Moving to Turkey: The First Legal Steps for Foreigners (2026 Guide)

The Order of Operations — Why Sequence Matters

The dependency chain looks like this in practice. The tax number comes first, because banks, notaries and insurers will not process a foreigner without it. The lease comes next, and for most applicants it needs to be notarized, because the Migration Directorate treats it as the proof of accommodation in a residence permit file. The residence permit application follows, built on the lease, the insurance policy and the passport. Approval brings the foreigner identification number, printed on the permit card. And that number is the key to e-Devlet, the state's online portal, where address updates, phone registration and most routine formalities are handled from then on.

Read backwards, the chain explains most of the delays we are asked to untangle: a permit application stalled because the lease was never notarized; a notary appointment postponed because no one obtained a tax number; a phone that went silent because a deadline set by an entirely different regulation ran out in the background. None of these steps is difficult. All of them are easier in the right order.

The Tax Number — The Key That Opens Everything

The tax identification number (vergi numarası) is a ten-digit number issued by the Revenue Administration, the authority that runs Turkey's tax system. Despite the name, holding one does not by itself make you a taxpayer; it is simply the identifier that Turkish institutions use for a person who does not yet have a Turkish ID number. Banks require it to open an account, notaries require it to certify documents, insurers require it to issue a policy, and utility companies require it to connect service.

Obtaining it is free and requires only a passport. You can apply in person at any tax office and receive the number the same day, or — the route we recommend — apply online through the Revenue Administration's Interactive Tax Office portal by selecting the potential tax number application for foreigners, which generates the number immediately. The online route works from abroad, which means this first link in the chain can be completed before you ever board the plane. In our practice, the tax number is the step clients most often postpone as trivial, and the one whose absence most often stalls everything else on arrival day.

Finding a Home and Registering Your Address

For most foreign nationals the lease agreement is not just a housing document — it is the foundation of the residence permit file, which is why it deserves more care than a standard local tenancy. The lease should identify the landlord correctly, match the title record, and, where it will support a permit application, be notarized with a certified sworn translator present if you do not read Turkish. After moving in, the address is registered with the Population Directorate, the civil registry office that maintains Turkey's address records; the registered address is what banks, authorities and official correspondence key off.

The legal framework of renting — deposit caps, rent increase limits, eviction commitments and the notarization question — is covered in detail in our guide to renting an apartment in Turkey as a foreigner.

Your Phone — The 120-Day IMEI Rule

This is the step that catches people who have done everything else correctly. A mobile phone brought from abroad works on Turkish networks for 120 days without registration. When that period ends, the device is blocked from Turkish mobile networks: calls, SMS and mobile data stop, and only Wi-Fi remains. The rule attaches to the device, not the SIM card, so switching operators does not reset it.

Permanent use requires registering the phone's IMEI — the device's unique identity number — through e-Devlet, which as of a regulatory amendment published in the Official Gazette on 2 July 2026 is the sole application channel. Registration is subject to a usage permit fee under Law No. 492 on Fees: TRY 54,258 for 2026. The figure is not stable — it is revalued upward every year under the annual revaluation rate, so the amount will be higher in subsequent years. Two further rules matter: a person may register only one device in any three calendar years, and the registered phone must be used with a mobile line held in the registrant's own name. Entry into Turkey within the preceding year is also a condition of registration.

The practical consequence is worth stating plainly: at this fee level, registering a foreign phone often costs as much as buying a comparable device in Turkey. For anyone planning a long stay, the phone decision is best made before moving, not on day 119. A Turkish SIM card, by contrast, is straightforward — foreign nationals can obtain one from any operator with a passport. Anyone who drives faces a parallel clock: a foreign licence supports driving in Turkey for only six months from entry, after which it must be exchanged for a Turkish one — the deadline, the exam-free exchange and the insurance risk of missing it are set out in our guide to driving on a foreign licence.

Opening a Bank Account

A Turkish bank account is the practical spine of daily life — rent, utilities, insurance premiums and permit fees all flow through it. The core requirements are the tax number, the passport and proof of address, though individual banks apply their own onboarding policies and these vary noticeably in how they treat non-residents. Some branches ask for a residence permit; many will open an account without one when the file is otherwise in order, which is another reason the tax number and a registered address come first in the sequence.

The full picture — documents, bank practices and the points where foreign applicants most often get stuck — is set out in our dedicated guide to opening a bank account in Turkey.

Health Insurance — The Residence Permit Prerequisite

Valid health coverage is a statutory condition of the residence permit under Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection. For most first-time applicants this means a private health insurance policy issued in Turkey, and two technical points decide whether the policy does its job: it must cover the entire period of the permit requested, and it must meet the minimum coverage standard the Migration Directorate looks for. A policy that expires mid-permit, or that was bought abroad without the required local coverage terms, is a classic reason files come back with deficiency notices.

Under certain conditions, foreign nationals who have resided in Turkey for a period of time may become eligible to apply for enrolment in the state's universal health insurance system; whether and when that route makes sense depends on individual circumstances and is worth assessing case by case.

The Residence Permit Application

The residence permit application is filed online through the e-İkamet portal, followed by an appointment at the Migration Directorate with the physical file: passport, the notarized lease, the insurance policy, biometric photographs and the application form — with the tax number already woven through most of these documents. Which permit type fits depends on the purpose of stay; the types, their conditions and their statutory basis under Law No. 6458 are mapped in our complete guide to residence permit types in Turkey. Remote workers employed abroad may also want to review the digital nomad route, which follows its own certification step before the permit stage. Nationality shapes the timetable too, because the visa-free window sets how long you have to file: Russian citizens, for whom that window and the refusal risks that follow it work differently, will find them set out in our guide to moving to Turkey from Russia.

Your Foreigner ID Number and e-Devlet

Approval of the residence permit brings the document that reorganises everything after it: the foreigner identification number (yabancı kimlik numarası), an eleven-digit number beginning with 99, printed on the permit card. From this point on, Turkish institutions will use this number rather than the tax number, and the systems that were closed to you as a passport-only newcomer begin to open.

The most important of these is e-Devlet, the government's central online portal. With the foreigner ID number, you obtain an e-Devlet password from any PTT post office branch for a small fee, and from then on address registration and updates, IMEI registration, document verification and dozens of routine queries are handled online rather than in queues. Setting up e-Devlet access is, in our experience, the single step that most improves a newcomer's administrative life in Turkey — and it is only possible once the chain above has run its course.

Common Sequencing Mistakes We See in Practice

A few patterns repeat often enough to name. Applicants buy an insurance policy that covers one year while requesting a two-year permit, and the file comes back deficient. Tenants arrive at the Migration Directorate appointment with a plain signed lease that was never notarized, and the accommodation proof is not accepted. Newcomers leave the tax number until the day they need the bank account, and lose the afternoon at the tax office instead of the bank. The 120-day phone window quietly expires during the busy settling-in period, and the phone goes dark the week it is needed most. And e-Devlet is discovered months late, after each of the tasks it would have simplified was done the slow way. Each of these is avoidable with the sequence set out above — which is, in the end, the entire point of this guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get a Turkish tax number before arriving in Turkey? Yes. The Revenue Administration's online portal issues a potential tax number for foreigners based on your passport details, and the application works from abroad. It is free, and obtaining it before travel removes the most common first-week bottleneck.

Is the tax number the same as the foreigner identification number? No. The tax number is issued to any foreigner who needs to transact in Turkey, at any time. The foreigner identification number — eleven digits, beginning with 99 — comes only with an approved residence permit. Once you have the latter, institutions use it in place of the tax number.

How long can I use my foreign phone in Turkey? 120 days from first use on a Turkish network. After that the device is blocked from mobile networks unless its IMEI has been registered, and only Wi-Fi continues to work.

How much does IMEI registration cost? TRY 54,258 for 2026, paid as a usage permit fee under Law No. 492 on Fees. The amount is revalued upward every year, and the application is made exclusively through e-Devlet.

Can I register more than one phone? No. The rule is one device per person in any three calendar years, and the registered device must be used with a mobile line in the registrant's own name.

Do I need a residence permit to open a bank account? Not always. Banks set their own policies; many will open an account for a foreigner with a tax number, passport and proof of address, while some branches ask for a permit. Expect variation between banks and even between branches.

What health insurance do I need for the residence permit? A policy that covers the entire requested permit period and meets the minimum coverage standard applied by the Migration Directorate. Policies that fall short on either point are a frequent cause of deficiency notices.

When do I receive my foreigner identification number? When the residence permit is approved. The number is printed on the permit card and becomes your standing identifier with Turkish institutions.

How do I get an e-Devlet password? In person at any PTT post office branch, with your foreigner identification number and permit card, for a small fee. Access cannot be set up on a passport alone.

What can I usefully do before I even land in Turkey? Obtain the tax number online, plan the apostille and sworn translation of documents you will need, decide whether to bring or buy your phone in light of the registration fee, and research insurance options so the policy can be issued quickly on arrival.