Can I Leave Turkey After Applying for a Residence Permit?

The Application Document (İkamet İzni Müracaat Belgesi)

When you complete a residence permit application inside Turkey, whether a first application or a renewal, you receive an application document (Implementing Regulation of Law No. 6458, article 21(8)). It does two things:

• It lets you stay in Turkey until a decision is made on your application (Regulation, article 21(9)).
• For a renewal, it lets you stay even after your old permit has expired, until the decision (Law No. 6458, article 24(2)).

When you get it depends on the type of application, according to the Presidency of Migration Management:

• First application: only after you attend your appointment at the migration office.
• Renewal: from the e-İkamet system, once your online application is complete.

The 15-Day Rule for Trips Abroad

With the application document you can leave Turkey more than once while you wait for the decision (Regulation, article 21(9)). The conditions are:

• You can prove that you paid the residence fees, unless the document says you are exempt.
• Your trip falls within the permit period you applied for.
• Each time you return within 15 days, you can enter without a visa.
• If you stay away longer than 15 days, the general visa rules apply when you come back. You need a visa or a visa-free right like any other visitor.
• The rule of 90 days in any 180 days for visa and visa-free stays still applies.

What to carry at the border

• your passport;
• the application document, approved by the migration office;
• the receipt showing that you paid the residence fees.

Get the document approved at the migration office before you travel. Keep copies of your e-İkamet application and payment records with you.

Leaving Before Your Appointment

If this is your first application and you have not attended the appointment yet, you do not have an application document. The 15-day rule does not cover you. If you leave Turkey, you come back under the general visa rules, so you need a visa or a visa-free right to re-enter (Istanbul provincial migration office FAQ).

We have found no official rule that says leaving Turkey cancels a pending application. Still, applications are in principle made in person, so you must be back in time for your appointment. If you have to travel before it, plan your return around your visa or visa-free days.

Things to Watch While You Are Away

• Missing documents. If the office asks for missing documents, you have 30 days from the notice to provide them. If you do not, the application is closed (Regulation, article 22(1)). Check e-İkamet and your messages while you are abroad.
• Decision time. The office should decide within 90 days of receiving a complete file (Regulation, article 22(2)).
• Refusal. The application document gives you rights only until the decision. If your application is refused, you receive a document that lets you stay in Turkey for up to 10 days (Regulation, article 22(11)). If you are abroad when this happens, plan to return under the general visa rules. See what to do after a residence permit refusal.
• Card delivery. PTT delivers the card to the address given in your application. You can get the delivery barcode through YİMER 157. If you will be away when the card may arrive, ask PTT how to collect it later.

Children Born in Turkey

A baby born in Turkey to foreign parents cannot travel on a Turkish birth certificate alone. The child needs a passport or travel document, and a residence permit must be obtained within 180 days of birth. See residence permits for foreign children.

After You Get Your Permit

Long absences can still cost you the permit once you hold it:

• a short-term permit can be cancelled if you spent more than 120 days in total abroad in the last year;
• a family permit, after more than 180 days abroad in the last year;
• a long-term permit, after more than 1 year abroad without a break.

There are exceptions for compulsory public service, duty, education and health reasons.

Related Guides

For the full process, see our guide to applying for a residence permit, the residence permit FAQs and the guide to the short-term residence permit. If you overstayed before or have an entry ban, read our guides to overstay penalties and restriction codes.

Official sources: Implementing Regulation of Law No. 6458, articles 21 and 22; Law No. 6458; Presidency of Migration Management: residence permit general information; Istanbul provincial migration office FAQ.