Residence permit applications are the category of permits that should be applied when foreign nationals want to stay in Turkey for a longer period than the legal process granted to them. Depending on the duration of their stay in the country, they can ensure their continuity by applying for a residence permit extension in Turkey. There are many variables here, depending on the nationality of the person. First of all, it is necessary to understand the entry status of the persons to the country and then examine the application contents.

Entry with visa exemption: It is a form of sanction imposed on countries that are not included in any visa scope when entering our country. People enter Turkey from the border gates without obtaining any special permission or applying. The purpose of travel is of great importance for the countries in this scope. Visa extension generally covers touristic travels, and for travels other than this, they must apply to the authorized Turkish foreign representatives in their country, depending on their travel purpose. Although these exemption periods are not the same for every country, how long they can stay in our country is determined by the agreements they make among themselves within the scope of the foreign policies of the countries. Persons who stay longer than this exemption granted to them will be deemed illegal in legal terms and criminal action will be imposed on them when they are caught or leaving the country. The aforementioned penal action starts in the province and if the fine is not paid, the person will be banned from entering the territory of Turkey within the specified period. For this reason, when you want to stay longer than the exemption period granted to you in our country, you must first apply for a short-term residence permit in Turkey before your exemption period expires. If you want your stay to be longer than this granted right, then it is possible to extend these periods with Turkey residence permit extension procedures.

Entry with an electronic visa: In this category, it is required to apply for a certain permit to enter the country, but it is still easier than other visa categories. This is the type of visa you apply for by entering the necessary information such as passport, travel, etc. It is the visa application you make on the online platform authorized by the Republic of Turkey on its behalf. Here again, the conditions vary on a country basis, and for some countries a supportive, valid visa is required. If these conditions are not met, it is not possible to get an electronic visa for Turkey. Since the online platform is used for applications, passport images or valid visas are scanned and uploaded to the system and your visa result is determined accordingly. When your visa result is positive, you will be given a visa electronically and you will be able to enter the country with this. It is best to print this visa as a record and carry it with you during your travel. For this visa, no additional visa pressure will be applied to your passport, and a stamp will be applied when entering and leaving the country. If your electronic visa application is negative, you must apply for a printed visa through the Turkish foreign representative offices in your country.

Turkey printed visa: It is the type of visa used in cases where foreigners who want to come to Turkey need to apply for a printed visa depending on their nationality. For this visa, the person must apply for a visa by stating the purpose of travel through the Turkish foreign representative in the country of citizenship or permanent residence. Depending on the visa category he/she will apply, he/she must attend the appointment he/she has made at the consulate, which will evaluate all the necessary documents. After this appointment and document delivery processes, if the person’s travel purpose and situation is deemed appropriate, a Turkish visa will be printed on his/her passport. Within the scope of this visa, the person can stay by entering Turkey for the time granted to him/her. Visas are given to individuals within certain periods, and within this period of time he/she may remain in the country legally, after which the person must exit.

After entering through these scopes, you have to exit the country when the legal stay granted to you expires. If you do not leave and stay, you will be on the run and you may even be banned from entering Turkey due to this illegal stay. For this reason, in these entry conditions, you must follow the duration of your stay correctly and be exiting when your time is up. Apart from this, if you want to stay in Turkey for a longer period than these periods, then you must apply for a short-term residence permit in Turkey. In fact, after your application has been approved and you have stayed here, you can also stay here longer by extending a residence permit in Turkey to extend this period. Before applying, you should choose your residence permit category that best suits your purpose of stay.

Types of Residence Permit

Tourist residence permit: It is the residence permit category that foreign nationals should apply for when they want to stay in Turkey for a longer period of time without a binding purpose or condition. In order to apply in this category, it will be sufficient to have a passport valid for at least 1 year, a notarized document of residence, symmetrical photograph, health insurance for foreigners covering the residence period. Applications are made online and after the appointment, if approval is received, people will be able to legally reside in Turkey during the period for which the permission is defined.

Family residence permit: Persons who have the right to apply for a family residence permit; they are the families of Turkish citizens or the families of foreign nationals who have a work permit in Turkey. When applying through this category of residence, these people will be considered as sponsors and the application process will proceed through these people. Persons deemed to be sponsors seem to be legally obliged to provide financial support for the families they bring to the country. The application process continues online and the sponsor attends the appointment together with the applicant. If a 3-year Turkey residence permit extension application is made through this category, the person will have the right to apply for citizenship.

Student residence permit: In this context, if a foreign student wants to come to our country and study, then he / she can study here by applying for a short-term residence permit. Within the scope of this category, residence permits are generally issued for 1 year, and for longer-term training, an application for a residence permit extension in Turkey is required every year. Within the scope of these extensions, they will be able to stay here throughout their school life. The important point here is that the person must comply with the attendance requirement determined by the school, since he or she has a residence permit depending on this condition; otherwise, he should know that the situation may progress until the cancellation of the residence permit.

The permits obtained through all the categories mentioned above have a certain period of time, and at the end of this period, which is deemed appropriate for you, you have to leave the country in order not to fall into the illegal situation. If you do not want to leave the country and want to make a new application based on your purpose of stay, then you can request a new stay period to be defined by applying for a Turkey residence permit extension before your valid residence permit expires. These extension applications are made on the same category, and if your purpose of stay has changed then it will be defined as a new application, not an extension. Extension applications will be made online just like the first applications, and then the approval process will be waited by attending the appointment together with the documents to be prepared. If you have an idea to apply for Turkish citizenship or long-term residence permit in Turkey in the long term, then these extension applications are of great importance.

Even if you can apply for a residence permit extension in Turkey even if your residence permit is within the last day to expire, if this period has expired, you do not have the right to apply for an extension, but a new application must be made from the beginning. Unlike the first application, the fees vary in extension applications and less payment is made compared to a new application. Turkey residence permit fees for extension applications vary and are determined on the basis of nationality. Since there is a foreigner identification number defined for you in extension applications, the process proceeds more easily than the first application.

You can read our procedures on our website for your Turkey residence permit extension applications or all other categories and access detailed information. After that, if you want to move forward with professional support without risking your applications, you can meet with our experts. If you wish, you can contact us via our e-mail information on our website or by phone at 0242 255 07 24 in Antalya, 0312 963 10 49 in Ankara, 0232 335 15 78 in Izmir, 0212 706 79 67 in Istanbul, and 0224 322 06 46 in Bursa.