🇹🇷 Turkey

Foreign-national children residing in Türkiye have statutory access to free public education at Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı (MEB) schools. Access spans the 12-year compulsory cycle established by Law No. 6287. Enrollment is handled in person at the local *İlçe Millî Eğitim Müdürlüğü* (İlçe MEM), with the e-Okul system as the back-end student record. Children with prior schooling abroad apply for an equivalence ruling through e-Denklik under the MEB *Denklik Yönetmeliği*; children covered by Geçici Koruma or international protection enroll on the same procedural footing using their protection ID.

Türkiye İş Kurumu (İŞKUR) pays *İşsizlik Ödeneği* to workers who lose their job involuntarily, on the same statutory terms for foreign nationals and Turkish citizens. Eligibility under Law 4447 Madde 51 requires 600 days of unemployment-insurance premium in the last three years, the last 120 days continuous, and application within 30 days of termination through e-Devlet or in person at an İŞKUR office. The monthly payment is 40% of the last four-month gross average earnings, capped at 80% of the gross asgari ücret. Duration is six, eight, or ten months depending on the contribution-day tally.

Foreigners in Türkiye open a bank account with a passport, a Turkish tax number (*vergi numarası* / VKN), and a Turkish address proof. With this triad, retail banks such as Ziraat Bankası, Garanti BBVA, and YapıKredi open both Turkish Lira and *döviz tevdiat hesabı* (foreign-currency deposit) accounts in a single branch visit.

A foreigner becomes a Turkish full taxpayer (*tam mükellef*) by holding a Türkiye domicile or residing over six months in a calendar year. The basis is article 4 of the *Gelir Vergisi Kanunu* (Law No. 193). Full taxpayers are taxed on worldwide income at the progressive tariff; limited taxpayers (dar mükellef) are taxed only on Turkish-source income. The annual return is filed electronically through the İnteraktif Vergi Dairesi between 1 and 31 March.

Foreign residents in Türkiye move through two health-insurance regimes. During year 1 of *ikamet izni* (residence permit) the holder must keep a private health-insurance policy meeting Hazine ve Maliye Bakanlığı Circular 2014/9 (updated by Circular 2021/8). Once continuous legal residence exceeds one year, Article 60(d) of Law 5510 automatically makes the foreigner a compulsory *Genel Sağlık Sigortası* (GSS) insured of the Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu (SGK), unless already covered as a salaried employee, self-employed, public officer, or under another country's social-security system. Bildirim to SGK is due within one month; the premium is 6% of the gross asgari ücret.

Foreign natural persons may acquire property in Türkiye under Article 35 of Tapu Kanunu (Law No. 2644). Eligibility runs from a Presidential-decree list; a 30-hectare per-person national cap and a ten per cent district cap apply. The Tapu Müdürlüğü runs the military-zone screening through the WebTapu portal; the tapu harcı is four per cent of the SPK-appraised value.

The *Yabancı Kimlik Numarası* is an eleven-digit foreigner identifier assigned automatically when a residence permit is approved. The number itself is free of charge; only the underlying permit carries fees. The Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık directorate issues the number, and Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı prints it on the residence-permit card delivered by PTT.

Türkiye issues residence to foreigners under six statutory categories of *ikamet izni* (residence permit) defined by Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection. The six are kısa dönem (short-term), aile (family), öğrenci (student), uzun dönem (long-term), insani (humanitarian), and the human-trafficking-victim permit. Applications are filed online via e-ikamet.goc.gov.tr and finalised at the provincial Migration Directorate.

Türk Vatandaşlığı by investment grants Turkish citizenship under Article 12(b) of Law No. 5901 through three qualifying routes. The routes are a taşınmaz purchase at USD 400.000 (with a three-year non-sale annotation), USD 500.000 in any of bank deposit / government bonds / investment-fund participation / fixed-capital / BES individual pension, or creation of 50 Turkish-citizen jobs — filed on form VAT-4 at the joint investor office in Istanbul or Ankara alongside an Article 31(j) investor residence permit. The five-year residence route under Article 11 is the alternative for applicants without the investment capital.

Foreign nationals resident in Türkiye must exchange a foreign driving licence within 6 months of entry to keep driving. The *Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık İşleri Genel Müdürlüğü* (NVİ) issues the Turkish licence in person at any nüfus müdürlüğü; appointments book online. Three routes apply: bilateral exchange with Spain, KKTC, or Tunisia; Vienna 1968 Convention exchange for signatory states; or full examination for the remainder.