Throughout your residence permit application in Turkey, you may come across certain obstacles which may require you to go back and forth between several government offices and make you lose precious time.

With regulations changing often and new requirements being added to set a nationwide standard for Turkish residence permit applications, you may feel as if you are in a losing battle.

Do not fret. We, at Ikamet, are here to keep you updated on the latest changes and guide you through your time in Turkey as an expat.

The Notary Requirement for Rental Contracts

The Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM) (or Göç İdaresi Genel Müdürlüğü in Turkish) has been overhauling its residence permit application process in the last few years, most notably with its e-residence application system and documentation requirements.

The latest change had stipulated that foreigners must have their rental contracts approved and stamped by a notary public and attach a copy of it to their residence permit applications.

However, as those who may be familiar with residence permit appointments in the last few years, many provinces in Turkey (such as Muğla) had already been requesting foreigners to notarize their rental contracts to prevent fraudulent behavior.

But now, according to the newest regulations, all 81 provinces will be adhering to these standards and procedures.

If you would like to know more about your rights as a tenant, your landlord’s obligations, solving disputes, and estimated fees associated with renting a place in Turkey, read our article on the Residential Tenancies Act – a reference guide for foreigners.

ID Proof and Lessor Approval for Leases

However, the investigation into the notarization of leases for foreigners in Turkey revealed that these contracts were changed/amended/prepared without the knowledge of the homeowner/landlord and then notarized.

Therefore, as of 15/02/2022, the Turkish government requires all leases, rental contracts and their copies to be notarized in the presence of both the foreign national (lessee) and the lessor.

The identity information of the lessor will also be checked and copies of these documents will be attached to the contract and/or its copies.

Foreign nationals will be asked to submit this during their residence permit appointment along with the other necessary documents.

If you would like to learn more about what documents you will need as a first-time applicant before and during your residence permit appointment, head here.

Latest Changes to E-residence Permit Applications

Although first-time residence permit applications could be lodged from abroad online before, the government is now only accepting those that are made from within Turkey.

So, if you are making an application through the e-Residence System, you must be in Turkey at the time of your application.

Another update to e-residence applications was announced regarding the email addresses used to submit an application.

The website of the Directorate General of Migration Management now states that only email addresses with the following domain names will be accepted:

  • Gmail
  • Yahoo
  • Outlook
  • Hotmail
  • Yandex