In the past ten years, and after the outbreak of a series of revolutions and popular uprisings in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa since the beginning of 2010, in the so-called "Arab Spring", Turkey became the largest destination for Arab immigration in its history, and became the most popular place of stability for millions of citizens from Arab countries.

The severe economic crisis that Turkey has been going through since 2018 offers profitable investment opportunities, especially in the real estate sector for Arab investors, which are opportunities that attract more Arabs who can obtain citizenship or residence permits by making certain investments.

There are a lot of main reasons that made Turkey a favorite Arab destination for many, some because of what is happening in the Arab region and some related to Turkey itself.

Because of the growing fear of prosecution or exposure to the deteriorating conditions of life in the Arab region after the revolutions, many people fled their countries to Turkey, which is geographically close, and many viewed it at that moment as their safe haven.

As for Turkey, the basic changes in its Middle East policy after the Justice and Development Party took over the prime ministership in 2002, and its linkage of the country closely with the Middle East and North Africa, also made it a more attractive destination for Arabs, in addition to being the only country in the region officially nominated for membership in the Union. Europe, and thus is seen as a gateway to a "prosperous" Europe.

Moreover, the severe economic crisis that Turkey has been going through since 2018 offers profitable investment opportunities, especially in the real estate sector for Arab investors, which are opportunities that attract more Arabs who can obtain citizenship or residence permits by making certain investments, especially that Turkish decision makers - who are aware of these factors - paved the way for more Arabs to move in whole or in part to Turkey, after adapting their country's laws to this new reality, and comprehensively amending and modernizing citizenship and immigration laws in the past years.

This article is to clarify many points related to residence permits, in order to meet the need of investors, noting that the rules of residence permit are very dynamic and constantly changing, which creates many difficulties, especially in the time of COVID-19.

Application Procedure

The main legal source regulating immigration-related issues is the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458 which came into force on 04/11/2013.

It has so far been amended 11 times, the last of which was on 24/12/2019, and it is a completely comprehensive law because it regulates all issues related to a foreigner's residence in Turkey starting from visa procedures to residence permits and international protection procedures.

In this article I will explain the rules related to the application process only, and start by clarifying that foreigners - who enter Turkey with a valid visa or rely on visa exemption - must apply for a residence permit to stay legally in Turkey if they intend to stay more than 90 days .

For them, applications for a residence permit must be submitted to the Directorate General of Immigration Management, while outside Turkey they must be submitted to embassies or consulates, in which case foreigners must enter the country in the six months following obtaining a residence permit, otherwise it becomes invalid.

In both cases, the initial application is submitted through the online system, and applicants are waiting for an appointment from the relevant institutions to submit documents and complete the application, but there is a plan to privatize the residence permit system and assign this task to private companies, as happened with the visa procedures.

Foreigners who are legally subject to international protection, such as refugee status or temporary protection, are not required to obtain a residence permit to stay legally in Turkey, as are those who hold a work permit, except that everyone must hold a passport or travel document valid for 60 days on At least after the duration of the residence permit required.

If foreigners provide a legitimate reason that forced them to miss the opportunity to submit the application on time before the visa expiry date, they may be exempted by the Directorate General of Migration Management and accept their applications regardless of the time limits imposed by the laws, but in practice it is very difficult to resort to this legitimate excuse .

As for those who choose to submit the application through the General Directorate of Migration Management, it is necessary to be present in Turkey when submitting their documents to the authorities, although the submission of the initial application and booking the appointment can be made by legal representatives, and the only exception to the requirement to be in Turkey is the residence permit Special for qualified foreign investors.

It should be clarified that all of the above rules apply to renewal requests, which can be submitted from 60 days before the expiry date of the current residence permits to a maximum of the expiry date, with renewal requests submitted within the first 10 days of the expiration date likely to be accepted.

Once applications for residence permit are submitted, and within the maximum 90 days that the authorities may take to process residence permit applications, applicants are given an application document that allows them to remain in Turkey, and their right to residence in this period is not affected by the fact that their visas expire.

Although applicants must be notified of missing or supplementary information and documents requested during the application, and that their applications will be removed if they are unable to submit the request to the authorities within 30 days from the date of notification, the authorities unfortunately may not notify the applicants duly, and thus they can If they find themselves in difficult situations, it is therefore recommended to obtain and follow up professional support for residence permit applications with the help of professional legal advisors.

miscellaneous issues

Newborns:

When children are born to foreigners in Turkey, a birth certificate is prepared and submitted by the Turkish authorities, and this document gives them the right to reside legally based on the duration of their parents’ valid residence permit, but it provides them with any inherent right to enter or exit Turkey, and therefore their parents Apply for a residence permit for them within a maximum of 180 days after birth, to enable them to travel to and from Turkey.

Finally, I think that the government in Turkey should provide exceptionally more favorable procedures for applicants with disabilities and seriously ill people, and also in case of switching to another residence permit: if any reason arises, the permit holder has the right to apply for a new residence permit on the basis of Reason without waiting for the expiration date of the current residence permits if this is considered more advantageous.