Moving to Turkey: A First-Steps Guide for Expats

Turkey is one of the few genuinely intercontinental countries, and Istanbul is the only city in the world that sits on two continents - a fact that stops being a trivia item and starts being a daily commute once you live there.

It is also a country where the practical picture has changed substantially in recent years, in two directions. Residence permits have become harder and less predictable. And high inflation combined with currency movement has made the cost picture radically different depending on which currency you are paid in.

Both need stating plainly, because a lot of the enthusiastic material about moving to Turkey was written under different conditions.

The residence permit reality

The main route for most foreign residents is the ikamet - the residence permit - applied for online through the migration authority and then confirmed at an appointment. The common categories are short-term residence, family residence, student residence, and work permits obtained through an employer.

Two things have changed and both matter.

Neighbourhood closures. To manage local concentrations of foreign residents, the authorities have closed many districts to new foreign registrations. If the neighbourhood you intend to live in is closed, you cannot register there, and your permit application fails regardless of how good your paperwork is. Check whether a district is open before you sign a lease - this is the single most important practical instruction in this post, and people have lost deposits by not doing it.

Renewals have become less predictable. Refusals of short-term residence renewals have become more common than they were, and the reasoning is not always transparent. That means planning a long-term life on a series of short-term permits carries more risk than it used to.

Work permits, family residence and student routes are generally more stable than short-term residence. If your intention is to stay for years, it is worth understanding which category you are actually in - the general framing is visas and residence permits explained, and the current Turkish picture is in the Turkey visa section.

There is also a citizenship by investment route tied to property purchase above a threshold that has been adjusted more than once. It is real, and it is an area where poor advice and inflated valuations have caused problems - independent legal advice is essential.

Getting set up

You will need a foreigner identification number, issued with your residence permit, which functions as your identifier for banking, healthcare, tax and everything else. Almost nothing works without it.

Then a bank account, which generally requires the identification number and a tax number, and health insurance.

Turkish e-government has developed considerably and a great deal can be done through the state portal once you have your number.

Healthcare

Turkey’s healthcare improved markedly over two decades, and the public system - accessed through the social security institution - covers those who contribute, with foreign residents able to enrol under conditions after a qualifying period of residence.

Newcomers not yet in the public system generally need private health insurance, and for many residence permit categories it is a mandatory requirement. Private policies designed to meet the residence permit standard are widely available and inexpensive compared with western Europe.

The private hospital sector in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir is genuinely good and is a large part of why Turkey has a substantial medical tourism industry. Costs are low by western standards. Details in the Turkey healthcare section, and the general newcomer position in health insurance for new arrivals.

Money, inflation and the currency question

This is where honest advice matters most.

Turkey has experienced high inflation and substantial currency depreciation. The practical consequences split sharply:

If you earn in foreign currency - remote work, a foreign pension, foreign clients - Turkey has become dramatically cheaper in real terms, and your purchasing power is strong. This is why the country has drawn so many remote workers.

If you earn in lira, your real income erodes between pay rises, prices for imported goods rise fast, and long-term financial planning is difficult. Local salaries have not kept pace with prices for many people.

Do not plan on the basis of a cost-of-living figure without knowing when it was compiled and in which currency. And if you are moving money in, the mechanics in transferring money abroad without losing it to fees matter more here than in a stable-currency country.

Turkey taxes residents on worldwide income, and residence for tax purposes follows the usual presence and centre-of-interests logic - see tax residency explained. Structure is in the Turkey tax section.

Where to live

Istanbul is enormous - a city of well over fifteen million spanning two continents, with extraordinary history, food and energy, and correspondingly serious traffic and commuting. The European and Asian sides feel different and the choice matters.

Ankara is the administrative capital, more ordinary and less visited.

Izmir on the Aegean is often the choice for people who want a large coastal city with a more relaxed feel.

Antalya and the Mediterranean coast have large established foreign communities and are warm year-round, with a strongly seasonal tourism economy.

Earthquake risk is real across much of the country and is a genuine consideration in choosing where to live and what building to live in. Ask about building age and construction standards - it belongs in the same category of practical preparation as staying safe and handling emergencies abroad.

Property purchase by foreigners is permitted in most areas with some restrictions, and the market has seen inflated valuations aimed at citizenship applicants. Independent legal representation is not optional - see buying property as a foreigner.

Language and daily life

Turkish is agglutinative, unrelated to Indo-European languages, and initially unfamiliar - though it is regular, phonetically written and rewards study more quickly than its reputation suggests.

English is spoken in tourism, in international business and among younger people in the big cities, and much less so in administration and daily life generally. The language gap is real outside the expat-heavy areas.

Turkish hospitality is genuinely extraordinary and is not a cliché - being fed, helped and included is the normal response to a foreigner making an effort. Family and social ties are strong, tea is a constant social ritual, and daily life is warm in a way that people who move there consistently cite as the reason they stay despite the administrative difficulties.

What catches people out

Signing a lease in a district closed to foreign registration. Assuming a short-term residence renewal is a formality. Planning a budget from pre-inflation figures. And underestimating Istanbul commuting distances.

Turkey sits between regions rather than in one, so the natural comparisons vary: moving to Greece is across the Aegean with EU membership, moving to Bulgaria is the EU neighbour to the north-west, moving to Georgia shares a border to the east and is far easier to enter, and moving to the United Arab Emirates is the other regional hub people often weigh it against.

Regional detail, current permit rules and cost breakdowns are in the Turkey country guide and the cost of living section. Because the residence rules change frequently and district closures are updated, the visa and immigration forum is genuinely the most current source available.