Turkey has refused to issue residence permits to tourists

Ali Yerlikay, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Turkey, announced in mid-August 2024 that the country would no longer issue residence permits to those who entered the country as tourists. This information was received from him by the Turkish publication Sabah.

He emphasized this information and said that Russians, like citizens of many other countries, have the right to live in Turkey without a visa for up to 6 months. This is a fairly long period, sufficient for most non-working purposes. However, those who come as tourists do not have the right to change this status to a residence permit.

To get a job in Turkey, you need to return to your country, and then contact the Turkish embassy and apply for a work visa. The Ministry of Internal Affairs believes that you cannot come on vacation and then simply change your goals, everything must be according to the rules.

Please note

Despite the fact that Turkey has small fines for violating immigration policy (500 TRY⁣ for adults and 400 TRY for children⁣), it is better not to take risks. If a foreigner is found in the country or at the border, not only is a fine issued, but also a ban on entry into the country is issued. The ban period is usually approximately equivalent to the duration of the illegal stay.

What is the government's plan

Ali Yerlikay also shared other ideas in the immigration sphere. In particular, he announced plans to introduce mandatory fingerprinting for all arriving foreigners. Fingerprints will not be taken now, but later. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs wants the procedures to be similar to similar measures in the United States and Great Britain. Other details were not announced.

In addition, he added that now it will be much easier to obtain a residence permit than before. For example, it will be possible to contact a notary rather than the Ministry of Internal Affairs to change status. In addition, foreign students of Turkish universities will be able to apply for a residence permit through their universities.

In a conversation with journalists, Yerlikay spoke a lot about refugees from Syria, of whom there are more than 3.1 million in the country in 2024. Given that there are currently about 4.4 million foreigners officially in Turkey, Syrians account for 75% of all migrants. About a third of them (1.1 million) have a residence permit, and more than 224 thousand are officially under international protection.

Turkey has become a popular destination for a number of Russian citizens since 2022. Against this background, Turkish banks have complicated the process of opening accounts and issuing cards for Russians.