Moving to Türkiye from the Netherlands — 2026 Guide

The procedure

How Dutch citizens actually move to Türkiye

Dutch applicants most often relocate for retirement or remote work, and the decisive question is usually whether pension income remains taxable in the Netherlands or becomes taxable in Türkiye once tax residency shifts. That is governed by the bilateral treaty and by whether the pension is a state or private one — a distinction that changes the answer.

1. 01

   Confirm your entry status before you book anything

   Before you leave

   Whether your passport needs a visa, and how long you may stay before a residence permit is required, is set per nationality and changes without much notice. Your permitted stay is the clock your whole permit timeline runs against.

   For Dutch citizens

   Dutch ordinary and official passport holders are exempt from a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, per the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That window is the planning runway for the permit application, and it is measured across entries rather than reset by leaving and returning.

   Ministry of Foreign Affairs — visa information
2. 02

   Get civil documents apostilled at home

   Before you leave

   Documents issued abroad generally need an apostille from the issuing country and a sworn Turkish translation before a Turkish authority will accept them, and they are far harder to obtain once you have left. See the residence-permit document checklist.

3. 03

   Get a Turkish tax number

   First week

   A tax number (vergi numarası) unlocks almost everything else — a bank account, a lease in your name, utilities and the permit application itself — and is available to foreigners before any permit exists. See the e-Devlet guide.

   Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı)
4. 04

   Arrange health cover that the directorate will accept

   First week

   Health insurance is a condition of the residence permit, not an optional extra, and whether cover from your home country counts for anything here depends on the agreement between the two states. See the permit-compliant insurance guide.

   For Dutch citizens

   The Netherlands is in the narrow group whose social-security agreement with Türkiye covers healthcare, so Dutch entitlement can carry across rather than lapsing. Establish that with SGK first; if it applies, the private-policy step changes shape rather than disappearing.

   Social Security Institution (SGK)
5. 05

   File the residence permit through e-ikamet

   First month

   The application is made online through e-ikamet, which also issues the appointment. The fee has two parts — a universal document fee and a permit fee set per nationality under the reciprocity principle. See the short-term permit walkthrough.

   e-ikamet — residence permit application system
6. 06

   Register your address

   First month

   Address registration ties your permit to a real residence and is what makes it usable. It is normally completed once you have a lease or title in your name. See the arrival checklist.

   e-Devlet — Turkish government services portal
7. 07

   Open a Turkish bank account

   First month

   Banks ask for a tax number and usually proof of address. Beyond that, willingness to onboard a foreigner varies by nationality and by branch more than by any published rule. See the bank-account guide.

   For Dutch citizens

   Dutch applicants meet no nationality-specific obstacle here, so the binding constraint is the ordinary one: a tax number first, then proof of a Turkish address. Retirees opening an account before securing a lease are the common stall.

8. 08

   Understand when you become a Turkish tax resident

   Ongoing

   Spending more than 183 days in Türkiye in a calendar year generally makes you a Turkish tax resident, which changes what Türkiye may tax. What your home country does about that is governed by the treaty between the two states. See the 183-day rule explained.

   For Dutch citizens

   This is the decisive step for most Dutch movers. Whether AOW state pension and private pension income remain taxable in the Netherlands or shift to Türkiye is set by the bilateral treaty and turns on the state-versus-private distinction — the two are not treated alike.

   Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı)

Run the numbers for Netherlands

Calculators most relevant for Dutch citizens

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