What Is UETS and Why Should You Follow It?
The National Electronic Notification System (UETS) is the official electronic notification system operated by PTT. According to the announcement of the Presidency of Migration Management, from April 15, 2024, a UETS account certificate is required to be added to the file in extension and transition applications. Check the current document list for your type of application separately.
A notification is deemed made at the end of the fifth day following the date on which it reaches the electronic address. Not having opened the message, or not receiving an SMS/e-mail alert, does not by itself change this date. The time limit for filing an action is calculated from the day following notification, according to the procedure that applies.
Check your account regularly; keep all attachments of the decision and the UETS evidence record. If you have difficulty understanding notifications in Turkish, have the content translated without delay. Do not rely only on a screenshot of an alert message on your phone.
Postal Notification, KEP and the Inquiry Screen
In delivery by post or by hand, the legally valid date of notification and the method of delivery matter. The recipient, the address, the envelope, the service receipt (mazbata) and, if any, leaving the document with the neighborhood head (muhtar) are assessed together. Do not assume that the time limit will necessarily start on the day you actually read the document.
KEP is a registered electronic mail system; it is not the same as UETS. The fifth-day rule of UETS does not apply to every KEP message, SMS or e-İkamet status message. In an allegation of irregular notification, the date of learning of the act and the evidence are reviewed separately; time limit tracking is not abandoned because an objection exists.
Concluding the Application and Leaving the Country During the Application
Residence permit applications are concluded within the period specified in the law from the date on which the information and documents are fully submitted to the competent authority. If additional documents, a security check, or a review concerning the address, family, education or another institution is needed in the file, the process may be extended, and the foreign national must be informed.
A foreign national who has completed the application may, provided that the current rules are complied with, make a short trip abroad and return with the residence permit application certificate approved by the directorate and the required fee receipts. The scope, validity and approval of the application certificate and the length of time to be spent abroad should be checked before travel.
The 15-Day Rule When Traveling with the Application Certificate
If the departure is made with an approved residence permit application certificate, with the fee payment or exemption conditions met and within the requested permit period, an exemption from the visa requirement may apply on return within 15 days each time. A printout of the electronic form is not by itself an approved application certificate. For longer travel, the visa provisions and other entry conditions are assessed separately. Before travel, the current permit, the passport and, if any, the entry ban status should be checked.
Residence Permit Applications Not Concluded for a Long Time
The principle is that residence permit applications are concluded within ninety days at the latest from the full submission of the information and documents to the competent authority. The ninety-day calculation starts not from the date the electronic form was created but from the date the necessary information and documents were fully submitted to the competent authority.
If an application is not concluded for a long time:
- The date on which the application was completed
- Whether there is a notification of missing documents
- Which authority or review stage the file is at
- Whether the foreign national was informed that the period was extended
- The status of the application certificate and of lawful stay
- Earlier written applications to the administration
- The administrative application and litigation options
are determined. The fact that the wording on the online inquiry screen does not change for a long time may not by itself explain the legal status of the file; the official application and file records must be reviewed together.
Change of Address and Follow-Up After the Card
Situations such as a change of residence address, marital status or a change of name/surname in the passport are notified to the governorship within 20 working days under Article 23 of the Regulation. When moving to another province, a requirement to apply for residence in the new province may also arise. Because the triggering event may differ for humanitarian permits and for the first address registration, the periods are not calculated from a single date.
For loss of the card, an error in identity details, a delivery problem or an inconsistency in the address record, a correction/renewal process with the relevant institution is planned. Waiting for the card to arrive is not a reason to stop following the decision and notifications.
How do we organize the follow-up?
We review together the date the file was completed, requests for additional documents, UETS/postal records and the application certificate. We investigate the reason for the delay, determine the appropriate written application and litigation option, and compare travel and changes of address with the current status.
Residence Permit Violation, Administrative Fine and Entry Ban
Exceeding the period of a visa, visa exemption or residence permit may give rise to an administrative fine, an exit procedure from Türkiye, an entry ban under certain conditions or other administrative consequences. The start and end dates of the violation, the foreign national’s nationality, earlier violations, the manner of departure, payment records and, if any, a valid excuse must be reviewed together.
Payment of an administrative fine does not in every case automatically remove an entry ban. An entry ban and a deportation decision connected with a residence permit violation may be administrative acts separate from the residence permit rejection decision and are subject to separate avenues of application.
The details of this area are addressed in the practice area Foreigners Law, Deportation and Entry Ban to Türkiye.
Related detailed page: Entry Bans to Türkiye, Restriction Codes and Visa Disputes
Information Needed for the First Consultation
Prepare your passport, your current permit and your application records; if there is a decision, all of its pages and the notification record. If a permit expiry, a trip or an application deadline is approaching, mention it in your first message. The file-specific document list and the method of representation are settled in the consultation.