Permanent Residence in Turkey (2026): Who Gets It After 8 Years, How Many Days You Can Spend Abroad, Income Needed and Who Cannot Apply

1. What is permanent residence in Turkey?

Turkish law has six types of residence permit: short-term, family, student, long-term, humanitarian and victim of human trafficking (Law No. 6458, Art. 30) [M1]. Only the long-term residence permit is granted without a time limit (süresiz). It is issued by the governorship (valilik) with the approval of the Ministry of Interior (Art. 42/1) [M1]. In everyday English it is called "permanent residence", "indefinite residence" or the "8-year residence permit"; in the law it is one permit with one set of rules.

2. Who can apply, and who cannot?

There are two routes to the permit (Art. 42/1) [M1]:

• The eight-year route: a foreigner who has stayed in Turkey for at least eight uninterrupted years with residence permits.
• The Ministry route: a foreigner who meets conditions set by the Ministry of Interior. For this group, only the public order and security condition is checked; the other four conditions are not required (Art. 43/2) [M1].

The law also closes the door to five groups. Refugees, conditional refugees, holders of subsidiary protection, holders of humanitarian residence permits and people under temporary protection have no right to switch to the long-term permit (Art. 42/2; Regulation Art. 26/8) [M1] [M2]. Years spent with a humanitarian residence permit are also not counted towards the residence total (Regulation Art. 44/4) [M2].

Status	Can switch to long-term residence?	Basis
Short-term residence (e.g. property owner, business, tourism)	Yes, if the years and conditions are met	Arts. 31, 42
Family residence	Yes	Art. 42
Student residence	Yes, but student years count as half	Art. 28/2
Work permit	A valid work permit counts as a residence permit	Art. 27/1
Temporary protection (kimlik)	No	Art. 42/2
Refugee, conditional refugee, subsidiary protection	No	Art. 42/2
Humanitarian residence	No, and those years do not count	Art. 42/2; Regulation Art. 44/4

3. What are the requirements for permanent residence in Turkey?

Article 43 of Law No. 6458 lists five conditions, and the Regulation explains how each one is checked [M1] [M2].

Condition	What the law says	How it is checked (Regulation Art. 40)
1. Eight years	At least eight uninterrupted years in Turkey with residence permits	Counted back from the application date in one-year slices (section 4)
2. No social assistance	No social assistance received in the last three years	Checked as of the application date; if received, the application is refused
3. Income	Sufficient and regular income for the applicant and family	At least the net minimum wage per month, and one third of it per family member (section 6)
4. Health insurance	Valid health insurance	Must be valid on the application date
5. Public order	No threat to public order or public security	Checked with the security units when needed

4. How are the eight years counted? The absence rules

Most refusals turn on the word "uninterrupted". Two texts decide it.

How long can I stay outside Turkey?

Article 28 of Law No. 6458 says that, except for compulsory public service, education and health reasons, stays outside Turkey of more than six months in one year, or more than one year in total in the last five years, interrupt residence. When residence is interrupted, earlier permit periods are not counted. Student permits count as half; all other permits count in full (Art. 28/2) [M1].

How the days abroad are counted

Article 40/2 of the Regulation explains exactly how the authority checks the eight years [M2]:

Step	Rule
Starting point	The application date. Time spent abroad and time spent in Turkey without a residence permit both count as interruptions.
Single long absence	If, at any point in the eight years, the person spent more than six months at once (abroad or in Turkey without a permit), the application is refused without further calculation.
One-year slices	Going back from the application date, each one-year slice is checked: the interruptions in it must not exceed 180 days. The check continues until eight years are covered.
Last five years	If no slice exceeds 180 days, the authority checks that the total interruptions in the last five slices do not exceed 365 days.
Deportation	If the person was deported, earlier permit periods are not counted at all.

Three examples

Person	Pattern	Result under Article 40/2
A	Eight years of permits; about 60 days abroad each year	No slice above 180 days; last five years total about 300 days (under 365): the eight-year condition is met
B	Eight years of permits; one stay abroad of seven months in year three	A single absence over six months: refused without slice calculation
C	Eight years of permits; about 150 days abroad each year	No slice above 180 days, but the last five years total about 750 days (over 365): the condition is not met

A fourth pattern is common in practice: a gap of a few weeks between the expiry of one permit and the approval of the next. Under Article 40/2-a, time spent in Turkey without a permit is an interruption as well, so renewal dates matter as much as travel dates. The overstay calculator shows how such gaps are treated when they become overstays. A work permit ends when the job ends, which can create such a gap; what happens to the permit and the money owed after a dismissal is explained in severance pay in Turkey if you are fired.

5. Which permits count towards the eight years?

All residence permits count in full except student permits, which count as half (Art. 28/2) [M1]. A valid work permit counts as a residence permit (Art. 27/1) [M1]. Three periods do not count [M2]:

• years spent with a humanitarian residence permit (Regulation Art. 44/4);
• a family residence permit obtained through a sham marriage and later cancelled (Regulation Art. 34/5);
• all earlier permits of a person who has been deported (Regulation Art. 40/2-d).

Short-term permits for property owners (Art. 31/1-b) count like any other permit [M1]. That is why many families who bought property in Turkey years ago now ask about the long-term permit; our guide to buying property in Turkey explains the property residence route that often comes first.

6. How much income is needed in 2026?

The Regulation sets two income rules: the applicant must be able to cover monthly expenses of at least the net minimum wage, and must have one third of the minimum wage for each family member including himself or herself, with the total not lower than the minimum wage. Undertakings by third persons (for example, a relative promising to pay) are not accepted (Regulation Art. 40/5) [M2]. In 2026 the net minimum wage is TRY 28,075.50 per month [H1].

Household (including applicant)	One third of net minimum wage × persons	Monthly amount under the Regulation's formula (2026)
1 person	TRY 9,358.50	TRY 28,075.50 (the minimum-wage floor)
3 persons	TRY 28,075.50	TRY 28,075.50
4 persons	TRY 37,434.00	TRY 37,434.00
5 persons	TRY 46,792.50	TRY 46,792.50

These figures are the arithmetic of the Regulation's wording with the 2026 minimum wage; the authority looks at whether the income is "sufficient and regular", so documents showing a steady source (salary, pension, rent, business income) carry weight.

7. What rights does the long-term residence permit give?

Holders benefit from the rights given to Turkish citizens, with four exceptions in the law: military service, the right to vote and stand for election, entering public service and duty-free vehicle import (Law No. 6458, Art. 44/1) [M1]. The Regulation adds that their transactions on residence, travel, work, investment, commercial activity, inheritance and the acquisition and transfer of movable and immovable property are carried out under the rules applied to Turkish citizens (Regulation Art. 41/1-ç), except where a special law requires Turkish citizenship (Art. 41/2) [M2]. Acquired social security rights are preserved. The President may restrict these rights in whole or in part (Law Art. 44/2) [M1].

Right	Long-term residence permit	Turkish citizen
Stay without renewal	Yes (no expiry)	Yes
Work, investment, trade	Under the rules applied to citizens (Regulation Art. 41/1-ç)	Yes
Vote and stand for election	No	Yes
Public service	No	Yes
Military service	Exempt	Liable (for men)
Turkish passport	No (keeps own passport)	Yes
Lost by long absence	Yes, after more than one continuous year abroad (with exceptions)	No

8. When can the permit be cancelled, and can it be regained?

The Regulation lists two grounds for cancellation (Art. 42) [M2]:

• Serious threat to public order or public security, determined after asking the security units. A person whose permit is cancelled on this ground cannot apply for any type of residence permit (Art. 42/4).
• More than one continuous year outside Turkey, except for health, education, compulsory public service in the home country or duty.

Someone who lost the permit because of a long absence can apply again, at a consulate abroad or at the governorship in Turkey. The eight-year condition is not required again; the other conditions are checked. The application is treated as a priority and decided within one month at the latest, looking at the person's intention to settle, relatives in Turkey, property, active work and social, economic and cultural ties (Regulation Art. 43) [M2].

9. Long-term residence or Turkish citizenship?

The two are often confused. General naturalisation requires five years of uninterrupted residence, but also adequate Turkish, good conduct, income and settlement shown by conduct (Law No. 5901, Art. 11) [M3]. Long-term residence requires eight years but no language test and no change of nationality.

	Long-term residence permit	Citizenship by naturalisation	Citizenship by investment
Years in Turkey	8 uninterrupted years with permits	5 uninterrupted years	No residence period
Language	Not required	Adequate Turkish	Not required
Decision	Governorship with Ministry approval	Ministry	President
Can be lost by absence	Yes (over one continuous year)	No	No
Can be reviewed later	Yes (security ground)	Yes (Arts. 31, 40 of Law 5901)	Yes, as the 2026 cancellations showed

Since 2026, families who obtained citizenship by investment have been asking what happens if that citizenship is cancelled; the answer, explained in our guide to Turkish citizenship cancellations in 2026, is that the person becomes a foreigner again and needs a residence permit.

10. Syrians under temporary protection: why the kimlik years do not lead to long-term residence

Many searches about "permanent residence in Turkey" come from people living under temporary protection. The law is direct: people under temporary protection have no right to switch to the long-term residence permit (Art. 42/2), and the Regulation repeats this (Art. 26/8) [M1] [M2]. Years spent with a temporary protection identity card are therefore not residence permit years for this purpose. A person who later obtains a different residence permit (for example a family or short-term permit, where the conditions for that permit are met) starts counting from that permit, subject to the rules in section 4.

11. How to apply for the long-term residence permit, step by step

The Regulation states that foreigners may request the permit once they meet the conditions (Art. 40/2) [M2]. In practice the application follows the same path as other residence permits, with the long-term checks added:

Step	What happens	What the authority checks
1. Self-check before applying	The applicant counts the eight years back from the intended application date	The absence rules in section 4; gaps between permits
2. Application	Made to the provincial directorate of migration management of the governorship, through the system set by the Presidency of Migration Management	Identity, current permit, address registration
3. Documents	Permits for eight years, travel record, income, health insurance, family documents	The five conditions of Article 43
4. Security check	Carried out with the security units when needed (Regulation Art. 40/7)	Public order and public security
5. Ministry approval	The governorship issues the permit with the Ministry's approval (Law Art. 42/1)	The complete file
6. Decision and notification	A refusal is notified to the foreigner, the legal representative or the lawyer (Regulation Art. 39/3)	60 days to challenge in court (Law No. 2577, Art. 7)

The date chosen for the application matters, because every calculation in Article 40/2 runs backwards from it. An application made a few months later can move an old long absence out of the eight-year window or the last five slices.

12. Common situations: retirees, property owners, former students and spouses

The same rules apply to everyone, but they play out differently in four situations families ask about most often.

Situation	What usually decides the file
Retiree living in Antalya or Alanya on a pension, spending summers in the home country	The 180-day limit per slice and the 365-day limit for the last five years; a pension paid from abroad can show "regular" income
Property owner on short-term permits since buying an apartment	Continuity of the short-term permits (no gaps between renewals) and the total absences; the permits count in full
Former student who stayed on to work	Student years count as half (Art. 28/2); four years of study count as two
Spouse on a family residence permit	Family permit years count in full, but a family permit obtained through a sham marriage and later cancelled does not count (Regulation Art. 34/5); a divorce can end the family permit, as explained in our guide to divorce in Turkey for foreigners

Investors who obtained a short-term permit under Article 31/1-j (the investment route, issued for up to five years at a time) also accumulate permit years [M1]. For investors who instead became citizens and whose citizenship was later cancelled, the residence question starts again from the date they became foreigners.

13. If the application is refused

A refusal is an administrative decision notified to the foreigner, the legal representative or the lawyer (Regulation Art. 39/3) [M2]. It can be challenged before the administrative court within 60 days of notification under the general rule of Law No. 2577 (Art. 7) [M4]. A refusal of the long-term permit does not by itself cancel a valid existing permit, but a person whose permits have lapsed may need to deal with the overstay rules explained in our guide to deportation and entry bans in Turkey.

14. Immigration lawyer in Istanbul, Ankara and across Turkey: where applications are decided

Applications are made to the provincial directorate of migration management of the governorship where the foreigner lives, and the permit is issued with the Ministry's approval [M1]. Many foreign residents live in İstanbul, and many families first look for an immigration lawyer in Istanbul when an application is refused or an absence calculation is unclear. The Presidency of Migration Management is in Ankara, and Ministry approvals are given there, so a lawyer in Ankara or anywhere in Turkey follows these files through the same national systems. A refusal is challenged before the administrative court; the administrative side is described on our administrative law page, and families comparing options often ask a residence lawyer in Turkey to calculate the eight years before applying, because the slice calculation decides the result.

15. A practical checklist of what the authority looks at

Item	What it proves
All residence permit cards and decisions for eight years	Continuity and the type of each permit (student years count half)
Passport entry and exit stamps / travel record	The absence calculation (180 days per slice, 365 days in five years, no single absence over six months)
Income documents (salary, pension, rent, business)	Net minimum wage and the one-third-per-person rule
Health insurance valid on the application date	The health insurance condition
Proof of no social assistance in three years	The social assistance condition
Family documents	Who is counted in the income calculation

Sources and References

Legislation

• [M1] Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection, Arts. 27, 28, 30, 31, 42, 43, 44

• [M2] Regulation on the Implementation of Law No. 6458, Arts. 26, 34, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44

• [M3] Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901, Art. 11

• [M4] Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577, Art. 7

Figures

• [H1] Net minimum wage for 2026 (TRY 28,075.50; gross TRY 33,030), published in the Official Gazette in December 2025; see for example EY Türkiye, "2026 yılı asgari ücreti açıklandı"

This article is general information about Turkish law as of 2 October 2026. It is not legal advice and does not assess any individual application.