Turkey Turquoise Card
Turkey TUR
The Turquoise Card is Turkey's highly skilled and talent residence programme, designed to attract exceptional individuals who contribute to the country's economic, scientific, cultural, or sporting development. It is broadly equivalent to a permanent residence permit and grants the holder and their immediate family the right to live and work in Turkey indefinitely, without the need to renew a standard short-term or long-term residence permit on a recurring basis.
Eligible categories include investors who meet certain capital thresholds, researchers and academics affiliated with Turkish universities or recognised international institutions, sportspeople competing at a professional level, artists whose work is of cultural significance, and scientists or engineers in strategically important fields. Applications are assessed by an evaluation committee drawn from relevant ministries, and the programme is administered under the authority of the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Industry and Technology.
Successful applicants receive the card provisionally for an initial three-year period, during which their ongoing contribution to the qualifying field is monitored. At the end of this review, holders who continue to meet the programme criteria are granted indefinite status. Spouses and dependent children are included in the grant and receive equivalent residence and work rights. The Turquoise Card does not by itself confer Turkish citizenship, but holders may apply for naturalisation after five years of lawful residence under the standard route.
Program Details
- Category
- Skilled Worker
- Processing Time
- 3 months
- Application Fee
- $250
- Minimum Income
- —
- Minimum Investment
- —
- Family Included
- Yes
- Path to PR
- Yes — 0 years
- Path to Citizenship
- Yes — 5 years
- Physical Presence
- No strict minimum annual presence requirement during the initial period; continued contribution to the qualifying field is expected
- Dual Citizenship
- Allowed
- Tax Impact
- Holders who spend more than 183 days per year in Turkey become tax residents subject to worldwide income tax at progressive rates of 15–40%. Turkey has an extensive double-taxation treaty network covering over 80 countries.
Application Timeline
Apply
3mo processing
Visa Granted
Initial permit
Permanent Residency
After 0 years
Citizenship
After 5 years
Key Requirements
- ✓Demonstrated exceptional contribution or recognised achievement in one of the qualifying categories: investment, research, sports, arts, or science and technology
- ✓Application supported by a sponsoring Turkish institution or employer, or independently verified portfolio of achievement
- ✓Clean criminal record from country of origin and any country of residence in the preceding five years
- ✓Valid health insurance covering Turkey
- ✓Approval by the inter-ministerial evaluation committee
- ✓Three-year review confirming continued activity in the qualifying field to convert provisional status to indefinite
Am I eligible for Turkey Turquoise Card?
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This is a heuristic, not a determination. Final eligibility depends on full documentation and immigration-officer discretion.
Realistic Costs
Some figures below are industry estimates rather than officially verified: government_fee.
Government fee is a nominal Turkish-Lira 'valuable paper' charge (~TRY 964 at application); USD equivalent fluctuates with the Lira exchange rate and is a rough approximation, not an official USD figure. Legal/consultancy fees are reported in the EUR 3,000-12,000 range by Turkish immigration-law firms for evaluation-committee submissions (converted here approximately); actual cost depends heavily on category (investor files trend higher). Figures are industry estimates, not government-published totals.
Realistic Timeline
- Consulate wait2–8 weeks
- Decision → arrival4 weeks
- Residence card issuance4 weeks
- Total to residence card8–24 weeks
General Turkish residence-permit processing runs approximately 30-90 days through the e-İkamet/e-İzin system per immigration-law-firm reporting; Turquoise Card files additionally require inter-ministerial evaluation-committee review, which can extend the upper end, especially for investor or academic categories. No official government-published SLA was located; figures are industry estimates.
Renewal
- First renewal after
- 36 months
- Subsequent cycle
- months
- Renewal fee
- $0
- Requirements
- The card is issued provisionally for 3 years. At the 3-year mark, an evaluation committee reviews the holder's continued activity/contribution in the qualifying category (investment, research, sport, arts, or science/technology). If confirmed, status converts to indefinite and no further recurring renewal is required. Failure to demonstrate continued qualifying activity can result in non-conversion.
Path to Permanent Residency — Details
Some details in this section are industry estimates or general guidance rather than officially verified — confirm against the official source before relying on them.
- Years required
- 0
- Integration test
- Not required
Path to Citizenship — Details
Some details in this section are industry estimates or general guidance rather than officially verified — confirm against the official source before relying on them.
- Years required
- 5
- Language test
- Yes
- Civic test
- Not required
- Oath
- Required
- Dual citizenship
- Allowed
Tax Residency
- Trigger
- 183 days/year of presence
- Taxation scope
- Worldwide income
- Exit-tax country
- No
Health Insurance
Some details in this section are industry estimates or general guidance rather than officially verified — confirm against the official source before relying on them.
- Mandatory
- Yes
- No co-pay required
- No
Examples: SGK (Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu), Allianz Sigorta, Axa Sigorta, Cigna Turkey
Banking Setup
- Open account before arrival
- Not typically possible before arrival
Bridge fintechs
Local banks accepting applicants
İş Bankası, Garanti BBVA, Akbank, Yapı Kredi
What This Visa Does NOT Allow
- ×Does not itself confer Turkish citizenship — naturalisation requires a separate 5-year lawful-residence application with a Turkish-language and settlement assessment
- ×Does not cover general skilled employment outside the qualifying categories (investment, research, sport, arts, science/technology)
- ×Provisional status does not automatically become indefinite — a 3-year committee review of continued contribution must be passed first
- ×Does not extend to extended family members beyond spouse and dependent children
Common Rejection Reasons
- •Insufficient evidence of exceptional contribution or recognised achievement in the qualifying category
- •No sponsoring Turkish institution/employer and no independently verifiable portfolio of achievement
- •Adverse security or background-check findings during inter-ministerial review
- •Incomplete or inconsistent supporting documentation
- •Investment, research, sport, arts, or science/technology profile assessed as not meeting the qualifying category's bar by the evaluation committee
Good Fit For
Applying from a specific country? Your home-country tax rules, banking access, and dual-citizenship options affect every programme differently. Browse nationality guides → for tax obligations, renunciation rules, and second-passport routes.
Related Guides
Related on The Citizenship Desk
Sources & last verified
- Official source
- Last verified