Long-Term Residence Permit
An indefinite long-term residence permit may be issued by the governorships, with the approval of the Ministry, to foreign nationals who have stayed in Türkiye on a residence permit for at least eight uninterrupted years or who meet the other conditions specified in the law.
In the application, the following main points are reviewed:
- The calculation of the uninterrupted eight-year period of residence
- The rate at which types of residence are counted
- Periods spent outside Türkiye
- Whether social assistance was received in the last three years
- Sufficient and regular income
- Valid health insurance
- The situation in terms of public order or public security
- The applicant’s current legal status
Half of the period spent on a student residence permit, and all of the period spent on other residence permits, is taken into account in the eight-year calculation. The statutory limitations must be reviewed separately for refugees, conditional refugees and holders of subsidiary protection status, and for periods spent under a humanitarian residence permit and temporary protection.
A long-term residence permit may be canceled under certain conditions. An allegation of a serious threat to public order or public security, and staying outside Türkiye for more than one uninterrupted year for a reason other than health, education or compulsory public service in one’s own country, may be subject to a cancellation assessment. The possibility of reapplying after cancellation and the effect of the previous eight-year period are determined on the basis of the specific case.
Humanitarian Residence Permit
A humanitarian residence permit is not a general type of permit that can be freely chosen as an alternative to other residence permits. It comes into question when the exceptional and humanitarian situations specified in the law exist.
The main areas of application are as follows:
- The best interests of the child being at issue
- The foreign national’s departure from Türkiye cannot be enforced despite a deportation or entry ban decision
- Leaving Türkiye not being considered reasonable or possible
- No deportation decision being able to be taken regarding the foreign national under the law
- Having applied to the courts against certain administrative acts specified in the law
- Procedures for sending to the first country of asylum or a safe third country continuing
- Special situations connected with urgent reasons, the interests of the country, or public order and security
- Extraordinary circumstances
In a humanitarian residence permit, family life, the child’s age and education, health condition, the risk of return, pending cases and the foreign national’s ties in Türkiye must be assessed as a whole. If the conditions that made granting the permit necessary cease to exist, the permit may be canceled or may not be extended.
The effect of periods spent on a humanitarian residence permit on the calculation of the periods required for other residence permits must be determined separately.
Residence Permit for Victims of Human Trafficking
A special residence permit may be issued to foreign nationals for whom there is a strong suspicion that they are or may be victims of human trafficking, so that they can recover from the effects of what they have experienced and decide on cooperation with the competent authorities.
This permit may initially be issued for thirty days; if the conditions continue, it may be extended within the periods set out in the law. The victim’s safety, shelter, health condition, the nature of the connection with the perpetrators and conduct that occurred beyond the victim’s will must be assessed with care.
Beyond the residence permit, the status of victim of human trafficking may be connected with criminal investigation, protection, social support and international protection processes. Each process must be conducted within its own legal conditions.
How Do We Distinguish the Permit Types from One Another?
A long-term residence permit rests on duration and the other statutory conditions. A humanitarian residence permit depends on exceptional reasons; it cannot be chosen in place of every application that has had a negative result. A permit for victims of human trafficking serves a special protective purpose.
Refugees, conditional refugees, holders of subsidiary protection status, holders of a humanitarian residence permit and persons under temporary protection are not granted the right to transition to long-term residence. The status and the calculation of periods should not be made automatically by combining different permit periods.
File-specific working approach
We place the permit and entry-exit history in chronological order. For humanitarian reasons, we review separately the documents showing health, family, child and the risk of return. The need for representation, a secure meeting, an application to an institution and a court action is determined; sensitive documents are shared only to the extent necessary.
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.