Long-Term Residence Permit

Eligibility

• Eight years of continuous lawful residence in Türkiye on a valid residence permit at the time of application (refugee and humanitarian status time is excluded under Article 42).
• No reliance on social assistance during the previous three years.
• Sufficient and stable income to support yourself and any dependants.
• Valid health insurance covering the applicant and dependants.
• No threat assessment by Ministry of Interior (clean record on public-order and public-security grounds).
• Continuous residence test: cumulative absence from Türkiye must not exceed 365 days within the eight-year window, with no single absence longer than 6 months without justification.

Documents required

• Application form via e-ikamet portal selecting 'long-term residence permit'.
• Certified residence-history printout (ikamet tezkeresi geçmişi) confirming the 8-year continuous record.
• Passport bio-page, all prior residence cards or holding receipts.
• Proof of income — employment contract, payroll, pension certificate, rental or dividend statements.
• Tax-clearance letter (vergi borcu yoktur) from the relevant tax office.
• Adli sicil (criminal-record extract) issued by the Turkish Ministry of Justice.
• Health-insurance policy or SGK confirmation valid for the application period.
• Address registration (yerleşim yeri belgesi) from NVI.

Application process

1. 1

   Audit your 8-year residence history

   Pull the residence-permit timeline from PMM. Confirm there are no permit-gap days, no overstays, no unauthorised long absences. Gaps are the most common reason for rejection at this stage.

2. 2

   Gather income and tax-compliance evidence

   Long-term applicants must show stable, sufficient income and zero tax debt. Pull payroll history, tax-clearance and pension certificates as applicable.

3. 3

   Apply via e-ikamet and book the appointment

   Select the long-term permit option in e-ikamet. Upload supporting evidence; book the in-person appointment at the provincial Göç İdaresi.

4. 4

   Pay the harç and card fee

   Long-term applications carry a one-off harç plus the kart bedeli. Both figures are reset yearly — verify on goc.gov.tr before paying.

5. 5

   Attend the appointment with originals

   Bring originals of every uploaded document plus the prior residence cards. The officer reviews the file and forwards the recommendation to the Ministry of Interior.

6. 6

   Receive the decision

   Decisions on long-term permits typically take longer than short-term — historical practice is 3–6 months. The card itself does not display an expiry date in the same way as short-term permits.

Validity and renewal

The long-term permit is open-ended (süresiz). It does not expire on a calendar date, but the card itself must be renewed if your personal data changes or it is lost / damaged. The status itself can be revoked under Article 45 if you spend more than one continuous year outside Türkiye without justification, or if you cease to meet the public-order test.

Fees

A one-off harç plus the card fee. Long-term applicants do not pay the per-year harç that short-term permits incur, but the card-replacement fee applies on data changes. Always verify current figures with the Ministry of Treasury harç schedule and goc.gov.tr.

Common rejection reasons

• Gaps or overstays in the 8-year residence-permit history.
• Reliance on social assistance in the prior three years.
• Insufficient or irregular income evidence.
• Outstanding tax debt, social-security debt or unpaid administrative fines.
• Cumulative absences from Türkiye exceeding 365 days during the 8-year window.
• Public-order / public-security flags from prior residence years.

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