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Türkiye’s migration policy has entered a new phase.
As of May 1, 2026, the Directorate General of Migration Management will implement a sweeping increase in residence permit application fees, raising certain categories by as much as 930%.
For years, nationals of a broad group of countries—including United States, Afghanistan, Germany, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Djibouti, Chad, China, Dominican Republic, Dominica, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, El Salvador, Indonesia, Eritrea, Armenia, Estonia, Palestine, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Georgia, Haiti, India, Netherlands, Honduras, Croatia, Iran, Sweden, Switzerland, Israel, Italy, Iceland, Jamaica, Cameroon, Canada, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati, Colombia, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Moldova, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Norway, Central African Republic, Uzbekistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname, Saudi Arabia, Eswatini (Swaziland), Chile, Thailand, Taiwan, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, New Zealand, Greece, Zambia and Zimbabwe paid the Turkish lira equivalent of roughly $85 per year in residence permit tax. That framework has now been replaced with a sharply escalated tariff structure.
Under the new schedule, applicants from those listed countries will pay the following:
These amounts are payable to the tax office and apply to applications initiated after May 1. Applicants whose residence period legally begins before that date may still apply under the former tariff.
For nationals of countries not included in the published list, the calculation model has also changed. The first month’s fee will range between ₺653,70 ($14) and ₺3,359.90 ($75), followed by ₺2,232.30 ($49) for each additional month. The Migration Directorate has not issued a uniform flat schedule for these countries; the binding amount will be the figure displayed in the online application system at the time of filing.
Certain categories remain partially insulated. University students (excluding TOMER language-course participants) and long-term permanent residence applicants will continue to pay only the residence card fee, with no additional tax surcharge.
All other categories, including short-term (touristic) residence permits, family residence permits, property-owner permits, residence permits linked to citizenship-by-investment applications, and TOMER (Turkish Learning Center) based permits, fall within the new pricing regime.
Foreign nationals who enter Türkiye visa-free through a consulate-free entry and whose prior residence or work permit is inactive will also be required to pay a single-entry visa fee upon applying. That fee has been updated to ₺9,376.40 ($208), (formerly $174).
Notably absent from the announcement is any exemption for foreign nationals married to Turkish citizens. As it stands, a foreign spouse applying for a three-year family residence permit will face a government fee approaching the equivalent of roughly $2,000, exclusive of translation, notarization, health insurance, and administrative costs. Guardians applying on behalf of foreign minor children are subject to the same structure for children's price.
Work permit fees have also been revised upward. The standard work permit application fee is now set at ₺12,574.90, while the indefinite (unlimited) work permit fee stands at ₺125,802.20.
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When placed in a European context, Türkiye’s revised structure appears comparatively steep. Current standard annual or fixed-term residence permit fees in several EU jurisdictions remain significantly lower:
While each country structures its migration taxation differently, the magnitude and immediacy of Türkiye’s increase stand out.
From a regulatory standpoint, states retain broad fiscal discretion to set migration-related fees. There is no inherent legal prohibition against increasing administrative tariffs.
However, proportionality and accessibility are recurring themes in migration governance, particularly where family unity or lawful economic participation is at stake.
The most immediate impact is likely to fall on digital nomads, short-term professional residents, and middle-income expatriates.
High-net-worth investors may absorb the increase without structural change to their plans. Lower- and middle-income foreign residents may not.
Türkiye has, in recent years, sought to position itself as an accessible jurisdiction for remote workers and internationally mobile professionals.
A nearly tenfold increase in residence tax raises questions about whether the objective is revenue optimization, demand reduction, or structural recalibration of the foreign resident profile.
There is also a domestic social dimension. Many foreign nationals married to Turkish citizens or cohabiting in long-term relationships operate within ordinary household budgets.
The cumulative financial burden, application fee, visa fee, health insurance, and notarized documentation may now approach thresholds that materially affect family stability.
The state’s revenue interest is legitimate. Yet migration systems function most effectively when predictability and proportionality are preserved.
Abrupt escalations, particularly at this scale, risk undermining planning certainty for residents who have structured their lives around prior regulatory assumptions.
Türkiye’s migration framework has evolved rapidly in the past two years, tightening sponsorship rules, expanding enforcement measures, and now significantly raising fiscal barriers.
Whether these reforms amount to a strategic recalibration or a reactive sequence of administrative responses will become clearer in the coming months.
For now, one conclusion is evident: residence in Türkiye has become substantially more expensive, and the socioeconomic composition of those who can afford it may shift accordingly.
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