkey for at most 90 days in any 180, under Article 11 of Law No. 6458. The 180 days are not a fixed half-year. On any given day, count back 180 days and add up the days you were in Turkey.
Where people slip
The common mistake is treating the window as a calendar block: 90 days used in the first half of the year, 90 more available in the second. It does not work that way. Leave on day 90 and come back a week later and you have almost no allowance left, because the previous stay is still inside the look-back.
Short trips out and back do not reset it either. Days in Turkey count wherever they fall in the window.
What a visit does not give you
No right to work. No residence. And it does not start the 20-year exemption, because that needs tax residency and a certificate rather than presence.
What a long pattern of visits can do, unhelpfully, is make you a Turkish tax resident by crossing six months in a calendar year, without any of the benefits a planned move would have brought.
If you want to stay longer
You apply for a residence permit. Applying from inside Turkey is normal, and the application is made on e-İkamet, but the 90-day limit keeps running while you wait, so the timing is worth getting right rather than discovering.
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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.