Home
Blog
Articles
Open and closed areas for residence permit in Turkey

Open and closed areas for residence permit in Turkey

Lilia Altop

Founder & Executive Director

When planning a move to Turkey, it is important to consider not only the climate, infrastructure, cost and characteristics of housing. One of the key factors is the possibility of obtaining a residence permit. In recent years, the country has introduced restrictions on the issuance of residence permits in a number of regions. These measures are dictated by the need to reduce the burden on popular areas and balance the distribution of migrants across Turkey.

Which regions remain accessible for obtaining a residence permit, and where are such opportunities already limited? In this article, we will examine in detail the current restrictions, explain how they affect the real estate market, and also tell you how to avoid unpleasant surprises when buying a home in Turkey.

Contents of the article:

Brief summary
How do I know when my Ikamet expires?
What types of residence permits need to be renewed?
Conditions for filing an application for extension of ikamet
What documents are needed to extend a Turkish residence permit?
- Documents for children
How to apply for a residence permit extension in Turkey
- How to fill out a questionnaire on the website correctly
- What to do after submitting an application
Costs for Renewing a Residence Permit in Turkey
In what cases can a foreigner be denied an extension?
- Is it possible to challenge the refusal to extend a residence permit and how to do it?

Obtaining a Residence Permit in Turkey: General Information for 2025

According to the Turkish Migration Directorate, six types of residence permits will be available to foreign citizens in 2025:

Short.
Family.
Student.
Long term.
Residence permit for humanitarian reasons.
Residence permit for victims of human trafficking.

It is possible to obtain any type of Turkish residence permit if the foreign applicant has compelling reasons as defined by Law No. 5468 on Foreigners and International Protection and the Regulation on the Implementation of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection. For a short-term residence permit, these are:

Scientific activity.
Commercial relations, business or investment.
Internship and attendance of educational programs.
Education, student exchange programs.
Treatment in Turkish clinics.
Language courses.
Tourism.
Obtaining higher education in Turkey. Foreign graduates of Turkish universities have the right to apply for a residence permit within six months.
Based on the right of ownership of real estate in Turkey. One of the most popular types of short-term residence. The intended use of the property is of decisive importance.

Also, a short-term Turkish ikamet can be issued to foreigners by decision of judicial or administrative authorities, to those who have lost their family residence permit and to citizens of the TRNC (Northern Cyprus).

Open and closed areas for residence permit in Turkey

The Turkish Republic attracts foreigners with its favorable climate, decent standard of living and quality real estate. And just 2-3 years ago, it was quite easy to obtain a residence permit in Turkey. Since 2017, the number of foreign citizens who have received the right to reside in Turkey with a residence permit has almost doubled. Moreover, most relocators have settled in the resort and tourist centers of the country.

Why are certain areas being closed?

The excessive influx of foreigners contributed to the growth of prices and demand in the housing sales and rental market, as well as unemployment. The most significant increase in real estate prices was observed in Istanbul, Antalya and Alanya - some of the most popular cities among foreign investors. The current situation began to cause discontent among local citizens. Therefore, the Turkish government took a forced step and introduced certain restrictions:

On July 1, 2022, a decision was made to temporarily close the issuance of primary residence permits to some districts of popular municipalities, where the share of foreigners reached 20% in relation to local citizens (previously, the limit was 25%).
The limit for issuing an ikamet for purchasing Turkish apartments has been increased: this has become possible only if the cadastral value of the property exceeds $200,000.

The measures introduced help control the influx of migrants and distribute them more evenly, and may also attract new investors to the country. In addition, the limit on the residence of foreigners has prevented the local formation of unofficial diasporas, where relocates make up a significant part of the residents. In particular, we are talking about migrants from Syria, Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries.

According to the current official rules, the following CANNOT obtain a Turkish residence permit in closed areas:

foreigners applying for a primary residence permit through rent;
those who are reapplying for ikamet, provided that they have not previously resided in a closed area;
homeowners who received a TAPU in a closed area after July 1, 2022.

Regardless of the quotas in place, some groups of foreigners MAY qualify for a residence permit in one of the closed areas:

Owners of apartments who have received a title deed (TAPU) issued to them before 1 July 2022.
Foreigners residing with a temporary residence permit in the same closed area where they lived previously, before the introduction of migration restrictions.
Foreign citizens applying for a residence permit through family reunification (spouses of Turkish citizens, immediate relatives of foreigners with a residence permit) and who have prepared the entire package of necessary documents.
Students of Turkish universities located in closed microdistricts.

Closed areas for residence permits

The administrative-territorial division in Turkey has some peculiarities.
The specificity lies in the multi-level nature, where:

districts or "MAHALLE" are essentially small micro-districts that act as integral parts of districts or municipalities - the so-called "ILCE";
"MAHALLE" and "ILCE" are part of the "IL" or provinces.

The quota for migrants is being introduced within the framework of “MAHALLE” (micro-districts), and not at the level of municipalities and provinces.

The entire list of neighborhoods that are closed for primary residence permits is presented on the website of the Turkish Migration Directorate. As of 2025, it consists of 1,162 mahalles in 63 provinces.
In addition to the official list, data on which areas of Turkey are closed for residence permits and which are open can be viewed using an interactive map. To start a search, the user simply needs to select a province, locality and district.

Red status - the microdistrict is closed for issuing primary residence permits.
Green status - registration of residency is possible.

The map was compiled using district boundary information from Google Maps, so there may be some zoning errors. Also keep in mind that there are districts with the same names in different municipalities in Turkey.