Your car and your driving licence in Turkey: the MA plate and the six months
Turkey is the most expensive car country in Europe inside one of the cheapest countries — buying a car costs more there than in the Netherlands. Against that stands a scheme that virtually no Dutch site explains properly: whoever has retired abroad may bring their own car in tax-free on an MA plate. And your driving licence must be exchanged within six months.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Importing your own car into Turkey for good is virtually unaffordable because of the ÖTV; whoever has retired abroad may bring it in tax-free on an MA plate, and your Dutch driving licence must be exchanged within six months. One tax determines your whole transport plan.
Why is importing your car not an option?
The ÖTV, the Turkish special consumption tax, is levied on the value of the car at permanent import. The rate depends on engine size and value: up to 1400 cc 70 to 90 per cent, between 1400 and 1600 cc 75 to 100 per cent, between 1600 and 2000 cc 150 to 170 per cent, and above 2000 cc 220 per cent. On top of that comes VAT, calculated on the value including the ÖTV. That same tax is built into the whole Turkish market: buying a car there is more expensive than in the Netherlands too, second-hand as well. So the question is not whether you import, but which of the two other routes suits you.
What may you do on Dutch plates?
You may bring your car on Dutch plates under the temporary-import scheme. The main rule is 730 days, but the period can never be longer than the time you yourself may stay in Turkey. Whoever relies on the ninety visa-free days without a residence permit therefore has ninety days, not two years. Beforehand a residence test applies: you must have been at least 185 days outside Turkey in the year before entry.
How does the MA plate work, and for whom?
For whoever has retired abroad there is a scheme of its own in the Gümrük Genel Tebliği on temporarily imported vehicles, and Dutch sites structurally explain it wrongly. It is not a purchase scheme: you cannot use it to buy a tax-free car from a Turkish dealer. You bring your own car, registered abroad in your name into Turkey and have it registered on an MA or MZ plate under temporary import. The car does not enter free circulation and therefore stays free of import duty, VAT and ÖTV.
For the car you bring into the Turkish customs territory for the first time after your retirement, the requirement of 185 days' residence outside Turkey does not apply. Precisely what you need when you move for good: you leave the Netherlands and take your car.
Who qualifies: a foreigner with a Turkish residence permit who has retired abroad. You hand in a retirement certificate showing that the pension was earned through work under that country's social security, with a Turkish translation certified by embassy, consulate or noter — that is how the Tebliğ has read since 14 August 2026. Whoever is also a Turkish citizen falls outside the scheme.
How it runs: on entry you provide security through the guaranteeing organisation equal to the duties due, within thirty days you apply to customs for the temporary registration certificate, and the noter assigns the MA or MZ number. The grant is for at most 24 months at a time, extendable, but always tied to your residence permit.
That last point is the pitfall: your car hangs on your ikamet. If your residence permit expires or lapses, your car's registration goes with it. Put the renewal of both in the same diary.
| Rule or time limit | What applies |
|---|---|
| ÖTV on permanent import | 70 to 100% up to 1600 cc, 150 to 170% up to 2000 cc, 220% above; VAT on the value including ÖTV |
| Tourist regime on Dutch plates | at most 730 days, never longer than your own right of residence |
| Residence test | 185 days outside Turkey in the year before entry; waived for the first car after your retirement |
| Application for temporary registration (MA/MZ) | within 30 days of entry, at customs |
| Duration of MA/MZ registration | at most 24 months at a time, extendable as long as your ikamet runs |
| Who may drive | you; your spouse, (grand)parents and (grand)children living outside Turkey; others only with you in the car |
| Dutch licence valid | 6 months after settling (Turkish citizens: 2 years) |
| Licence category B, 2026 | 8,869.60 lira: 6,754.60 harç, 1,690 security paper, 425 service |
Selling is not possible: the registration certificate says "satılamaz" and who besides you may drive — that rule was tightened in August 2026. If you leave Turkey without the car, you sign a declaration at customs that nobody else will use it.
When does your licence have to be exchanged?
This is the hardest clock in this article. Since 1 January 2016 a foreigner in Turkey may drive on a foreign licence for six months; after that you're driving without a valid licence, with the risk that your insurer refuses cover after an accident.
The good news: no exam is needed. The exchange (tebdil) is an administrative act at the Nüfus Müdürlüğü, by appointment. According to the NVI's document list you bring your original licence with a colour copy and a certified Turkish translation, a medical check, a biometric photo, your blood group and your diploma. For 2026 category B costs 8,869.60 lira in total; there is no separate tariff for tebdil, so budget that amount. And bear in mind what happens next: your Dutch licence is taken in and sent to the issuing country, under article 88 of the traffic regulation. So arrange your Dutch affairs that need a licence before you exchange.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the route: the same steps, but applied to your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole route to Turkey.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Mevzuat — Gümrük Genel Tebliği, temporarily imported road vehicles (series 1): 730 days, the retiree scheme, 30 days, 24 months and who may drive — mevzuat.gov.tr
- Mevzuat — Özel Tüketim Vergisi Kanunu (law 4760), list II: the ÖTV rates for passenger cars — mevzuat.gov.tr
- Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık İşleri — the fee and service amounts for 2026, per licence category — nvi.gov.tr
- Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık İşleri — frequently asked questions: six months, the exchange and the return of the foreign licence — nvi.gov.tr
- Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık İşleri — the document list for exchanging a foreign driving licence — nvi.gov.tr
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