Long-Term Residence Permit

Long-Term Residence Permit

The long-term residence permit is a residence permit regulated under Articles 42 to 45 of Law No. 6458 and enables a foreigner to continue staying in Turkey without a time limit. Unlike many other residence types, it is issued indefinitely; in other words, it differs from short-term permits based on the logic of extending periods at certain intervals.

The long-term residence permit is an indefinite residence permit type granted to foreigners who have lived in Turkey legally and continuously for a long period. Under Law No. 6458, this permit is issued by governorates with the approval of the Ministry. However, there is an important distinction in practice: the long-term residence permit is a residence status; it does not by itself replace a work permit document. In e-Residence application documents, it is clearly stated that “a residence permit does not provide the right to work in Turkey; foreigners who will work must apply for a work permit or work permit exemption under Law No. 6735.” Therefore, persons planning to work in Turkey must also have their situation assessed separately under work legislation.

Who Can Apply?

As a rule, foreigners who have stayed in Turkey with a residence permit for at least eight uninterrupted years may apply for a long-term residence permit. In addition, the law also provides this permit for persons who meet special conditions determined by the Ministry or the Migration Policies Board. On the other hand, refugees, conditional refugees, persons with subsidiary protection status, holders of humanitarian residence permits, and persons under temporary protection cannot benefit from the right to transition to a long-term residence permit.

There is an important detail in calculating this “eight-year” period: according to the Migration Administration’s explanation, half of the period spent with a student residence permit and the full period spent with other residence permits are taken into account. Therefore, whether the eight-year period has been completed is calculated separately according to the concrete residence history.

What Are the Conditions?

In transitioning to a long-term residence permit, the basic conditions listed in Article 43 of the Law are sought. These conditions are as follows:

• Having stayed in Turkey with a residence permit for at least eight uninterrupted years,
• Not having received social assistance within the last three years,
• Having sufficient and regular income to support oneself and, if any, one’s family,
• Having valid health insurance,
• Not posing a threat to public order or public security.

In some special cases, some of these conditions may not be sought for persons applying according to the conditions determined by the Migration Policies Board; however, the general rule is the five conditions listed above.

Required Document List

According to the official e-Residence document list, the basic documents required in long-term residence permit applications are as follows:

• Residence permit application form
• Photocopy of the passport or passport substitute document
• Two biometric photographs taken within the last six months
• Receipt showing that the residence permit document fee has been paid
• Current address document / place of residence document
• Valid health insurance
• Criminal record certificate
• Document showing sufficient and regular financial means
• Document showing that no social assistance has been received within the last three years
• UETS (National Electronic Notification System) document

Important points to consider in document details are as follows:

• For the address in residence permit applications, a current place of residence document obtained from e-Government and, in addition, an electricity, water, natural gas or fixed telephone bill or a new subscription agreement may be requested.
• In terms of health insurance, a document showing SGK coverage, a general health insurance application document, or a private health insurance policy may be accepted. However, obtaining legal support especially regarding the scope of health insurance is of great importance both for the admissibility of the residence permit application and for the insurance to be actually usable in hospitals.
• The criminal record certificate is arranged so that it may be requested both from the applicant’s own country and from Turkish authorities; for documents obtained from abroad, as a rule, an apostille annotation and notarized Turkish translation are required.
• In terms of income documents, the e-Residence list states that income of at least one third of the minimum wage is required for each family member including the applicant, and at least the minimum wage level in total (for 2026, the minimum wage is 28,075 TL). Income commitments of third persons alone are not considered sufficient.
• The document stating that no social assistance has been received in the last three years is expected to be obtained from Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundations.
• If an application is made on behalf of a child, additional documents such as a birth certificate, custody document, consent letter, death certificate, or certificate of absence may also be requested. If these documents have been obtained from abroad, the apostille and notarized translation requirement also applies to them.

How Does the Application Process Work?

As a rule, the application process runs through the e-Residence system. The applicant first creates the preliminary application in the system, obtains the application form and the requested document list provided by the system, and then prepares the documents in accordance with the appointment or file submission process.

After the application file is submitted to the provincial migration administration, the administration examines the applicant’s eight-year uninterrupted residence period, income and insurance status, whether social assistance has been received, and the situation in terms of public order and public security. Additional information and documents may be requested if deemed necessary. If the application is concluded positively, the long-term residence permit is issued indefinitely.

Although the long-term residence permit is indefinite, it is not a completely untouchable status. According to the Law, if the person poses a serious threat in terms of public order or public security, or stays outside Turkey for more than one uninterrupted year for a reason other than health, education, or compulsory public service in their country, the permit may be cancelled.