Apply to renew a Turkish residence permit through e-ikamet from 60 days before it expires, and always before the expiry date (Law No. 6458, Article 24). The application document lets you stay until the governorship decides, and the renewed permit starts when the old one ends. In 2026 the card fee is 964 TL; the permit fee depends on your nationality and the period requested.
A Turkish residence permit is granted for a fixed period, and the most common problem foreigners bring to us is not a refusal but a missed deadline. Once a permit has expired without a renewal application having been submitted, the extension route under the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, Law No. 6458, is closed, and the foreigner is in an overstay position with all the consequences that follow for fines, entry bans, and future applications. The renewal procedure itself is not difficult, but it has a strict timing window, a document list that varies by permit type and by province, two separate fees, and a set of substantive conditions that must still be satisfied on the day of application. This guide explains when to apply, how the online procedure works, which documents migration offices ask for in 2026, what the renewal costs, how the rules differ for each permit type, why renewals are refused, and what can be done if the deadline has been missed or the application has been rejected.
Quick Answer: Under Article 24 of Law No. 6458, an application to extend a residence permit is made to the governorship, in practice the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management, starting from 60 days before the permit expires and in any event before the expiry date. The application is filed online through the e-ikamet system of the Presidency of Migration Management, followed by payment of the fees and an in-person appointment at the migration office responsible for the applicant's registered address. Every applicant receives a document, free of charge, that allows lawful stay in Türkiye until the governorship decides, even if the old card expires in the meantime, and the renewed permit runs from the expiry date of the previous one, so applying early does not shorten the new period. Renewal is not automatic: the conditions of the permit type must still be met on the day of application, and under Article 33 a short-term permit is not extended where those conditions have ceased, where the permit has been used for another purpose, or where a deportation decision or entry ban exists. The residence card fee for 2026 is 964 Turkish Lira for every nationality; the permit fee itself depends on nationality and on the period requested and is calculated by the e-ikamet system before payment. A refusal may be challenged before the administrative court within 60 days of notification.
The residence permit system in Türkiye is built around a single principle: a foreigner who wishes to remain must hold a valid permit at every moment, and continuity is preserved only by applying for the next permit before the current one ends. Unlike some jurisdictions, Turkish law does not provide a grace period after expiry during which a late renewal is accepted as a matter of course. A foreigner who applies one day after expiry is not renewing a permit but, at best, making a first application from inside the country in circumstances where the law may not permit it, and at worst accumulating overstay days that convert into a fine and an entry ban at the border.
The practical difficulties that lead to missed deadlines are predictable: appointment slots in Istanbul, Antalya, and Ankara that are several weeks away, a passport that expires sooner than expected, a health insurance policy that lapsed unnoticed, or simple uncertainty about whether the application counts from the date the online form is started or the date it is submitted. Each of these is avoidable with a calendar entry on the day the 60 day window opens.
Article 24 of Law No. 6458 sets the rule in a single sentence: applications for the extension of a residence permit are made to the governorship from 60 days before the expiry of the permit, and in any event before the permit expires. Both limbs matter. An application filed earlier than 60 days before expiry is premature and will not be accepted by the system; an application filed after expiry is not an extension application at all.
The second paragraph of Article 24 provides that every foreigner who applies for an extension is given a document, not subject to any fee, that permits him or her to remain in Türkiye until the governorship decides on the application, even where the existing permit expires in the meantime. This document, generated by the e-ikamet system on submission, is the foreigner's proof of lawful stay and should be carried alongside the expired card. It allows the holder to remain in the country, but it does not by itself allow travel abroad and return in the same way as a valid card; a foreigner who needs to leave Türkiye while the application is pending should take advice first, since exit with the application document alone is permitted only for limited periods and may be treated as abandonment of the application in some circumstances.
The third paragraph of Article 24 provides that an extended residence permit begins on the day following the expiry of the previous permit. Applying on the first day of the 60 day window therefore costs the applicant nothing in terms of permit duration, and it gives the migration office time to request any missing document before the old permit expires. Our standing advice is to begin the online application as soon as the window opens, because the application counts only once it has been submitted through the system and an appointment has been generated, and appointment dates in the larger provinces can be several weeks away.
The application is completed on the e-ikamet system of the Presidency of Migration Management, Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı, using the applicant's foreigner identification number and current permit details. The applicant selects the same permit type or, where circumstances have changed, a different one; a change of type is treated as a transition application rather than an extension, and the documents required will be those of the new type. The form asks for the requested duration, the registered address, the passport details, and the health insurance details, and generates a list of the documents to be brought to the appointment.
After the form is completed, the system calculates the permit fee for the applicant's nationality and requested period, and the card fee, and issues payment references. The fees are paid at a tax office, through a participating bank, or online through the Revenue Administration's interactive tax office, and the receipts are kept for the appointment. Payment before the appointment is a condition of the file being accepted. Both amounts are revised every January; our guide to the 2027 revaluation rate and fee increases explains how.
The system assigns an appointment at the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management, or the district office, responsible for the address registered in the address registration system. The applicant must attend in person, since biometric data and a signature are taken, although a lawyer may accompany the applicant and handle the file. Where the registered address has changed since the last permit, the address must be updated with the population directorate before the application, because the appointment is routed by address.
At the appointment the applicant hands in the printed and signed form, the supporting documents, and the fee receipts. The officer checks the file against the list for the permit type, may request additional documents with a deadline for their submission, and records the biometric data. Where a document is missing, the file is usually accepted conditionally and the applicant is given a period, typically 30 days, to complete it; failure to do so results in the application being treated as withdrawn.
The governorship decides on the application, in most provinces within one to three months. If approved, the new card is printed centrally and sent by registered post, through PTT, to the registered address; the applicant or an adult household member must sign for it. The status of the file can be followed on e-ikamet using the application number, and the applicant is notified by SMS when the card is dispatched. If the card is not delivered because nobody was at the address, it is held at the local PTT branch for a limited period before being returned to the migration office.
The exact list depends on the permit type and on the practice of the migration office concerned, and offices in different provinces do ask for different supporting evidence. Most renewal files are nonetheless built from the same core documents.
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Signed e-ikamet application form | Printed after the online application and signed by the applicant |
| Passport and copies | Under Article 23, permits are issued for a period 60 days shorter than the passport's validity, so an expiring passport shortens the permit; renew the passport first where possible |
| Current residence permit card and copy | The card being renewed |
| Biometric photographs | Four recent photographs on a white background, taken within the last six months |
| Health insurance | Private policy or SGK coverage valid for the whole requested period; see our guide to health insurance for foreigners |
| Proof of address | Notarised lease, title deed, or a notarised undertaking from the host, together with an address registered in the address registration system and, increasingly, a recent utility bill or address registration document from e-Devlet |
| Proof of sufficient funds | Bank statements, pension statements, or income documents; amounts are assessed case by case against the applicant's circumstances and the period requested |
| Fee receipts | Permit fee and card fee |
| Documents for the specific ground | Title deed and DASK policy for property owners, enrolment certificate for students, marriage certificate and sponsor's documents for family permits, Turkish course registration for language students |
| Criminal record certificate | Requested by some offices, from Türkiye through e-Devlet and, for first applications on a new ground, from the country of origin |
Foreign documents must be apostilled or legalised and translated into Turkish by a sworn translator, with the translation notarised. Missing or out of date documents are the most common reason a renewal file is delayed, and a document that was accepted at the previous application is not necessarily accepted again, since office practice changes from year to year.
A renewal involves two separate payments, and they are calculated on different bases.
The residence card fee, ikamet izni kart bedeli, is 964 Turkish Lira for 2026, set under the Accounting General Directorate communiqué on valuable papers published in the Official Gazette of 24 December 2025. It is the same for every nationality and every permit type, and it is payable on each renewal because a new card is issued each time.
The permit fee, ikamet izni harçları, is charged under the Fees Law, Law No. 492, and is set on the basis of reciprocity, so it differs for each country and increases with the period requested. Nationals of some countries are exempt from the permit fee under bilateral arrangements but still pay the card fee. Because the figure varies so widely between nationalities, no single amount can be quoted; the e-ikamet system calculates the exact fee for the applicant's nationality and requested period before payment. Where an application is refused, the permit fee is not refunded, but the card fee may be reclaimed since no card is issued.
| Permit | What to Check Before Renewing |
|---|---|
| Short-term, Article 31 | Granted for up to two years at a time. The ground relied on must still exist on the day of application: the property must still be in the applicant's name, the business still active, the treatment still ongoing |
| Short-term for a Turkish language course | Can be granted at most twice under Article 31, paragraph 3; a third application on this ground is refused |
| Short-term after graduation from a Turkish university | Granted once, for up to one year, within six months of graduation; it cannot be renewed on the same ground |
| Short-term for tourism | No statutory limit on renewals, but offices frequently refuse further tourism permits after one year or more; see section 6.1 |
| Family, Articles 34 to 37 | The sponsor must still meet the income, housing, and insurance conditions, and the marriage or dependency must subsist; see our family residence permit guide |
| Student, Articles 38 to 41 | Proof of continuing enrolment for the new academic year from the university's student affairs office; see our student permit guide |
| Humanitarian, Article 46 | Granted for up to one year at a time; renewal depends on the humanitarian ground continuing and on the Ministry's approval |
| Long-term, Articles 42 to 45 | Issued for an indefinite period, so there is nothing to renew, although the card itself is replaced periodically; see our guide to long-term residence permits |
Short-term permits based on tourism deserve a separate warning. The law does not limit the number of times they may be renewed, but since an announcement by the migration administration in 2019, offices have routinely refused a further tourism permit to applicants who have already held one for a year or more and cannot articulate a concrete reason for continuing to stay as a tourist. The refusal is justified under Article 33 on the basis that the permit is being used for a purpose other than tourism, which is in substance correct for a person who has been living in Türkiye for years. A foreigner who has been in Türkiye on a tourism permit for some time should therefore consider, before the renewal falls due, whether another ground fits the situation better: property ownership, a family relationship, enrolment in a course of study, a work permit through an employer, or, for those who qualify, an application for long-term residence after eight years of uninterrupted lawful stay.
A foreigner who has obtained a work permit during the validity of a residence permit does not need to renew the residence permit, since under Article 27 of Law No. 6458 a valid work permit counts as a residence permit. Likewise a foreigner who has acquired Turkish citizenship, or who has been issued a Turquoise Card, leaves the residence permit system entirely. In each case the migration office should be informed so that the file is closed correctly rather than recorded as an unrenewed permit.
Under Article 33 of Law No. 6458, a short-term residence permit is not extended, and an existing permit is cancelled, where one or more of the conditions for the permit are no longer met, where the permit has been used for a purpose other than the one for which it was granted, or where there is a valid deportation decision or entry ban against the foreigner. Parallel provisions in Articles 36, 40, and 45 apply the same logic to family, student, and long-term permits.
The most frequent ground in practice is the first. A property owner who has sold the property, a student whose enrolment has lapsed, a family member whose marriage has ended, or an applicant whose health insurance expired before the application are all in this position. Because the conditions are assessed on the day of application rather than on the day the previous permit was granted, the renewal file should be reviewed against the current requirements before it is submitted, not assembled from a copy of the previous one.
Long periods spent outside Türkiye can also lead to a short-term permit being cancelled or its renewal refused. Article 33 refers the detail to the Implementing Regulation, which provides that a short-term permit holder who remains abroad for more than 120 days in total within the last year may have the permit cancelled. For long-term permits the threshold is different and more generous. A foreigner who travels frequently should count the days spent abroad over the previous twelve months before filing the renewal, since the migration office has access to the border records and will apply the rule.
A smaller but significant group of refusals arise from documents that are inconsistent with each other or with the migration office's records: an address on the lease that does not match the address registration, bank statements that show funds deposited the day before the appointment and withdrawn afterwards, or an insurance policy that does not cover the full period requested. These refusals are avoidable with careful preparation and are often the easiest to overturn, because the underlying condition is in fact met.
If the permit expired before an application was submitted, the extension procedure in Article 24 is no longer available. From the day after expiry the foreigner is staying in Türkiye without a valid permit, which under Article 102 of Law No. 6458 attracts an administrative fine calculated by reference to the length of the overstay and, under Article 9, an entry ban whose length depends on the overstay period and on whether the fine is paid on exit. Our guides to visa violation fines and the 90 in 180 day rule explain how these are calculated.
Whether a fresh application can be made from inside Türkiye after the permit has expired depends on the facts of each case, including the length of the overstay, the ground relied on, and the practice of the province concerned. The Implementing Regulation allows a first application from within the country in limited circumstances, and some migration offices accept an application filed within a short period after expiry on payment of the overstay fine, treating it as a new application rather than an extension. Others do not, and require the foreigner to leave, pay the fine at the border, and apply for a visa or enter visa free before applying again. Because the wrong step can convert a short overstay with a modest fine into a multi-year entry ban, advice should be taken before a flight is booked or a new form is submitted.
A foreigner who leaves Türkiye with an expired permit and no pending application is stopped at passport control, where the fine is calculated and may be paid on the spot. Paying the fine at exit generally results in a shorter entry ban, or none for very short overstays, than leaving without paying, in which case the ban is longer and the fine remains outstanding. The exact consequences are set out in the guides linked above.
A refusal to extend a residence permit is an administrative decision and may be challenged by an action for annulment before the administrative court with jurisdiction over the province concerned. Under Article 7 of the Administrative Procedure Law, Law No. 2577, the general time limit for filing is 60 days from notification of the decision. Since the 2024 amendments, Article 31 of Law No. 6458 also contains special procedural rules for cases concerning refused or cancelled short-term permits, which shorten the periods for the exchange of pleadings and the completion of the court file so that these cases are decided more quickly than ordinary administrative cases.
The refusal decision states the ground relied on and is notified to the foreigner or to the lawyer on record. Under Article 33 and the Implementing Regulation, a foreigner whose renewal is refused is given a period, generally ten days from notification, to leave Türkiye, unless an action is filed and a stay of execution is obtained. Many refusals relate to a document that can still be obtained or a condition that can still be evidenced, and in those cases a fresh application with the corrected file is frequently faster than litigation. Where the refusal rests on a disputed legal assessment, for example a finding that a tourism permit was being used for another purpose, the court action is the appropriate route, and a request for a stay of execution under Article 27 of Law No. 2577 should be included in the petition so that the foreigner may remain in Türkiye while the case is heard.
From 60 days before the expiry date under Article 24 of Law No. 6458. The application must be submitted through e-ikamet before the permit expires.
Yes. The document issued when you apply for an extension allows you to stay until the governorship makes its decision, even after the old permit has expired.
No. A renewed permit starts from the day after the expiry of the previous permit, not from the date you applied.
The card fee is 964 Turkish Lira for 2026. The permit fee depends on your nationality and on the period requested, and the e-ikamet system shows the exact amount before payment.
Only with caution. The application document permits stay in Türkiye but is not a travel document in the same way as a valid card; take advice before leaving, since a long absence may be treated as abandonment of the application.
No. Under Article 23, the permit is issued for a period 60 days shorter than the passport's remaining validity, so you would receive about six months. Renew the passport before applying.
Yes. You select the new type on e-ikamet, and the application is treated as a transition, so the documents required are those of the new permit type.
Since 2019, migration offices have generally refused further tourism permits to applicants who have already held one for a year or more without a concrete reason, on the basis that the permit is being used for a purpose other than tourism.
Under the Implementing Regulation, a short-term permit may be cancelled where the holder spends more than 120 days abroad in total within the last year. Count your days before applying.
No. Under Article 27 of Law No. 6458, a valid work permit counts as a residence permit, so the residence permit does not need to be renewed while the work permit is valid.
Once the permit has expired without an application, it can no longer be extended. You may face a fine on exit and, depending on the overstay, an entry ban, so take advice before taking any step.
Sometimes. It depends on the length of the overstay, the ground relied on, and the practice of the province; some offices accept a new application on payment of the overstay fine, others require exit and re-entry.
60 days from notification, by an action for annulment before the administrative court, with a request for a stay of execution so that you may remain in Türkiye during the case.
Generally ten days from notification of the refusal, unless a court action is filed and a stay of execution is granted.
The permit fee is not refunded. The card fee may be reclaimed, since no card is issued.
No. It is issued for an indefinite period, although the physical card is replaced periodically and the permit can be cancelled for long absences abroad or on public order grounds.
Renewing a residence permit in Türkiye turns on three rules that are easy to state and costly to overlook. The application must be submitted through e-ikamet within the 60 day window before expiry under Article 24 of Law No. 6458, and never after it. The conditions of the permit type must still be met on the day of application, since Article 33 and its parallels for the other permit types direct the governorship to refuse an extension where they have ceased. And the file must be assembled against the current practice of the migration office responsible for the applicant's address, not copied from the previous year. Applicants who observe these rules receive the application document that secures their lawful stay, a new permit running from the old expiry date, and a card by post; those who miss the deadline face a different and considerably less forgiving procedure.
We prepare renewal files, check them against the requirements of the migration office handling your address, attend appointments with clients, and act in court proceedings against refusals and cancellations. For an overview of every permit type, see our complete guide to residence permits in Türkiye or our residence permit service. For assistance with a renewal that is due, a deadline that has been missed, or a refusal to be challenged, our legal team can review your situation and set out the steps available under the current law.
