I’ve been researching the idea of becoming a digital nomad in Turkey, and honestly, it almost sounds too good to be true. Here’s what I found:

  • Apparently, a rental contract is all you need to get a residence permit.

  • It seems that having over $500 in your bank account for each month of your stay in Turkey is sufficient as proof of income.

  • And if you’re staying for less than six months, you don’t have to pay any taxes.

Is all of this accurate? It seems a bit too easy – am I missing something?

  • Dropmeoffatschool@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    They are not giving Tourist Ikamets anymore unless you are Russian, Ukrainian, or perhaps from an Arab country. If you are from a western country, it will 100% be denied unless you know someone in the government that can help get it approved.

    They’re happy to collect your application fees though.

    The only way to guarantee your ikamet is by buying property worth $75k or more or marrying a Turkish citizen.

    That being said, I really hated living in Istanbul. I’ve been maybe 10 times and spent 1+ year of my life there, but living there and visiting are very different things.

    Source: American who applied with a lawyer and had my Turkish gf navigating everything for me. In my time in Istanbul Russians and Ukrainians were the only ones getting approved.