A phone brought into Türkiye for personal use works with a Turkish SIM card for 120 days from your entry. To keep using it, pay the 2026 fee of 54,258 Turkish Lira (Tariff 8, Section VIII, Fees Law No. 492; Fees Law General Communiqué No. 98) and register the IMEI on e-Devlet, the sole channel since 2 July 2026. One phone per passenger per three calendar years; it then works only with lines in your name for three calendar years. Unregistered phones get blocked. Phones cannot be sent by post or courier, except a registered phone returned from one month before to three months after your arrival.
Since 1 January 2026 the fee for registering a phone brought into Türkiye from abroad has been 54,258 Turkish Lira, and on 2 July 2026 the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) amended its rules so that registration applications are handled only through e-Devlet, the state's online services portal. Foreigners arriving on a passport, Turkish citizens who live abroad, students and expats planning a longer stay all face the same questions: how long will the phone work on a Turkish SIM card, what does registration cost, who is allowed to register, and is it worth paying? This article explains the 120 day rule, the limit of one phone every three calendar years, the customs rules of the Ministry of Trade, the e-Devlet steps, what happens when the deadline passes, and the points where foreigners most often lose time or money.
Under Article 57 of the Electronic Communications Law, Law No. 5809, mobile operators in Türkiye may not provide service to lost, smuggled or stolen devices or to devices whose electronic identity has been altered. To apply this rule, BTK keeps a central database of IMEI numbers, the 15 digit identity number of every mobile device. The detailed rules are in the Regulation on the Registration of Devices Bearing Electronic Identity Information (Official Gazette of 12 July 2014, No. 29058) and in the communiqué of the same name. Both were last amended on 2 July 2026 (Official Gazette No. 33298).
The register sorts IMEI numbers into lists. The white list contains devices lawfully imported, manufactured in Türkiye or brought by passengers and registered. The black list contains lost, stolen, smuggled and cloned devices and devices found in use in Türkiye without being in the records. The grey list contains devices that receive service in Türkiye only temporarily, which is where a foreign phone sits during its first weeks on a Turkish SIM. The fourth list, the eşleştirilmiş beyaz liste, the paired white list, links a device to particular subscriber numbers. A phone brought from abroad and registered by its owner goes onto this paired list for three calendar years under Article 14(7) of the Regulation.
The rules apply to any device with an IMEI number that receives service from a mobile network: smartphones, basic phones, tablets and laptops with a SIM slot, mobile modems and smart watches with their own SIM or eSIM. Article 4(1)(m) of the Regulation defines a device brought by a passenger as one brought from abroad as personal effects under customs legislation and not of a commercial nature. A phone used only on wireless internet, with no mobile line in Türkiye, does not draw service from a mobile network, so the register does not cut it off, but it cannot make mobile calls either.
A phone that is not in the register but is used in Türkiye with a Turkish line is given a usage period of 120 days. Article 4(1)(h) of the Regulation defines a smuggled device, kaçak cihaz, as one found in use without being in the records and not registered within that 120 day usage period, and Article 10(2)(c) requires operators to cut the connection of such a device within the period. The official e-Devlet guide for the service tells applicants to complete registration within 120 days of their date of entry into Türkiye, and the Ministry of Trade gives the same instruction to passengers. In practice, count the 120 days from the entry stamp in your passport, not from the day you first insert a Turkish SIM card.
Article 14(4) of the Regulation, as amended in 2021, provides that applications for devices brought by passengers are made within 365 days of the date of entry, but adds expressly that this does not change the 120 day usage period. The longer window explains why a phone that has already been cut off can, in some cases, still be registered and reopened; the e-Devlet guide confirms that a device previously closed to calls is opened within 24 hours of registration. It is not a reason to wait. The phone will not work on Turkish lines between day 121 and registration, the eligibility conditions in section 4 are checked on the day you apply, and the official guidance continues to refer to 120 days.
The register is aimed at devices served on Turkish SIM cards. A visitor who keeps a home SIM on ordinary international roaming does not need to register the phone. The exception is long term data roaming. The Regulation treats a device whose SIM is not Turkish (an IMSI prefix other than 286) and which, within 120 consecutive days, uses Turkish networks on more than 90 days in total without voice calls as being in permanent roaming, and operators must cut its connection within 30 days (Articles 4(1)(ö) and 10(2)(e)). A foreign data eSIM used for months as the only connection can therefore be blocked even though the phone was never registered with a Turkish line.
The fee is the yolcu beraberinde getirilen telefon kullanım izin harcı, the telephone usage permit fee for phones brought by passengers, set out in Section VIII of Tariff (8) annexed to the Fees Law, Law No. 492. The section was introduced by Article 20 of Law No. 6322 and has applied since 15 June 2012 to portable telephones that passengers bring from abroad for their own use and not for commercial purposes. For 2026 the amount is 54,258 Turkish Lira, as listed in Fees Law General Communiqué No. 98, published in the Official Gazette of 31 December 2025 (No. 33124, fifth repeated issue) and in force since 1 January 2026. The Ministry of Trade quotes the same figure in its passenger customs guidance.
Under Repeated Article 138 of Law No. 492, fixed fees rise at the start of each calendar year by the revaluation rate announced for the previous year, and the President may raise or lower them within statutory limits. The revaluation rate for 2025 was 25.49%, but Presidential Decision No. 10783 of 30 December 2025 increased fixed fees for 2026 by 18.95%. That is why the IMEI fee rose by 18.95% rather than by the full rate.
The tariff states that the fee is paid before the IMEI is registered and that registration is not carried out without proof of payment. A device that is registered and opened without payment is closed by BTK, and the unpaid fee is collected with a 50% surcharge and a late payment charge under the Law on the Procedure for the Collection of Public Receivables, Law No. 6183, running from the first registration date; the device is not reopened until this is paid. The fee is paid once per device, not every year. According to the e-Devlet guide, no other charge, tax or service fee is taken for the registration itself.
| Element | Current Rule (2026) |
|---|---|
| Name of the fee | Telephone usage permit fee for phones brought by passengers, Section VIII of Tariff (8), Law No. 492 |
| Amount | 54,258 Turkish Lira from 1 January 2026 (Fees Law General Communiqué No. 98) |
| Who pays | The passenger who brought the phone and registers it in their own name |
| When | Before registration, matched to the applicant's identity number and the IMEI |
| How often | Once per device; no annual renewal |
| Where | On e-Devlet by card, through internet banking of a contracted bank, or at a tax office or bank branch |
| If registered without payment | Device closed by BTK; fee collected with a 50% surcharge and late payment charge under Law No. 6183 |
| 2027 | Not yet published; follows the revaluation rate unless a Presidential decision sets a different increase |
The 2027 amount has not yet been published. It will follow the revaluation rate for 2026, which the Ministry of Treasury and Finance announces by communiqué towards the end of November, unless a Presidential decision sets a different increase, as happened for 2026. Our article on the revaluation rate and the 2027 fees and fines explains how the calculation works and when the new figures appear. Because the fee is charged at the amount in force on the day it is paid, a person who is already eligible and plans to register around the turn of the year should check the date carefully.
Registration under this procedure is only for devices that the passenger brought personally, as personal effects. The e-Devlet guide states this as the first condition. A phone bought online and delivered to Türkiye, or one posted by a relative, is a different case and is dealt with in section 5.2.
A foreigner who entered Türkiye on a passport may register one phone on the same terms as a citizen. The practical hurdle is access to e-Devlet: logging in requires an identity number together with an e-Devlet password, an electronic or mobile signature or internet banking, and the fee payment is matched to an identity number. A foreigner who holds a residence permit has a foreigner identification number, yabancı kimlik numarası, and can collect an e-Devlet password in person at a PTT branch. A short stay visitor without such a number should confirm that the application can actually be completed before paying 54,258 Turkish Lira. Our guide to residence permits in Türkiye explains how the foreigner identification number is issued.
A Turkish citizen who lives abroad and arrives with a phone bought there uses the same e-Devlet service with the Turkish identity number. The e-Devlet password can be collected from a PTT branch or, before travelling, from a Turkish consulate. Neither the Regulation nor the communiqué makes registration depend on holding a residence permit abroad; the conditions are passenger status, the 120 days and the three year limit. For citizens who visit for a few weeks each year, roaming on the foreign SIM, as described in section 2.3, is often more sensible than paying the fee.
Two sets of rules use the same period. For customs, the personal effects list applied by the Ministry of Trade allows one mobile phone per passenger in three calendar years without customs duties, on condition that it is used with lines registered to the passenger's identity number; foreign mission members are outside this limit. For registration, the e-Devlet guide states that the applicant must not have brought a device from abroad within the last three years, and the registered IMEI stays on the paired white list for three calendar years. Because the period runs in calendar years, the year of registration is generally counted as the first year. The e-Devlet form warns the applicant before the payment step if an obstacle exists, so check your eligibility on the form before you pay.
Applications for persons under 18 are made by a parent or legal representative under Article 14(3) of the Regulation. A dual SIM phone has two IMEI numbers; the e-Devlet service accepts up to three IMEI numbers for a single device, and they are registered together as one device.
Customs treats a mobile phone as an item on the personal effects list, not as a gift. The Ministry of Trade states that a phone cannot be brought within the 430 euro gift allowance, cannot be cleared by paying customs taxes instead, and cannot be sent by post. In other words, there is no paid route for a second personal phone within the same three calendar years. The wider passenger allowances are set out in our guide to Turkish customs allowances for passengers.
According to the Ministry of Trade, mobile phones cannot be brought into Türkiye by post or express courier, either under the exemption or by paying taxes, and a phone sent this way is not delivered to its owner under any circumstances. This is the point where many foreigners lose a new phone ordered from an online shop abroad. For other goods ordered online, see our article on the 2026 customs rules for foreigners ordering from abroad; phones are excluded from that channel altogether.
There is one exception. If a passenger travelled abroad with a phone whose IMEI is already registered in Türkiye and the phone was left or forgotten there, it may be returned by post or express courier, provided it is sent within the period from one month before to three months after the passenger's arrival in Türkiye. Customs releases it once the registration has been confirmed through the e-Devlet IMEI service at turkiye.gov.tr/btk-imei-kaydet. Keep the courier documents and your travel dates together, because both are checked.
The personal effects regime covers one phone for the passenger's own use. Several new phones in a suitcase, or phones carried on behalf of others, are treated as commercial goods and can lead to seizure and proceedings under the Anti-Smuggling Law, Law No. 5607. The procedure at the airport and before the court is similar to the one described in our article on gold smuggling cases at Turkish customs.
Find the phone's 15 digit IMEI number by dialling *#06#; a dual SIM phone will show two numbers. Make sure you have a Turkish mobile line registered in your own name, because after registration the phone will work only with lines registered to your identity number. Foreigners can usually open a line at an operator's shop with their passport. Finally, make sure you can log in to e-Devlet and that you are still within 120 days of your entry date.
The fee can be paid in three ways: by credit or debit card through the payment option on the e-Devlet service screens, through the internet banking of a contracted bank, or at a vergi dairesi, a tax office, or a bank branch by giving your identity number. When paying in person, check that the official has entered your identity number and the IMEI correctly and keep the receipt, because the system matches the payment to both.
The service is called "BTK IMEI Kaydet" and is found under the Information and Communication Technologies Authority on e-Devlet. After an information screen, you fill in the application form; if there is an obstacle, such as a registration within the last three years, the system warns you at this stage. The system then checks for a payment in your name or offers card payment, and you confirm the application. When the confirmation screen appears, the registration is complete. A device that had already been closed to calls is opened within 24 hours.
Since 2021, registrations of phones brought by passengers have been made through e-Devlet, and an abone kayıt merkezi, an operator's subscriber registration centre, was used mainly for foreign mission identity card holders who could not apply online. The amendments of 2 July 2026 define e-Devlet as the only application channel and remove the references to subscriber registration centres. An operator shop can still open a line in your name and a tax office can take the payment, but the registration itself is done online. Be wary of anyone offering to register a phone on another person's passport: the registration and the paired lines are tied to that person's identity, and under Article 14(5) of the Regulation the applicant is responsible for the accuracy of the information given.
Under Articles 8(1)(d) and 12(1) of the Regulation, the IMEI of a phone brought by a passenger is paired with the subscriber numbers registered to the passenger's identity number, and operators allow it to be used only with those numbers. A second line in your own name will work; a line registered to your spouse, your employer or a friend will not.
Article 12(3) provides that at the end of three calendar years the condition of use with the passenger's own lines falls away, and the IMEI is moved from the paired white list to the ordinary white list. From then on the phone can be used with any Turkish line, like a phone bought in Türkiye.
It follows from the pairing rule that a registered phone sold or given to someone else during the three year period will not work with the new owner's line until the period ends. Buyers of used imported phones should keep this in mind, as explained in section 9.2.
If a registered phone or its main board is replaced because of a fault, the IMEI changes. Under Article 12(3) of the communiqué, as amended on 2 July 2026, the person who first registered the phone may apply on e-Devlet within three calendar years of registration, while the IMEI is on the paired white list, with a replacement document from the repairer. The document must be on letterhead or bear the company stamp, show the company's name and address or telephone number, state that the replacement was made because of a fault, and list the old and new IMEI numbers.
Under Article 19/A of the Regulation, a registered device that receives no service from Turkish networks for one uninterrupted year after its last signal is moved to the black list. This regularly affects foreigners who leave Türkiye for a long period. If the device is used again with a subscriber number belonging to one of its last users, BTK checks the match and returns the IMEI to the relevant list; the last user can also apply on e-Devlet to have the device registered again.
When the 120 day usage period ends without registration, the IMEI is treated as belonging to a smuggled device and the operator cuts its mobile connection. Operators must send the user a text message stating that the IMEI is on the black list (Article 10(1)). The phone can still call 112 emergency services (Article 10(4)) and still works on wireless internet, but it cannot make normal calls, send messages or use mobile data with any Turkish line.
If you still meet the conditions and the system accepts the application within the 365 day window described in section 2.2, you can pay the fee and register, and the phone reopens within 24 hours. If not, the phone can still be used abroad, in Türkiye on wireless internet, or with a foreign SIM on ordinary roaming. Claims that leaving and entering Türkiye again automatically resets the phone should be treated with caution: the device has already been recorded on the black list, and the passenger status, the entry date and the three year limit are checked when you apply.
Changing, copying or recreating a device's electronic identity without BTK's permission is prohibited by Article 55 of Law No. 5809, as is importing, selling or keeping devices and software made for that purpose. Under Article 63(9) such acts are punished with a judicial fine of 1,000 to 15,000 days, and the devices and tools are seized under Article 127 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Law No. 5271. Operators also detect altered IMEI numbers from call records, so "unblocking" services offered informally carry a real criminal risk for the user.
Under Article 15 of the Regulation, the owner reports the loss or theft on e-Devlet or by telephone to BTK's Bilgi ve İhbar Merkezi, its information and reporting centre. The operator checks the identity, subscriber number and IMEI against its records for the previous three months within 24 hours, and once the report is confirmed the IMEI is put on the black list, so the phone cannot be used in Türkiye. If the phone is recovered, the owner can apply in the same way to have it reopened. A report can also be made to a court or public prosecutor, who can order the IMEI to be blocked or unblocked (Article 16). Foreigners should also make a police report, which insurers and consulates usually ask for.
Before paying for a used phone that came from abroad, ask the seller to check its status on e-Devlet with you, or check the IMEI yourself. A phone on the paired white list will not work with your line until its three year period ends, and a phone on the black list will not work at all. When buying from a business rather than a private person, the statutory consumer protections apply; our article on consumer rights in online shopping in Türkiye explains the main protections when buying from a business.
At 54,258 Turkish Lira, the fee is higher than the price of many phones sold in Türkiye, so the first question is often whether registering makes sense at all. The table below summarises how the rules apply in the situations we see most often.
| Situation | What the Rules Mean |
|---|---|
| Tourist staying three weeks with a Turkish SIM | No registration needed; the phone works within the 120 day usage period |
| Student or expat staying a year on a residence permit | Register within 120 days of entry on e-Devlet with the foreigner identification number, or buy a phone in Türkiye |
| Two phones brought on the same trip | Only one phone per three calendar years is covered by the exemption and can be registered |
| New phone ordered from abroad by courier | Not delivered; phones cannot enter by post or courier |
| Registered phone forgotten abroad | Can be sent by post or courier within one month before to three months after your arrival, once the registration is confirmed |
| Registered phone given to a spouse within three years | Will not work with the spouse's line until the three calendar years end |
| Registered phone unused in Türkiye for over a year | Moved to the black list; reinstated after a check when used with one of its last users' lines, or on application via e-Devlet |
| Long stay using only a foreign data eSIM | No registration, but data roaming on more than 90 days in 120 without voice calls can be cut within 30 days |
The fee is 54,258 Turkish Lira from 1 January 2026, under Section VIII of Tariff (8) of the Fees Law, Law No. 492, as listed in Fees Law General Communiqué No. 98.
With a Turkish SIM card, for a usage period of 120 days, counted in practice from your date of entry. After that the operator cuts the mobile connection unless the IMEI has been registered.
No, ordinary roaming with your foreign SIM does not require registration. A device used for long periods on data roaming without voice calls can, however, be treated as permanent roaming and cut off.
Registration is made on e-Devlet, which requires an identity number and a login method, and the fee is matched to an identity number. A visitor without a foreigner identification number should confirm that the application can be completed before paying.
No. Since the amendments of 2 July 2026 the only application channel is e-Devlet; an operator shop can open a line in your name and a tax office or bank can take the payment.
Once every three calendar years. The same limit applies to the customs exemption for a personal phone.
No. The fee is paid once per device before registration, and there is no annual renewal.
Not during the first three calendar years, because the IMEI is paired with lines registered to your identity number. After that period the phone can be used with any Turkish line.
No. The Ministry of Trade does not allow phones to be brought in by post or express courier, and such a phone is not delivered to its owner.
Yes, if its IMEI is already registered and it is sent within the period from one month before to three months after your arrival in Türkiye. Customs confirms the registration through the e-Devlet IMEI service before releasing it.
The phone is blocked from Turkish mobile networks, although it can still call 112 and use wireless internet. Registration may remain possible within the 365 day application window if you still meet the conditions, and the phone reopens within 24 hours of registration.
Yes, with their Turkish identity number on e-Devlet, under the same 120 day and three calendar year rules. The rules do not require a residence permit abroad.
A registered device that receives no service for one uninterrupted year is moved to the black list. It can be reinstated after a check when used again with one of its last users' lines, or on application through e-Devlet.
Very likely, but the 2027 amount has not yet been published. It will follow the revaluation rate announced at the end of 2026 unless a Presidential decision sets a different increase.
A phone brought into Türkiye for personal use works on a Turkish SIM card for 120 days. To keep using it, the owner must pay the 2026 fee of 54,258 Turkish Lira and register the IMEI on e-Devlet, which since 2 July 2026 is the only application channel. Registration is possible once every three calendar years, the phone is then tied to lines in the owner's name for three calendar years, and it must arrive with the passenger, because phones cannot be sent by post or courier except a registered phone returned within the permitted window. Missing the deadline blocks the phone, and attempts to alter the IMEI are a criminal offence under Law No. 5809.
Most problems we see come from phones posted from abroad, second phones held at customs, registrations made through intermediaries and seizures at the airport when several devices are carried. If you are facing one of these situations, or a customs or smuggling procedure involving devices, please contact our legal team.
