Residence Permit Turkey Requirements: every route

Residence permit and tax residency are two different things

A residence permit gives you the right to stay in Turkey. Tax residency decides whether Turkey taxes your income. The two follow different laws and different offices.

Under Article 4 of the Income Tax Law, you are a Turkish tax resident if your domicile is in Turkey (the place where you live with the intention of settling), or if you stay more than six months in one calendar year. Article 5 adds that a foreigner who comes for travel, rest, study or a temporary assignment is not treated as resident, even after six months. A permit does not make you a tax resident on its own, and tax residency gives you no right to stay.

This matters for the 20-year tax exemption described below. It depends on tax residency, not on which permit you hold.

The routes at a glance

Which route fits you

You live on a pension, savings or investments

The tourism permit is the usual route. You show a travel plan, a place to live and income of at least 1.5 times the net minimum wage for a single applicant. The 2026 net minimum wage is TRY 28,075.50 a month, so the threshold is about TRY 42,113 a month. The income must have arrived for at least the last three months. Several law firms report that PMM has become strict with repeat tourism permits in big cities, but no official text confirms this.

You want to buy a home

A home worth at least USD 200,000 (paid in lira) at the date you bought it supports a short-term permit. The rule has no split between big cities and other provinces. You must live in the home yourself and may not rent it out. Land and commercial units do not count. Details are on the property residence permit page.

You work remotely for clients or an employer abroad

A residence permit does not give the right to work in Turkey. The digital nomad certificate is a pre-approval that leads to a short-term permit, but its criteria come from secondary sources only. On the tax side, salary or fees for work you do while you are in Turkey are Turkish-source income. They stay taxable even if you get the 20-year exemption.

You have a job offer in Turkey

You need a work permit under Law No. 6735. A work permit also counts as a residence permit, so you do not need a separate one. Highly qualified people may get the Turquoise Card, which becomes indefinite after a three-year transition period.

Your spouse or parent already lives in Turkey

The family permit covers the foreign spouse and children of a Turkish citizen or of a foreigner with a residence permit. The sponsor needs enough income, housing, health insurance for everyone and, in most cases, at least one year on a permit.

You want a second passport

Citizenship by investment starts at USD 400,000 in property. Other routes, such as government bonds or a private pension fund, start at USD 500,000 and must be held for three years. This is a different decision from residency, with different costs.

Rules that apply to every permit

• If you stay longer than your visa, your visa exemption or 90 days, you must hold a residence permit (YUKK Art. 19).
• Your passport must be valid at least 60 days beyond the period of the permit (YUKK Art. 7 and Art. 21).
• Every short-term permit application needs health insurance that covers the whole permit period. Private policies are accepted.
• A residence permit does not give you the right to work. The PMM document list says so in plain words.
• After your first permit is approved, you must register your address within 20 working days.
• A permit lapses if you do not use it within six months (YUKK Art. 19).
• Since 2022, PMM closes neighbourhoods to new foreign residents once foreigners pass 20% of the population. Check the neighbourhood before you sign a lease or buy.

The residence permit card fee is TRY 964 for 2026, according to press and law firm reports. The permit fee itself depends on your nationality and the length of the permit. See what a Turkish residence permit costs.

Residency and the 20-year tax exemption

Article 20/D of the Income Tax Law, added by Law No. 7582 in June 2026, gives new residents 20 years without Turkish income tax on foreign-source income. It applies to people of any nationality who become Turkish tax residents on or after 1 January 2026 and had no Turkish domicile and no Turkish tax liability in the three calendar years before.

The exemption is not automatic. You must get an exemption certificate (İstisna Belgesi) from your tax office by the end of the calendar year in which you become resident. If your residence starts in November or December, the deadline is the end of February of the next year. Late applications are refused. For people who became resident in 2026, that means 31 December 2026, or 28 February 2027 for a November or December start.

The exemption mainly helps passive income from abroad: foreign dividends, interest, rent and capital gains, and income from businesses abroad when the work is not done in Turkey. Income for work you do while in Turkey is Turkish-source and taxed, and so is any other Turkish-source income, at rates from 15% to 40%. Turkey gives no foreign tax credit on exempt income. The full rules are on the 20-year tax exemption page.

Guides in this section

• Visa-free stayThe 90 days in 180 rule and what it does not allow
• Short-term residence permitGrounds, conditions and the tourism income test
• Property residence permitThe USD 200,000 rule and how the home must be used
• DocumentsWhat PMM asks for with every application
• CostCard fee, permit fee, insurance and other costs
• Family residence permitSpouses and children, and the sponsor's conditions
• Long-term residence permitIndefinite residence after eight years

Life after the permit

Once you have a permit, you will need a bank account, health cover and a place to live. The living in Turkey section covers cities, costs, healthcare and safety.