Extension Of Turkish Tourist Residence Permit

A touristic residence permit is permission to live in Turkey for up to 2 years and is eligible for renewal. It is issued to individuals who wish to stay for the purpose of tourism, whose children will enroll in elementary school, people searching for jobs, or those wanting to set up a Turkish company and generate employment. On the application, you need to mention your reason for staying, when you wish to stay, where will you stay, and for how long you will stay for the assessment. 

Foreigners who enter Turkey on a tourist visa and who obtain a tourist residence permit ID card may find a job in Turkey before the expiration of the permit. Once you get the job, you can apply to the Ministry of Labour with their employer to get the foreigner work permit ID card. 

Who should apply for Turkish tourist residence?

Every person who moves to Turkey intending to stay in the country for more than three months needs to get a Turkey Residence Permit upon arrival. If you don't have it, your stay in Turkey will be considered illegal.

You will be exempt from this permit if one of the following applies to you:

• You have a “registration certificate” for international protection applications.

• You are a diplomat or consulate officer with an office in Turkey.

• You work for representative offices of international institutions in Turkey.

• Your identity card has one of the following tags:

• “international protection applicant”

• “international protection status”

• “statelessness”

• You have a valid work permit.

The Touristic Residence Permit ID card is issued by the Ministry of Interior Directorate General of Migration Management at 250 offices in Turkey and it allows you to live in the country as a foreign national.This permit card may be used to enter or exit for visa-free travel at 66 airports, 180 harbors, and 26 borders of Turkey. Residence permits are issued separately for each applicant depending on their purpose of staying for 60 days.

Important points to know:

• The foreigner can apply for the residence permit either in person or even through the legal representative who has been given a power of attorney.

• The document becomes invalid if you don't start using it within 6 months of receiving it.

• The applicant must have a passport or an equivalent document for more than 60 days than the residence permit period.

• The assessment of the application by the competent authorities can only be made if the documents are complete.  

• After the applications are made to the Consulates, they are forwarded to the General Directorate of Migration Management with their opinions. The authority can then issue or reject the permit on the information given to it.

• Residence permits can be extended by the government with a newly issued document.

• Extension applications have to be made 60 days before the residence permit expires. 

What are the conditions for extending tourist residence in Turkey?

The temporary resident status expires after submitting the application for an extension, but before receiving a decision on the application. You can remain in Turkey under an ‘implied status’ (the law implies you are a temporary resident) and this status lasts until Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Turkey (IRCC) decides on your new permit application.

Visa extension is only for individuals who have valid status in the country at the time of application. An application to change conditions or extend your visa in Turkey is applicable for individuals who are:

1. Visitors to Turkey.

2. Study permit holders.

3. Work permit holders.

Extending Temporary Resident Visa: 

Individuals must keep a check on their resident status and apply for an extension before it expires. It is recommended that applicants must carry out the application process at least 30 days before the visa expiry date. 

Extending Study Permits: 

The Study Permits allow foreign students to live and study in Turkey for a specific period. During the course, the applicant can also get a part-time job. The students can spend an extra 90 days after the completion of the course to prepare for their departure or to apply for a visa extension.

Eligibility criteria: The applicant must have-

1. Passport or any other valid travel document.

2. Acceptance letter from a Designated Learning Institution

3. Proof of sufficient funds to support your stay.

4. Letter of invitation and/or medical exam certificate.

5. Completed VFS Consent Form.

6. Documents as per the visa.

Who cannot apply for a Turkey tourist visa online?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye launched Electronic Visa (e-Visa) Application System was launched in 2013 to allow people traveling to Türkiye to easily obtain their e-Visas online in approximately 3 minutes. The applicants can receive their visa after they fill in the required information about their identity, passport, and travel dates and submit the visa fee online.

The e-visa is only valid when the purpose of travel is tourism or business. For other purposes like work and study, visas are provided by Turkish Embassies or Consulates. While some applicants may be exempt from visas for their tourist or business trips to Türkiye, others will need to obtain a visa through Turkish Representations abroad.

Failing to have any of the following, you can't apply for a Turkish e-visa:

• A passport valid for at least six months on entry with one blank visa page

• Proof of sufficient funds

• Proof of return flights

• Proof of hotel reservation

• Documents required for the next destination (if any)

• Comply with all requirements stated on the E-Visa Order Form

How to extend Turkish tourist residence?

Foreigners are required to give a valid justification other than touristic purposes for the extension of their residence permit. The renewal may be done due to other reasons:

• students and their families may apply 

• work permit

• buying and investing in a real estate

• launching a company and making a business investment

• family permit

The renewal should be done within 60 days of the expiration. The applications submitted before will not be accepted. 

What happens if you overstay your visa in Turkey?

The consequences of staying more than permitted depend on the extra time you are illegally staying and on your country or origin. Penalties and even an entry ban of up to 5 years may be issued based on the amount of time you overstay in Turkey. Lifting the ban may require one to follow up with the relevant authorities.

Extension of Turkish visa

Travelers are recommended to have an organized stay to avoid the need for visa renewal and extension. Proper planning will also prevent any form of collision with the local or national authorities. Any traveler with a track record of overstaying may face also difficulties with immigration officers in future visits to other countries.

In case you overstay and your visa expires while you're in Tukey only, it is suggested to leave the country and apply for the renewal of your visa from your home country as undertaking this process while in Turkey can be very tiresome. 

If you wish to extend your stay in Turkey, it is advisable to apply for the extension at the Turkish immigration office, embassy, or police station. The officials will evaluate your reasons and provide you with a new visa based on your nationality and the reason given. 

The extension will also depend on your visa type and the primary reason for your visit. Remember, if you have a tourist visa, you can't request an online extension. One needs to be physically present at the stated 

locations. 

Documents required for tourist residence extension:

• 4 recent biometric photos.

• A form signed by the applicant or his legal representative.

• Health insurance for the full period.

• A copy of the valid residence permit.

• A copy of the rental contract.

• A certified copy of the passport/travel document (full page with entry stamps).

• Residence fee payment

Stages of the extension of residence permit in Turkey:

• Getting health insurance

If your health insurance for the complete stay includes the new requested period, then you don't need new health insurance.

• Booking an appointment with the authorities

A renewal date needs to be reserved through the Turkish Immigration Service website. The applicant must mention the reason for "Request for extension of the residence permit," followed by the entry of correct data with photographic documents, and carefully filling in the details.

• Fee payment

The fees for the renewal of residence depending on the type of health insurance to be renewed, the residence tax, and the service tax certification (notation) cost. 

• Follow up

The Turkish Immigration Service website gives you a specific date and hour to visit your nearest Immigration Service office with the documents with which a temporary document will be issued to you until you receive the residence permit.

The decision to renew or not

Turkey is the only country that allows the renewal of tourist residence permits while staying in the country because of the large number of people demanding a tourist renewal. If your renewal as a tourist is rejected, it must be changed to a work residence permit or real estate residence permit considering that the person who remains on its lands, is seen as nearly stable.

Reasons for refusal

Among the most important reasons for the refusal of the tourist residence permit extension is the presence of a security reason, not rushing to renew it promptly, violations by the person, unpaid taxes, or that the applicant is not within Turkish territory.

We hope this blog was useful. You might also be interested to know about the countries that are exempt from Turkish visa.