By Justin Mays:
Turkey creates a bridge between Asia and Europe continents, enabling foreigners to experience a fusion of both Eastern and Western civilizations. It's a stunning country with Istanbul and Ankara being popular choices for ex-pats looking for residence and work. There can be many reasons to immigrate: education, citizenship, retirement, better living standards, and others. If you are reading this blog, you must be planning to move to Turkey for some reason and have a hundred questions. This post will cover a lot of information about immigrating to Turkey, the residence permit, and the fees involved.
The cost of applying for a visa
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey has introduced eVisa. It's a wonderful facility for tourism & business purpose allowing a visitor to apply for and obtain a visa online. The fees range from USD 78.50 to USD 61.50. However, the fees for a Turkish visa depend on your nationality.
Total Fee = Government Fee + Processing Fee ( + Rush Processing / Super Rush Processing).
If you urgently require a Turkish eVisa, the fee will be higher depending on how fast you want to get your application processed. Your application will be prioritized. For urgent processing, you will be required to fill out an application like the regular visa (only the basic information required). You just need to select the required processing time according to your urgency for the visa.
Note:
Cash payments are not accepted.
The payment for visa service can be done by a debit or credit card or via PayPal or UnionPay.
The fee has to be paid before submitting the visa application form.
The fee will be non-refundable regardless your visa gets approval from the Turkish government or not.
Obtaining Turkish residence through investment
Turkey citizenship by investment is the fastest and very popular route to receiving Turkish citizenship. All you have to do is invest a minimum of $400,000 in real estate. This will entitle you to get your Turkish passport in less than four months of applying. There are many benefits of Turkish citizenship through the investment program. Some of them are:
Living, working and studying in Turkey
Easy citizenship
Moving with family
Easy Schengen visa
Easy access to E2 Visa
Double citizenship
Profitable long-term investment
Visa Free Travel to 110 countries
To qualify for Turkey citizenship by investment program, the applicant:
needs to be at least 18 years old
must have never stayed illegally in Turkey
must pay all the taxes and costs for the process
Turkey Citizenship by Investment Routes
Buy real estate
Creation of employment in Turkey
Capital Transfer (at least $500,000 in a bank, bonds, or shares)
What are the procedures for obtaining Turkish residence?
Foreign entrepreneurs intending to start a business in Turkey and to spend a short time in this country will need a short-term residence permit valid for a maximum of one year. After this term, they are required to extend it or obtain a long-term residence permit for staying longer.
Short-term residence permit
It is issued for foreigners who own property in Turkey or who run a business in this country. They are required to send some documents to the Provincial Directorate of Immigration Administration and comply with the business regulations:
application form
the original and copy of the passport
four photos (passport size)
a declaration that they have the required resources for staying in Turkey for a maximum of one year and submitting documents if required
proof of ownership of a property in Turkey (if they have one)
medical insurance.
Long-term residence permit
Foreign citizens who want to extend their stay in Turkey and want to obtain a long-term residence permit need to submit the following documents to the Turkish authorities:
application form
the original and copy of the passport
two passport-size photos
a document proving that the applicant hasn’t received any social aid from the Turkish authorities
a declaration that they have the required resources for staying in Turkey for a maximum of one year and submitting documents if required
proof of ownership of property in Turkey (if they have one)
the previous residence permit
medical insurance
police record
The applications for residence permits can be made online directly to the Directorate General of Migration Management. Those applying for the first time have to go in person to the Migration Office and present the necessary documents. In case one stays for more than 90 days a residence permit will be required. It can be for a single person, a family, a student, for philanthropic residence, etc.
Read in detail about citizenship by Property Investment here.
Residence permit fees (2022)
Many foreigners dream of staying in this hospitable country for several months or years for the sun, sea, and atmosphere. In 2022, the legislation of the jurisdiction provided foreigners the right to stay in Turkey for 30 to 90 days, depending on their home country. The standard duration of legal stay granted to residents of most countries is 90 days.
Many citizens fall in love with the country or want to make the most of its benefitting business environment. They seek to get a residence permit which can be extended as needed (even for an indefinite period).
How much does it cost to get a Turkish residence permit (İkamet) in 2022?
A fixed price for the İkamet card is about 160 TL in 2022.
The annual amount payable for Turkey’s residence permit currently ranges between 326 and 7,280 TL but may increase due to a large influx of immigrants.
Health Insurance fees range between 500 TL – 1800 TL depending on the age of the foreigner.
Notary and Translation fees will be at least 450 TL (Maximum) and the Apostille certification fees will go around 89,23 TL per page (if required)
The cost of private health insurance
Turkey's healthcare system differs from that of Europe or the United States. There are no general practitioners. Any citizen or legal resident may refer straight to the appropriate medical specialist when required. Because many private clinics in Istanbul and Ankara employ highly competent English-speaking doctors with international education and years of practice in foreign, Turkey is well recognized for medical services as well.
Heath care in Turkey is relatively cheaper than in Europe. If you’ve lived in Turkey for one year, you’re eligible to apply for Universal Health Insurance. You can access all the medical care with a monthly fee (around 850 TL) that changes every year. In the same way, you can get private health insurance by paying a monthly fee to an insurance company.
Health insurance is mandatory for all adult foreigners under 65 years of age. There is no standard cost of health coverage in Turkey and can vary from 500 to 1,800 TL. The cheapest insurance provided is for children of school and preschool age.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs approval costs
Apostille is the international legal system used to validate a document from official institutions in other countries. Only after the approval of the Apostille, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalizes the given document. The fee for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is around 60 TL per document. Each country has a different fee charged per document for legalization approval. The fees also vary according to the document. The approval of documents such as diplomas is cheaper compared to the approval of company documents.
How to pay the Turkish residence permit fees at the immigration office?
For residence permit applications, the Directorate of Migration Management requests a fee of 125 TL to be paid. You can pay the fee online, at the tax office, or at Ziraat bank.
Upon arriving at the tax office or the bank, you will be asked for your tax number. If you have a residence card, you can use it. If you don't have it, you can get a tax number from the tax office by providing a copy of your passport.
If you make the payment online, you need to take the printout of the receipt. If you pay at the tax office, keep the original payment receipt for later. If you pay the fee to the bank, ask for the receipt to be signed and stamped.
Planning to immigrate to Turkey? You can rely on Prime Property Turkey to help you with a competitive portfolio of great properties throughout Turkey. Our legal experts will also guide you on all important matters till required.
Suggested video: Turkish Citizenship by Investment Updates and Rule Changes for 2022
