Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection (YUKK)

What It Governs

Law No. 6458 covers four main areas: entry into Turkey and visas; all categories of residence permit; removal from the country (deportation, including the grounds, procedure, and rights of the person facing removal); and the international protection system — refugee status, conditional refugee status, and subsidiary protection for those who cannot safely return to their country of origin.

Key Provisions for Foreign Nationals

Residence permit types are set out in Article 30: short-term, family, student, long-term, humanitarian, and victim-of-human-trafficking permits. Each category has its own eligibility conditions, sponsor requirements where applicable, and maximum duration.

Short-term residence sits in Articles 31–33 and covers a range of grounds including tourism, property ownership, and business connections. Residence based on property ownership is subject to a nationwide minimum property value of USD 200,000 per applicant, in force since 16 October 2023.

The family residence permit (Articles 34–37) is granted to the spouse and minor children of a Turkish citizen or a foreigner with a valid residence permit, for up to three years at a time. Under Article 37, the provincial authorities may investigate whether a marriage was entered into solely to obtain a residence permit; a finding of sham marriage leads to refusal or cancellation and can carry heavier consequences including a restriction code and removal.

Long-term residence (Articles 42–45) becomes available after eight years of continuous lawful residence in Turkey. It confers a status close to permanent residence and does not require periodic renewal on the basis of an underlying qualifying ground.

Entry may be refused on the grounds listed in Article 7, and entry bans — which bar a person from entering Turkey for a defined period — are governed by Article 9. Restriction codes are the administrative entries that implement such bans in practice at border crossings.

Removal (deportation) is addressed in Articles 53–57. Article 54 sets out the grounds on which a removal decision may be issued. Article 55 enshrines the non-refoulement principle, which prevents removal to a country where the person would face persecution or serious harm. Article 53 requires notification of the removal decision and provides a seven-day window within which the person may challenge it before the administrative court. Article 57 governs administrative detention pending removal, including maximum periods and the requirement for judicial oversight.