Moving to Turkey as a student: from study permit to residence

The short answer: what a student permit gives you

Yes, studying is a real way to move to Turkey. The student residence permit is its own permit type for associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral students at a Turkish university (Law 6458, Articles 30 and 38). It can cover your whole programme, and if you do not finish on time it is extended one year at a time (Implementing Regulation, Article 37).

But it is a temporary permit. It ends on the day you graduate (Implementing Regulation, Article 37). Staying after that takes other permits, one after another, with no break.

Count your years: the residence path tool

How far does a degree in Türkiye take you toward staying for good? Pick your degree and your family below to see your own count, year by year.

Before you move: the visa and the student residence permit

Moving starts with admission. Choosing a university, admission rules, tuition and the first-year budget are covered in our guide to studying in Turkey.

Whether you need a student visa before you travel depends on your passport. Check the rule for your passport in our Turkey student visa guide, with the documents and the fees.

After you arrive, you enrol and apply for the student residence permit. Every foreign degree student must hold one (Presidency of Migration Management). The steps are in our student residence permit guide.

• Application form, passport copy and biometric photos (e-İkamet student document list).
• Proof of address: a dormitory certificate, a notarised lease, a title deed or a notarised host undertaking (e-İkamet).
• Health insurance that covers the whole period you ask for (e-İkamet).
• The receipt for the 964 TL card fee; students at Turkish universities pay no residence permit charge (2026 fees, Implementing Regulation, Article 35).

Study in Turkey with your spouse and children

As a student you can sponsor a family residence permit for your spouse and your children (Law 6458, Article 34). This covers minor children and dependent children. It does not cover parents or other relatives (Article 38, Implementing Regulation, Article 35).

A family permit is given for up to three years at a time. It can never last longer than your own permit (Article 34).

What you must show as the sponsor

• You have stayed in Türkiye on a residence permit for at least one year (Article 35).
• A monthly income of at least the minimum wage in total, and at least one third of the minimum wage per family member (Article 35).
• Health insurance covering every family member (Article 35).
• Housing that meets health and safety standards for the family (Article 35).
• No conviction for a crime against the family order in the last five years (Article 35).
• Registration in the address system (Article 35).
• Both spouses are 18 or older, and the marriage was not made to get the permit (Article 35).

The income rule in 2026

The 2026 net minimum wage is 28,075.50 TL a month, valid from 1 January to 31 December 2026 (Ministry of Labour). One third of it is 9,358.50 TL per person. You count yourself too (e-İkamet family permit document list), and the total can never be below one full minimum wage.

The minimum wage changes every January, so recheck the figure in the year you apply. The migration office decides how your income is proved. The tool above works out your own figure.

Documents for the family permit

The official list (e-İkamet family document list) asks, among others, for these:

• The marriage certificate (e-İkamet).
• A document proving your income under the rule above (e-İkamet).
• Health insurance for every family member (e-İkamet).
• A criminal record document and two biometric photos (e-İkamet).

Is the student under 18 and coming with a parent? That is a different case. Read our guide to studying in Turkey under 18.

Working while you study

Students may work only with a work permit, and the employer applies for it. Associate and bachelor's students can work after their first year. Master's and doctoral students have no first-year limit (Law 6458, Article 41, Labour Force Regulation, Article 43).

The old 24-hours-a-week cap was removed in 2016; hours now follow labour law (Law 6458, Article 41, as amended). A work permit does not end your student permit (Article 43). Our guide to working while studying in Turkey explains the rules and the kind of jobs students find.

After graduation: the graduate permit, then a work permit

For graduates the law offers one permit of its own: a one-time graduate permit, a short-term residence permit for those who finish higher education in Türkiye and apply within six months of graduating (Law 6458, Article 31).

• It is given once only and for at most one year (Article 31, Implementing Regulation, Article 28).
• The law says it may be given: the office decides, it is not automatic (Article 31).
• It lets you stay; a job still needs a work permit (Labour Force Regulation).
• It counts in full toward the eight years, like every permit that is not a student permit (Article 28).

From graduate to employee: the work permit

To stay beyond the graduate year you need a job. The employer applies for your work permit, not you. Once granted, a valid work permit also counts as your residence permit (Law 6458, Article 27).

Employers normally must meet employment and financial criteria for each foreign worker. Since 3 August 2026 an exemption may help graduates: an in-country application for a foreigner who stayed legally in Türkiye for at least one year of the last three years skips those criteria, for up to three foreigners per workplace (work permit criteria, item A.4.1). The text speaks of a residence permit and does not exclude student years. That student years count here is our reading of the text; the ministry decides each case.

Under the 2022 text of the regulation, applications in the first year after graduating are also judged within limits the ministry sets, such as province, sector and field of study (Labour Force Regulation, Article 43). In 2026 the charge for a one-year work permit is 12,574.90 TL (Ministry of Labour).

Long-term residence and citizenship: how your years count

Long-term residence is Türkiye's permanent permit. You need at least eight years on residence permits without a break (Law 6458, Articles 42 and 43). You also need no social assistance in the last three years, a sufficient and regular income, valid health insurance and no threat to public order (Article 43).

In that count, student permits count half and all other permits count in full (Article 28). Here is a typical bachelor's route:

So a bachelor's graduate who stays and works reaches long-term residence after about ten and a half years in Türkiye. Source for every row: Law 6458, Articles 28, 31 and 42.

Citizenship: the student years are a separate question

Citizenship by residence needs five years without a break before you apply, plus intent to settle, enough Turkish, an income and other conditions (Citizenship Law 5901, Article 11). There is no half rule for citizenship.

The Citizenship Regulation says a residence for study is not valid residence for citizenship (Article 71). The same article adds that if you later move, without a break, to a residence with a valid reason, your earlier periods are counted too. This does not apply to tourist permits (Article 71).

How this applies to your years is decided by the authorities when you apply. Check your own case with them or with a lawyer before you count on it.

Official permit costs for you and your family in 2026

These are the state fees for the permits on this route. Tuition and living costs are in our guide to studying in Turkey.

Many nationalities pay a different permit charge, or none, by reciprocity. Check your own country's rate on the Presidency of Migration Management fee page. Fees are revalued every January.

Step-by-step plan from acceptance to long-term residence

1. 1

   Before you travel: acceptance and visa

   Get your acceptance letter, then the student visa if your passport needs one. See our student visa guide.

2. 2

   First weeks: the student residence permit

   Enrol and apply for the student permit before your visa days end. The steps are in our residence permit guide.

3. 3

   After one year: bring your family

   With one year on a permit, show the income, insurance and home, and sponsor your spouse and children (Law 6458, Article 35).

4. 4

   From year two: work if you need to

   Bachelor's students can work after their first year, with a work permit (Article 41). Master's and doctoral students can from the start.

5. 5

   Final year: line up a job

   Look for an employer before you graduate, since the employer applies for your work permit.

6. 6

   Right after graduating: the graduate permit

   Apply within six months, and early if you stay in Türkiye, for the one-year permit (Article 31).

7. 7

   Then: a work permit, renewed without a break

   Each work permit year counts in full (Articles 27 and 28). Keep your time abroad within the limits.

8. 8

   Year 8 on the count: long-term residence

   With eight counted years, no social assistance in three years, income and insurance, apply for long-term residence (Article 43).

Who this route does not suit

Moving to Turkey as a student works well for some people and badly for others. Be honest about these cases:

• You want to bring your parents: a student permit gives them no right (Law 6458, Article 38).
• Your family must arrive with you: the one-year rule usually means they join from your second year (Article 35).
• You need to work full time from the first month as a bachelor's student: work starts after the first year, and only with a permit (Article 41).
• You cannot show the family income: in 2026 at least 28,075.50 TL a month in total and a third of it per family member, yourself included, so 37,434 TL for a family of four (Article 35, 2026 minimum wage, family permit document list).
• You want permanent residence fast: student years count half, so a bachelor's route takes about ten years.
• You will spend long periods abroad outside your studies: that can break the count (Article 28).
• Your main goal is a job anywhere, not a degree: you still need an employer to apply for your work permit after graduating.