-Short-Term Family Residence Permit:

Q: Who is entitled to apply for a short-term family residence permit in Turkey?

Hallak Company always gives you reliable answers. The family residence permit is granted in only two cases:

• The foreign husband or foreign wife holds a work residence permit or work permit — accordingly, the family members (the spouse and children under the age of 18) obtain a family residence permit.

• The husband holds Turkish citizenship, or the wife holds Turkish citizenship (the spouse obtains a family-type residence permit).

Q: How long can the residence permit be granted for, in the case of a family-type residence permit?

A: If the family residence permit is based on a work residence permit, the validity of the family residence permit is tied to the end date of the work residence permit — meaning if the work residence permit is for one year, the family members get a family residence permit for one year, and if the work residence permit is for two years, the family members get a family residence permit for two years. This is subject to the passport's expiration date being taken into account, meaning the passport's validity must exceed the required residence permit duration by at least two months, or 60 days. If the family residence permit is based on marriage to a Turkish citizen, they are entitled to apply directly for a residence permit valid for 3 years.

Q: What are the procedures and documents required for the family residence permit?

A: These are similar to the documents required for the short-term tourist residence permit, with a few additional requirements, which we, Hallak Company, will detail below.

We will list the details of obtaining the family residence permit in order, according to the following table of contents:

-The Electronic Appointment -Mandatory Health Insurance for the Residence Permit

-The Tax Number -Mandatory Health Insurance for the Residence Permit

-Certified Translation of the Passport

-Paying the Residence Permit Fees

-Personal Photos

-A Copy of the Passport

-The Rental Contract

-A Copy of the Routine Documents

-The Electronic Appointment:

This can be obtained from the Turkish Directorate of Migration Management's website. Important notes from Hallak that no one else will tell you: pay close attention, while booking the appointment, to the accuracy of the information in the application. First, the first name and last name must be written exactly as they appear in the passport, and especially for nationalities where the name is written in a four- or five-part form, the names must be distributed across the first-name and last-name fields such that, when the first name and last name are combined, the result exactly matches your name in the passport. Correcting the name after the residence permit is issued is costly and very difficult, and you will run into problems related to opening bank accounts or procedures at the notary because of the mismatch. Use a recent biometric photo, less than 6 months old — some residence permits have been rejected because of the photo. Declare the source of your income and your ability to support yourself while living in Turkey, and state an accurate figure for your income in Turkish lira and its source. Filling in the occupation field is very important. State the date you moved to your address in Turkey to match, as closely as possible, the date of the rental contract, or the date the property was acquired. Link the health insurance number and its date to the appointment request accurately. Double-check that the passport number and its start and end dates are entered correctly, otherwise you will not be able to complete the application. Enter a Turkish phone number and a correct email, otherwise you will not be able to complete and follow up on the application later. Pay attention, pay attention, pay attention: do not book a residence permit appointment before you have entered Turkish territory, whether you are applying for the residence permit for the first time or renewing it — booking the appointment before entering Turkish territory is a major reason for having your residence permit rejected. The website gives three options: applying for the residence permit for the first time, meaning you are applying for the first time while holding a valid visa that has not yet expired. The second option is extending or renewing the residence permit, if you already hold a residence permit and intend to renew it as the same type for a second time. Changing the type of residence permit, if you hold a residence permit — for example a tourist one — and want to change it to a family residence permit or any other type.

On the website, you select "applying for the residence permit for the first time," and from the options that appear afterward, you select "family residence permit." Within the application, it will ask for the spouse's information and the information of the company they work for, if they are a foreigner holding a work residence permit — or the Turkish spouse's information matching their Turkish national ID card.

You can request that Hallak Company submit the electronic appointment for you.

-Mandatory Health Insurance for the Residence Permit:

This is mandatory for people between the ages of 18 and 65; for people younger than 18 and older than 65, health insurance is not one of the requirements for obtaining the residence permit — otherwise, it is a requirement. To get the health insurance, only 4 pieces of information are required from the person: a copy of the passport or residence permit, the detailed home address in Turkey, the health insurance start date — which should preferably match the date the residence permit appointment application is submitted if it's a first-time application, or match the residence permit's end date if it's a renewal application. Health insurance prices vary by age and by gender; you can click the link to get the health insurance prices. Hallak Company is an official agent and partner for dozens of private insurance companies. With Hallak Company, you will get the best prices and the best quality — yes, you are in the right place.

You can request the health insurance through Hallak Company.

-The Tax Number:

This is implicitly required to pay the residence permit fees, which we'll cover below, and it can be obtained through the tax office's website. Hallak Company recommends paying attention to the information and entering it correctly, matching the passport — correcting it later consumes a lot of time and effort. After obtaining the tax number, you can save it on your phone or on paper; you'll need it later in many procedures until the residence permit is issued.

You can request the tax number through Hallak Company.

-Certified Translation of the Passport:

At the notary in Turkey (known as NOTER), a translation and certification of the passport into Turkish is required, because of the difference in naming conventions between the Turkish system and other countries. Hallak Company advises you to keep a copy of the passport translated and certified at the notary — you'll need it in many later transactions in Turkey.

You can request the sworn translation and certification at the notary through Hallak Company.

-Paying the Residence Permit Fees:

These taxes or fees are divided into three parts and vary according to nationality, the requested residence permit duration (one year, less, or two years), and the value of the US dollar against the Turkish lira, since they are originally set in dollars and converted to Turkish lira at the time of payment.

Hallak Company tells you about the parts of this fee as follows: the cost of printing the residence permit card, which is currently, as of 2022, fixed at 160 Turkish lira, with no variation by nationality or residence permit duration. The fee related to nationality, residence permit duration, and the dollar-to-lira exchange rate, ranges between 200 Turkish lira and around 2,000 Turkish lira. The third fee, specific to nationalities that enter the Republic of Turkey without a visa, is called the visa-substitute fee, and ranges between 60 and 150 US dollars, or its equivalent in Turkish lira. You can pay the fee through the tax office's website, or by visiting the nearest tax office to you. Information only Hallak Company tells you: the visa-substitute fee cannot be paid through the website and must be paid manually at the tax offices. Tax offices do not accept payment by bank card. Tax offices only accept payments in Turkish lira. The official website only accepts bank cards issued by Turkish government banks.

You can request that Hallak Company handle the tax payment for you.

-Personal Photos:

Recent biometric photos (less than 6 months old); 4 photos are required, whether the residence permit is for the first time or a renewal. Hallak Company recommends requesting an electronic copy of the photos via WhatsApp or email, for later use when booking the electronic appointment.

-A Copy of the Passport:

Along with the visa and the last entry stamp into the Republic of Turkey.

-The Rental Contract:

This should state the name of every adult over 18 years old, with each person's signature on the contract, along with the property owner's (landlord's) information and signature. Very important information about the rental contract: the new version of the rental contract now requires all the tenant(s) to be present with their passports, and the property owner with their national ID card if they are a Turkish citizen (their legal representative can attend on their behalf), at the notary, in order to draw up the rental contract — this has become a mandatory requirement as of 2022. The copy must be an original one in the file of every adult over 18 years old, while a non-original copy is sufficient in the files of children under 18. If the residence permit application is a renewal, an address registration record, known as Adres Kayıt, can be added instead, which replaces the rental contract only in the case of a residence permit renewal.

You can request everything related to the rental contract through Hallak Company.

A quick piece of information from Hallak Company: One of my children is under 18 — what documents go into their residence permit file?

Answer: (the electronic appointment — personal photos — the original tax payment receipt — a copy of the rental contract — a copy of the child's passport and the last entry stamp with the visa — a translated and certified copy of the family register or family statement; the child's birth certificate certified by the foreign ministry of the home country, depending on nationality, and by that country's embassy in Turkey, may be required, followed by certification from the district governor's office (kaymakamlık) and translation and certification at the notary — if the father or mother is absent, official guardianship and consent from the absent party is required — a copy of the father's and mother's passports — a copy of the first page of the father's and mother's residence permit appointment)

You can request everything related to translation through Hallak Company.

A copy of the following documents:

-A copy of the Turkish family register (the first three pages)

-A copy of the spouse's work residence permit, or the national ID card of the Turkish citizen spouse.

-A copy of the spouse's social/health security information; if they do not have social security, it must be obtained. -Personal photos of the spouse.

-The spouse's official residential address (address registration), known as Adres Kayıt.

-A bank statement for the spouse and an employment verification letter from the company they work for may be required.

-Information from Hallak Company: (A holder of a family residence permit through marriage to a Turkish citizen is entitled to apply for Turkish citizenship after completing 3 years.

— A foreign national and their family residing under a work residence permit and a family residence permit for their family are entitled to apply for Turkish citizenship after 5 years of residence, noting that certain conditions must be met, which we will cover in the Turkish citizenship section.)