Ukrainian citizens can stay in Türkiye without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180 day period. To stay longer they need a residence permit: usually a short term permit (up to two years), a family permit (up to three years) or a work permit. A humanitarian residence permit under Article 46 of Law No. 6458 is granted case by case, for up to one year at a time, only where no other permit is possible; it gives no right to work and does not count towards the eight years for a long term permit. Refusals can be challenged in the administrative court within 60 days, removal decisions within 7 days.
More than four years after the full scale invasion of February 2022, tens of thousands of Ukrainian nationals still live in Türkiye. According to the AIDA country report on Türkiye, about 850,000 Ukrainians entered the country after the invasion, and in May 2025 some 33,175 held a residence permit, most of them a short term permit (20,955) or a family permit (6,476). Many came for what they expected to be a few months and now face harder questions: whether the humanitarian residence permit is still available, what happens when the 90 days of visa exemption are used up, whether their children can go to a Turkish school, and what to do when the migration office refuses an application. This article explains the options open to Ukrainians in 2026 under the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, Law No. 6458, and points out where everyday practice is stricter than the text of the law.
Entry, visas, residence permits, removal and international protection are all governed by Law No. 6458. The details are set out in the Regulation on the Implementation of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, published in the Official Gazette of 17 March 2016, No. 29656. Applications are decided by the provincial migration directorates, il göç idaresi, the local offices of the Presidency of Migration Management, which the law still calls the Directorate General. Ukrainian nationals are treated like any other foreign nationals under this framework: there is no separate statute or regulation for them.
Article 91 of Law No. 6458 allows temporary protection for people who arrive in masses seeking urgent protection. Türkiye applies this regime to Syrians, but it has not adopted a temporary protection decision for Ukrainians, unlike the European Union. In practice this means that a Ukrainian who wants to stay beyond the visa exemption period must hold an individual residence permit or apply for international protection. There is no automatic status that follows simply from holding a Ukrainian passport.
Under the bilateral arrangements on mutual travel, in their current form since 2017, Ukrainian citizens may enter Türkiye without a visa and stay up to 90 days in any 180 day period. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists Ukrainian ordinary passport holders as exempt from visas for stays of up to 90 days. The period is calculated on a rolling basis: on any given day, you look back over the previous 180 days and count the days spent in Türkiye. Article 20 of Law No. 6458 exempts visitors from the residence permit requirement for the duration of the visa exemption, and Article 19 requires a residence permit for anyone staying longer.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that Ukrainian nationals may use their valid biometric identity cards for direct travel from Ukraine to Türkiye. Anyone arriving through a third country should travel with a passport. A passport also matters later: under Article 21 of Law No. 6458, a residence permit applicant must hold a passport, or a document substituting for a passport, valid for 60 days longer than the permit requested. An identity card alone is normally not enough to obtain a residence permit.
Overstaying is a frequent problem. Under Article 54(1)(e), a removal decision is taken against a foreigner who exceeds the visa exemption period by more than ten days. Visa and residence fees and the penalties attached to them remain payable on exit under Article 56(2), and a foreigner who is removed is banned from returning under Article 9, for up to five years in ordinary cases. Article 9(4) offers a way out: if a foreigner whose visa or permit has expired applies to the governorship to leave before the authorities detect the violation, pays the administrative fines and has not exceeded the violation periods set by the Ministry, an entry ban may not be imposed. Our page on visa violation penalties explains how the amounts are calculated.
The humanitarian residence permit, insani ikamet izni, is granted by the governorship with the approval of the Presidency of Migration Management, and the law expressly says that the conditions for other permits are not required. Article 46(1) allows it in seven situations:
For Ukrainians the realistic grounds are usually the best interests of a child, the Article 55 protections (for instance a pregnant woman or a person under ongoing medical treatment), the urgent reasons ground where no other permit is possible, and extraordinary situations. A typical file is a mother with children whose passports are close to expiry, who has no income that would satisfy the family permit rules and whose home city is in an active conflict zone. The application is made in Türkiye at the provincial migration directorate, as Article 22(1)(d) permits. Our article on who qualifies for a humanitarian residence permit covers the grounds in more detail. The decision is discretionary, so the quality of the evidence decides the outcome: medical reports, school enrolment records, proof of the destruction or occupation of the home address and documents showing why other permits are not available.
Under Article 27(1)(d) of the Implementing Regulation, a humanitarian permit is issued for a maximum of one year at a time. It can be extended, and the general rule in Article 24 applies: the extension request must be filed starting 60 days before expiry and in any case before the permit ends. The applicant then receives a document that allows lawful stay until the decision. Within 20 working days of issue, the holder must register an address in the address registration system under Article 46(2). Article 47 provides that the permit is cancelled, and not extended, when the conditions that justified it cease to exist. Each extension is therefore a fresh assessment of whether the reason still applies.
Three limits are often misunderstood. First, it does not allow you to work: Article 12 of the International Labour Force Law, Law No. 6735, states that holding a residence permit for any reason, other than refugee or subsidiary protection status, does not confer the right to work, so a separate work permit is required. Second, under Article 44(4) of the Implementing Regulation, time spent on a humanitarian permit is not counted when residence periods under the law are added up. Third, Article 42(2) of Law No. 6458 excludes humanitarian permit holders from transferring to the long term residence permit, which otherwise requires eight years of uninterrupted residence under Article 42(1). A Ukrainian who expects to stay in Türkiye for many years should therefore move to a short term, family or work based permit as soon as the conditions are met.
We have found no published decision of the Ministry of Interior that either created a blanket humanitarian permit for all Ukrainians or formally ended a special arrangement. Each application is assessed individually under Article 46. Because the law reserves the humanitarian permit for cases where other permits are not possible, an applicant who meets the conditions of a short term or family permit should expect to be directed to that permit instead. The AIDA report also describes a clear preference among Ukrainians for residence permits over international protection, because a residence permit makes travel to Ukraine or to the European Union easier. Two further practical points matter. Some neighbourhoods, particularly in Istanbul and Antalya, have been closed to new address registration by foreigners, which affects where you can rent and register. And each provincial office may ask for different supporting documents, so it is worth checking the current list with the office before the appointment.
For most Ukrainians the short term permit is the main route. Article 31(1) lists the grounds, including tourism, ownership of immovable property in Türkiye, establishing business connections or a business, scientific research, medical treatment, Turkish language courses and transfer from a family permit. Under Article 31(2), the permit is granted for up to two years at a time, except for the investor and Northern Cyprus categories, which may receive up to five years. Article 32 requires an application on a listed ground with supporting documents, accommodation that meets general health and safety standards, address information and, if requested, a criminal record certificate. In practice the governorship also asks for valid health insurance and evidence of sufficient means. For property based applications, the nature and value of the property are set by the Ministry under Article 31(6), added in 2024. Our residence permit guide explains the documents for each ground.
A Ukrainian married to a Turkish citizen or to a foreigner who holds a residence permit, and their minor or dependent children, can apply for a family residence permit under Article 34. It is granted for up to three years at a time but never longer than the sponsor's own permit. Under Article 35, the sponsor must have a monthly income of at least one third of the minimum wage per family member, with a total not lower than the minimum wage, suitable accommodation, health insurance covering all family members, a clean record for offences against the family order in the last five years, address registration and, in most cases, at least one year of residence in Türkiye. The one year requirement does not apply to work permit holders or to those married to Turkish citizens. One rule often affects Ukrainian families in particular: under Article 34(3), if a parent with joint custody lives outside Türkiye, that parent's consent is required for the child's family permit. With a father still in Ukraine, this usually means a notarised consent that must be obtained in advance. See our page on the family residence permit for the full process.
A valid work permit counts as a residence permit under Article 27 of Law No. 6458. Under Article 7 of Law No. 6735, applications made inside Türkiye go directly to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, usually through the employer, and a complete application is to be evaluated within 30 days. Extensions must be filed in the 60 days before expiry and in any case before the permit ends, or they are rejected. For a Ukrainian on a humanitarian or short term permit who finds a job, the work permit both allows lawful employment and replaces the residence permit. Our article on applying for a work permit sets out the employer side of the process.
Children of school age can attend Turkish state schools. Article 34(4) of Law No. 6458 states that a family residence permit gives the right to primary and secondary education until the age of 18 without a separate student permit. Education services for foreign children are organised under Circular No. 2014/21 of the Ministry of National Education, dated 23 September 2014. In practice, the school registers the child using the foreign identity number shown on the residence permit, so obtaining a permit, whether family, short term or humanitarian, is the first step. Previous Ukrainian school records are assessed through the equivalence procedure of the provincial directorate of national education, and translated and certified report cards make placement in the correct grade easier. For university study, a student residence permit is needed; our student permit guide covers that application.
Türkiye applies the 1951 Refugee Convention with a geographical limitation, and Article 61 of Law No. 6458 grants full refugee status only to people fleeing persecution as a result of events occurring in European countries. Ukraine is a European country, so a Ukrainian who proves a well founded fear of persecution can in principle qualify as a refugee. Article 63 separately provides subsidiary protection for a person facing a serious threat because of indiscriminate violence in an armed conflict. The cost is less freedom: under Article 71, applicants may be required to live in a designated province and to report at set intervals. According to AIDA, only 2,930 Ukrainians had applied by May 2025, which reflects how restrictive the status feels for people who want to travel.
Refusals must be notified to the applicant under Article 21(6). Unless a special law sets a different period, an annulment action before the administrative court must be filed within 60 days of written notification under Article 7 of the Administrative Judicial Procedure Law, Law No. 2577. For short term permit refusals and cancellations, Article 31(7), added in 2024, speeds up the procedure: the file is complete once the defence is filed or the defence period expires, and a hearing is at the court's discretion. The urgent risk is removal. Under Article 54(1)(j), a foreigner whose extension request is rejected and who does not leave within ten days faces a removal decision, so filing a court action does not by itself make the stay lawful. Our article on residence permit rejection explains the most frequent refusal grounds.
Since the amendment made by Law No. 7533 of 21 November 2024, Article 53(3) allows an action against a removal decision within seven days of its notification. The court decides within 15 days of the file being complete, its decision is final, and the foreigner cannot be removed during the filing period or while the case is pending, unless the foreigner consents. Where the removal decision gives a period to leave, Article 56 sets it at between 15 and 30 days. For a Ukrainian, an Article 55 argument, such as danger in the region of return, serious illness or pregnancy, can both stop removal and open the way to a humanitarian permit under Article 46(1)(c).
| Option | Key Rule in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Visa exemption | Up to 90 days in any 180 day period; biometric ID card accepted for direct travel from Ukraine |
| Humanitarian residence permit | Article 46; up to one year at a time; no work right; time not counted; no transfer to long term permit |
| Short term residence permit | Article 31; up to two years at a time; accommodation, address and supporting documents required |
| Family residence permit | Article 34; up to three years, never longer than the sponsor's permit; income and insurance conditions in Article 35 |
| Work permit | Law No. 6735; counts as a residence permit; applied for inside Türkiye through the Ministry of Labour |
| International protection | Articles 61 and 63; refugee status possible for events in Europe; residence and reporting duties under Article 71 |
| Challenge to a refusal | Administrative court within 60 days; removal decisions within seven days |
No. Ukrainian citizens can stay without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180 day period, counted on a rolling basis.
Yes, a valid biometric identity card is accepted for direct travel from Ukraine, but you will need a passport to apply for a residence permit.
No blanket scheme has been published; each humanitarian application is assessed individually under Article 46 of Law No. 6458.
Up to one year at a time under Article 27(1)(d) of the Implementing Regulation, and it can be extended while the justifying conditions continue.
No. You need a separate work permit, because Article 12 of Law No. 6735 says a residence permit does not give a right to work.
No. Humanitarian permit time is not counted, and holders cannot transfer to the long term permit under Article 42(2).
From 60 days before expiry and always before the permit ends, as required by Article 24 of Law No. 6458.
You pay the visa or residence penalty on exit; beyond ten days a removal decision and entry ban become possible, unless Article 9(4) applies.
Yes. School registration uses the foreign identity number on the residence permit, and a family permit gives a right to primary and secondary education until 18.
Yes, but if he shares custody, his consent is required under Article 34(3), usually as a notarised document.
In principle yes, because Article 61 covers events in European countries, but persecution must be proven and residence duties apply.
Sixty days from written notification for a residence permit refusal, and seven days for a removal decision.
For a removal decision, yes, until the case ends; for a residence refusal, the court case alone does not make your stay lawful.
Ukrainians in Türkiye have no special status of their own in 2026. They may stay 90 days in any 180 day period without a visa and must then hold a short term, family, student or work based permit, or a humanitarian permit under Article 46 of Law No. 6458 where no other permit is possible. The humanitarian permit is a useful bridge for vulnerable cases, but it is granted for one year at a time, does not allow work and does not count towards long term residence, so it should be treated as temporary. Deadlines are short, especially the ten day window after a rejected extension and the seven day limit for challenging removal.
If your permit is about to expire, your passport cannot be renewed in time or your application has been refused, we can review your documents, choose the permit that fits your situation and file the application or court action within the deadline through our residence permit service. To discuss your case, contact our legal team.
