CIMER, the Presidential Communication Centre, forwards petitions under Law No. 3071 and information requests under Law No. 4982 to the competent public body. Foreigners resident in Türkiye may apply subject to reciprocity, in Turkish, online, via e-Devlet, by calling ALO 150, by post or in person. Petitions must be answered within 30 days; information requests within 15 or 30 working days. CIMER is not a court: it does not process criminal complaints that belong to prosecutors or private disputes, and it does not stop the 60 day lawsuit period or the six month criminal complaint period.
A residence permit application that has been pending for months, a municipal service that never arrives, a public office that refuses to give you a copy of your own file: foreigners in Türkiye who meet problems like these are often told to "write to CIMER". The Presidential Communication Centre is a real and widely used channel, and public bodies take its applications seriously because every response is recorded. It also has clear limits that are set out in the Cumhurbaşkanlığı İletişim Merkezi Yönetmeliği, the CIMER Regulation published in the Official Gazette on 4 June 2022. It does not decide disputes, it does not accept criminal complaints that belong to prosecutors, and it does not stop legal deadlines. This article explains the legal basis of CIMER, who may apply and in what language, how to apply online or by calling 150, how long the authorities have to answer, and when a lawyer, a court or a prosecutor is the better route.
CIMER, the Cumhurbaşkanlığı İletişim Merkezi, is an application system run by the Public Relations Department of the Presidency's Directorate of Communications. It is not an authority with its own decision making power over your matter. It receives your application, registers it, forwards it to the competent public body through a closed system called the CIMER Gate, and records the answer that body gives. Its legal basis rests on three layers.
Article 74 of the Constitution gives citizens, and foreigners resident in Türkiye subject to reciprocity, the right to apply in writing to the competent authorities and to the Grand National Assembly with requests and complaints concerning themselves or the public. The Law on the Exercise of the Right to Petition, Law No. 3071 of 1984, regulates how this right is used. It sets the minimum content of a petition, provides that a petition sent to the wrong authority must be forwarded to the right one, lists petitions that cannot be examined and, in Article 7, fixes the time within which a reasoned answer must be given.
The Right to Information Law, Law No. 4982 of 2003, gives a separate right to request information and documents held by public bodies. It has its own time limits and its own objection procedure before the Information Access Assessment Board, Bilgi Edinme Değerlendirme Kurulu. Through CIMER you can make either kind of application: a petition (a request or complaint) under Law No. 3071 or an information request under Law No. 4982.
The CIMER Regulation, adopted by Presidential Decision No. 5690 and published on 4 June 2022, is based on Laws No. 3071 and No. 4982 and on Presidential Decree No. 14 on the organisation of the Directorate of Communications. It sets out the application channels, the information each application must contain, the categories of application that will not be processed, the handling of complaints about public officials, confidentiality and withdrawal. Applications made directly to a public body without using CIMER fall outside the Regulation but are still governed by Laws No. 3071 and No. 4982.
Article 3 of Law No. 3071 provides that foreigners resident in Türkiye may use the right to petition on two conditions: reciprocity must be observed, and the petition must be written in Turkish. Reciprocity means, in principle, that Turkish citizens must enjoy a comparable right in the foreigner's country. In practice public bodies rarely examine reciprocity in individual CIMER applications, but the condition exists in the law and may be relied on. The Turkish language requirement is applied far more consistently: a complaint written in English or Arabic may be returned or answered only briefly, so prepare it in Turkish or have it translated.
For information requests, Article 4 of Law No. 4982 allows foreigners resident in Türkiye and foreign legal entities active in Türkiye to use the right, again subject to reciprocity, but only for information concerning themselves or their field of activity. A foreign resident can therefore ask for documents in his own residence permit or tax file, but not for general information on unrelated matters.
The Regulation states in Article 4 that everyone may use the rights to petition and to information through CIMER, and Article 6 allows citizens of other countries to identify themselves with a passport number or a foreign identity number. Applications from foreigners who are not resident are therefore accepted technically, although the statutory right in Law No. 3071 is framed for residents. Companies apply through their authorised signatory, giving the trade name, address and authority document. A legal representative or a lawyer applying on someone's behalf must provide documents that show the authority to act, such as a power of attorney.
Under Article 5 of the Regulation, you may send requests, complaints and opinions on public policy under the right to petition, and requests for information and documents under the right to information. Typical subjects for foreigners include delays or errors in residence permit, work permit or citizenship files (where our residence permit team often sees CIMER used alongside a formal application), municipal services, conduct of public officials, tax office procedures, and requests for copies of documents in one's own file.
Article 5(2) lists applications that will not be processed. These include matters within the legislative or judicial activity of Parliament and the courts; applications whose purpose or subject cannot be understood; requests, debts or obligations arising from private law relationships with third parties or institutions; criminal complaints that fall solely within the competence of public prosecutors and other judicial authorities; statements based only on guesswork without concrete information or documents; repeated similar applications amounting to abuse; matters outside the remit of any public body; attachments other than images that support the application; and matters for which the law prescribes a special procedure, such as registered post or a wet ink signature. Article 6 of Law No. 3071 similarly excludes petitions on matters within the jurisdiction of the courts. The applicant must be told the reason, and in the case of a criminal complaint must be told to apply to the competent judicial authority.
This means that a dispute with a landlord, a seller, an employer or a business partner cannot be resolved through CIMER. Those disputes go to mediation, courts or enforcement offices.
Article 6 of the Regulation lists five channels. Whichever you use, once the application is completed you receive an application number to track it, and a confirmation is sent to your email address.
Most applications are made online through the CIMER website or mobile application, or through the e-Devlet gateway. Logging in through e-Devlet requires an e-Devlet password; foreigners with a foreign identity number on a residence permit can usually obtain one from a PTT branch. Online and telephone applications do not need a signature, but additional identity and contact information may be requested to confirm who you are.
ALO 150 is the telephone line allocated to CIMER applications. The operator records your application and registers it in the system. It is useful for urgent and simple matters, but you lose control over the wording, and the operator will usually work in Turkish. For anything that may later matter as evidence, a written application is better.
You may send a letter by post or apply in person at the Directorate of Communications, its regional directorates and communication offices, Turkish missions abroad, or the public relations offices of public bodies. A written petition is registered if it meets the formal requirements; an oral application is recorded and signed by you. When applying in person, the date and number are handed to you.
Article 6(2) requires your name and surname, your Turkish identity number or, for foreigners, passport number or foreign identity number, your residential or business address and contact details, and your signature where the channel requires it. This reflects Article 4 of Law No. 3071, under which a petition without a name, signature and address cannot be examined. Attach only documents and images that support your account; unrelated attachments are a ground for refusal under Article 5(2).
CIMER forwards the application urgently to the body that must act. If that body considers it is not competent, it passes it to the right body through the CIMER Gate with reasons. Complaints about a public employee or manager are sent to that person's superior, who deals with the complaint and replies. The Regulation itself does not set a number of days; the time limits come from the two laws.
| Step | Current Rule |
|---|---|
| Petition (request or complaint) under Law No. 3071 | Reasoned answer, or a report on the progress of the matter, within 30 days at the latest (Article 7) |
| Information request under Law No. 4982 | Access within 15 working days (Article 11) |
| Information held by another unit or needing another body's opinion | 30 working days, with notice of the extension before the 15 days expire (Article 11) |
| Refused information request | Objection to the Information Access Assessment Board within 15 days of notification; Board decides within 30 working days (Article 13) |
| Interim answer | Where the answer is not final, the applicant is informed without delay and a final answer follows (Regulation Article 8) |
| Withdrawal | Possible only while the processing is not completed (Regulation Article 9) |
| Effect on court deadlines | None; administrative and criminal complaint periods continue to run |
Article 7 of Law No. 3071 requires the competent authority to give a reasoned answer within 30 days at the latest, either with the result or with information on the progress of the matter; where only progress is reported, the result must be notified later. In practice many answers arrive within the period, but some are interim answers stating that the matter is under examination. Under Article 8 of the Regulation, an answer may not simply tell you to apply directly to the institution, except where the law requires a special procedure. Where the answer is negative, it may indicate the authorities you can apply to and the time limits.
Under Article 11 of Law No. 4982, information or documents must be provided within 15 working days, extended to 30 working days where another unit or body must be consulted. Bodies may charge the cost of copying. Information already published need not be provided again, but the body must tell you where it was published. State secrets, ongoing investigations and certain commercial information are excluded under the law's exceptions.
If an information request is refused, Article 13 of Law No. 4982 allows an objection to the Information Access Assessment Board within 15 days of notification, before going to the administrative court, and the objection stops the time limit for filing an administrative action. For petitions there is no similar appeal inside CIMER: if the answer is unsatisfactory, the next step is a formal application to the authority, an application to the Ombudsman, or a lawsuit, as described in sections 6 and 9.
The most expensive mistake foreigners make is to treat a CIMER complaint as a legal remedy. CIMER cannot annul an administrative decision, award compensation, order a party to pay, or start a prosecution. It also does not suspend the deadlines that apply to those remedies.
Under Article 7 of the Administrative Judicial Procedure Law, Law No. 2577, the period for filing an action is 60 days before administrative courts and 30 days before tax courts, unless a special law provides otherwise. Article 11 allows a person to ask the superior authority, or the authority that made the decision, to revoke or change it within that period, and that application stops the period from running; if no answer is given within 30 days, the request is deemed rejected and the remaining period resumes. Whether a CIMER petition will be treated as an Article 11 application depends on its content and addressee, and practice is not uniform, so do not rely on it. Many specific decisions, such as deportation orders or administrative fines, have shorter special periods; our article on objection to administrative fines shows how short these can be.
For offences prosecuted only upon complaint, Article 73 of the Turkish Penal Code, Law No. 5237, requires the complaint to be filed within six months from the day the victim learned of the act and the identity of the offender. Since CIMER does not process criminal complaints that belong to prosecutors, a CIMER application is not a safe way to meet this period.
A complaint about how a public service works is an administrative matter and suits CIMER. A criminal complaint, suç duyurusu, a report to the authorities that an offence has been committed, is different. Under Article 158 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Law No. 5271, it is made to the public prosecutor's office or to the police or gendarmerie, in writing or orally to be recorded. Complaints made to a governor's or district governor's office or to a court are forwarded to the prosecutor, and complaints about offences committed in connection with a public duty that are made to the relevant institution must be forwarded without delay. Article 158(6) also allows the prosecutor to decide that there is no ground for investigation where the complaint is abstract and general, which is why a precise, documented complaint matters.
Some older guides describe a "criminal complaint" option on CIMER. Under the 2022 Regulation, applications that amount to a criminal complaint within the prosecutor's competence are not processed, and you are told to apply to the judicial authority. If you are the victim of a scam, follow the process in our guide on how to file a fraud complaint in Türkiye; for nuisance calls and online fraud, see blocking 0850 numbers and reporting cybercrime. If you are summoned to give a statement after filing, our article on your rights when giving a police statement explains what to expect.
Article 4(6) of the Regulation requires that applicants' personal data and application details be protected by administrative and technical measures. For complaints, Article 7(5) allows CIMER staff, where they consider it necessary and in the applicant's favour, to hide the applicant's identity and contact details so that the complaint is processed confidentially. Hidden details may still be shared with authorities that request them lawfully under Article 8(2) of the Personal Data Protection Law, Law No. 6698, for example investigators assigned to the matter. Anonymity is therefore protection, not a guarantee, and a complaint that leads to a criminal investigation may require you to give a statement in your own name.
An application can be withdrawn only while its processing is not completed, and applications whose subject has become irrelevant cannot be withdrawn. All information is archived so that it can be provided to courts and other authorities in later disputes, which also means your CIMER file can be used as evidence of when you raised an issue and what the authority answered.
The Ombudsman Institution, Kamu Denetçiliği Kurumu, established under Law No. 6328, examines complaints about the functioning of the administration. Under Article 17 of that law, an application must be made with a Turkish petition containing, for foreigners, a passport number; the administrative application routes in Law No. 2577 must normally be exhausted first; the application must be made within six months of the administration's answer or of the expiry of 60 days without an answer; no fee is charged; and an application made within the litigation period stops that period. The Ombudsman issues recommendations rather than binding decisions, but its reports carry weight. A direct, formal petition to the authority, served by hand with a stamped copy or through a notary, is often better than CIMER when you need proof of a specific request for a later lawsuit.
Write in Turkish and keep to one subject. State who you are, your file or application number with the authority, what happened and when, what you have already done, and exactly what you are asking for. Attach only documents that prove your account, such as the receipt of your residence permit application or the authority's earlier letter. Avoid accusations without evidence, because applications based on guesswork are not processed, and do not send the same complaint repeatedly. Keep the application number, the confirmation email and every answer.
CIMER works well for delays, unanswered requests and service failures. A lawyer is the better choice when a decision has been made against you, such as a refused residence permit, a deportation order, an entry ban or a tax assessment, because the legal remedy has a short deadline that CIMER does not stop. The same applies where you have suffered a crime and need a properly drafted criminal complaint, where money or property must be recovered from a private party, or where your CIMER answer contradicts the law and must be challenged in court. Our criminal law services cover complaints, statements and representation in investigations, and our administrative team handles objections and lawsuits against public bodies.
CIMER is the Presidential Communication Centre, a system run by the Directorate of Communications that receives petitions and information requests and forwards them to the competent public body. It does not decide the matter itself.
Yes. Law No. 3071 gives foreigners resident in Türkiye the right to petition subject to reciprocity and a petition written in Turkish, and CIMER accepts applications identified by passport number or foreign identity number.
Article 3 of Law No. 3071 requires foreign residents' petitions to be written in Turkish. An application in another language risks being returned or answered only briefly.
Call ALO 150, the line allocated to CIMER applications. The operator records the application and you receive an application number to track it.
For petitions, a reasoned answer or progress report is due within 30 days under Article 7 of Law No. 3071. For information requests, the period is 15 working days, or 30 working days where another unit must be consulted.
Follow up through the tracking number, then consider a formal petition to the authority, an application to the Ombudsman, or a lawsuit, keeping in mind the deadlines in Law No. 2577.
No. CIMER has no effect on court deadlines, and you should file your objection or lawsuit within the legal period regardless of any CIMER application.
Not effectively. Under Article 5 of the CIMER Regulation, criminal complaints within the prosecutor's competence are not processed, and you are told to apply to the prosecutor's office or the police.
For complaints, CIMER staff may hide your identity and contact details, but they can be disclosed to authorities that lawfully request them, and a criminal investigation may require your statement.
No. Private law disputes about debts or obligations are outside CIMER and must go to mediation, the courts or the enforcement office.
Yes, but only while its processing is not completed, by a request that refers to the original application number. An application whose subject has become irrelevant cannot be withdrawn.
Yes. A request under Law No. 4982 for documents concerning you, such as your residence permit file, can be made through CIMER, and a refusal can be challenged before the Information Access Assessment Board within 15 days.
No. The Ombudsman Institution under Law No. 6328 examines complaints about the administration and issues recommendations, normally after administrative routes are exhausted and within six months.
Yes. A representative may apply if documents showing the authority to act, such as a power of attorney, are provided.
CIMER is a practical, well established channel for foreigners in Türkiye to raise delays, service failures and complaints about public officials, and to request information about their own files. It rests on Article 74 of the Constitution, Law No. 3071 and Law No. 4982, requires a recorded, reasoned answer within 30 days for petitions, and accepts applications online, through e-Devlet, by calling 150, by post or in person. It is not a court, it does not process criminal complaints that belong to prosecutors, it cannot resolve private disputes, and it does not stop the 60 day, 30 day or shorter deadlines that apply to legal remedies.
If your matter concerns a decision against you, a crime, or money that must be recovered, use CIMER only as a supplement to the proper legal step taken in time. If you are unsure which route fits your situation, or you need a complaint, objection or lawsuit prepared in Turkish, contact our legal team.
