The residence routes to Turkey: the ikamet, the neighbourhood check and the road to eight years

As a Dutch citizen you may be in Turkey visa-free for ninety days per hundred and eighty; living begins with the residence permit, the ikamet, which you apply for within those ninety days via e-ikamet and then keep renewing, until after eight years long-term residence comes into view. This article sets out the routes, the clocks and the one check that decides everything.

Why is visa-free not a right of residence?

Whoever stays longer than the visa or the visa exemption allows, or longer than ninety days, must according to Göç İdaresi hold a residence permit — the ikamet. You apply through the official portal e-ikamet: the system gives an appointment date, and at that appointment you appear in person with the originals. The application must be running within your ninety free days; with the appointment confirmation in hand you may await the decision in the country. By law that decision falls within ninety days of your file being complete.

The ikamet is always temporary: a short-term permit is valid for at most two years at a time, you apply for renewal from sixty days before the end date, and only after eight years of uninterrupted residence on a permit does long-term residence for an indefinite period come into view — with valid health insurance and without social assistance in the last three years.

Which routes are there?

Short-term ikamet — the ordinary route: a notarised rental contract or a home of your own, demonstrable means, biometric photos, a passport valid at least sixty days beyond the permit requested, and health insurance covering the whole period. Under eighteen and over sixty-five, according to the frequently asked questions of Göç İdaresi, there is no insurance obligation; then choose that option in e-ikamet.

Property ikamet — a purchased home only gives a right of residence if its value on the day of acquisition was at least US$ 200,000 in lira, the property is a residence and you live in it yourself: renting it out is not allowed. The old thresholds of fifty or seventy-five thousand dollars no longer exist: whoever buys on them has a house but no right of residence.

Digital nomad — for 21- to 55-year-olds with a university degree, a contract with an employer or client outside Turkey and a demonstrable income of at least US$ 3,000 a month or US$ 36,000 a year; the Netherlands is on the country list. You apply for the identification certificate on the GoTürkiye platform, then for the visa at the consulate.

Citizenship via property — US$ 400,000 with a three-year ban on selling, annotated on the tapu. Know the fiscal side effect: whoever becomes a Turkish national thereby shifts the taxing right over their AOW to Turkey — the tax treaty ties that to nationality.

Route or time limit	What applies
Visa-free stay	90 days per 180 days
Ikamet application	within those 90 days, via e-ikamet, in person at the appointment; decision within 90 days
Short-term ikamet	at most 2 years at a time; passport valid at least 60 days longer; apply for renewal from 60 days before expiry
Insurance obligation	lapses under 18 and over 65
Property ikamet	home worth at least US$ 200,000 on the day of acquisition, occupied by you
Digital nomad	21 to 55 years old, university degree, at least US$ 3,000 a month
Citizenship via property	US$ 400,000, with a 3-year ban on selling
Long-term residence	after 8 years of uninterrupted residence on a permit
Harç 2026	348.10 TL a day in the first month (at least 653.70, at most 3,359.90 TL), then 2,232.30 TL a month; card 964 TL
Exchanging the driving licence	within 6 months of settling