Legal & paperwork
Essential registrations after arrival
Beyond your residence permit, a few registrations make everyday life in Türkiye possible: your foreigner ID number, an e-Devlet password, a tax number, registering a phone bought abroad, health insurance, and your address. Here is what each one is for and how to get it.
How to read this guide. Legal requirement marks rules set by Turkish law or an official authority, with a link to the source. Recommendation marks practical advice from this guide, not a legal duty. Needs confirmation marks details we could not fully verify from an official source, or that change often. This is general information, not legal advice.
At a glance
| Registration | Deadline or rule | Where | Cost (2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foreigner ID number (starts with 99) | Issued with your residence permit | Presidency of Migration Management | Included with the permit card |
| e-Devlet password | After you have a 99 number | Any PTT branch | 5.00 TL for the first password |
| Tax number | When a bank, employer, or service asks for it | Revenue Administration (GİB) | Needs confirmation |
| Phone registration (IMEI) | Within 120 days of entering Türkiye | e-Devlet | Needs confirmation |
| General Health Insurance (GSS) | Within three months (see below) | Social Security Institution (SGK) | Needs confirmation |
| Address registration | Within 20 working days of receiving your permit card | e-Devlet or a population office | — |
Foreigner identification number
Legal requirement When your residence permit is approved, your permit card is posted to you and shows your foreigner identification number (yabancı kimlik numarası), which starts with 99 (Presidency of Migration Management information brochure). You will use it for e-Devlet, health insurance, banks, phone registration, and YÖK equivalence.
e-Devlet password
e-Devlet (turkiye.gov.tr) is the government services portal. You need it for your address certificate, phone registration, student documents, and more.
- Wait until you have your residence permit card with your 99 number.
- Go in person to any PTT branch with your residence permit card. PTT gives passwords to foreigners with ID numbers starting with 98 or 99 who present a valid document such as a residence permit.
- Pay the fee: 5.00 TL for a first password (PTT, checked 16 October 2026).
- Log in at turkiye.gov.tr and change the temporary password.
Recommendation Add your Turkish mobile number to e-Devlet once you have one, so you can reset your password without visiting PTT again.
Tax number
Banks, employers, and some services ask for a tax identification number (vergi kimlik numarası). The Revenue Administration (GİB) has an online form for foreigners: Potential tax ID number application for foreigners. It asks for your name, foreigner ID number, passport number, parents' names, phone, and address.
Needs confirmation The official form does not explain how the number is delivered, or when an in-person tax office visit is needed. Ask the bank or office that requests the number which route they accept.
Registering a phone bought abroad (IMEI)
Legal requirement A mobile phone brought from abroad can be used without registration for 120 days from the date you entered Türkiye. After that it is blocked on Turkish networks unless registered (Information and Communication Technologies Authority, BTK).
Legal requirement You can register one device brought from abroad per three calendar years.
- Check whether you have a registration right using the BTK query, or by calling the BTK consumer line (120).
- Pay the phone registration fee (cep telefonu harcı) through the Revenue Administration.
- Foreigners aged 18 and over with a foreigner ID number register the device on e-Devlet, using a PTT-issued password.
Needs confirmation The registration fee is high and rises every January. We could not read the exact 2026 amount on an official page, so we do not show a figure. Check the amount on the Revenue Administration's payment page before paying, and decide early whether registering is worth it compared with buying a phone in Türkiye.
General Health Insurance (GSS)
Legal requirement Foreign students can join Turkish General Health Insurance (Genel Sağlık Sigortası) by making a written request to the provincial social security directorate or social security centre within three months of their first registration at school (SGK announcement).
Legal requirement Health insurance is mandatory for a student residence permit. If you do not apply for GSS within three months, you must buy private health insurance (Presidency of Migration Management).
- Students pay their own premium, and may pay in advance at the start of term (SGK).
- SGK states that students on full scholarships and students admitted under YÖK quotas are covered through their universities' health centres instead.
- Study in Türkiye states that GSS must be renewed every year.
Needs confirmation The e-İkamet document list counts the three months from the start of the academic year, while SGK counts from first registration. Apply as early as possible. We also could not find the 2026 student premium on an official page; ask your SGK centre or international student office.
Address registration
Legal requirement Register your Istanbul address within 20 working days of receiving your residence permit card, and report later changes of address within 20 working days (Presidency of Migration Management). A current residence certificate (yerleşim yeri belgesi) from e-Devlet is needed when you extend your permit.
For a rented home you will usually need your notarised rental contract and a utility bill. See the rental agreements guide.
Needs confirmation We could not load the population authority's (NVİ) regulation pages to confirm the exact documents a population office asks foreigners for. Check with your district population office (nüfus müdürlüğü) or e-Devlet before you go.
Opening a bank account
No official public checklist exists for foreigners opening an account. Under anti-money-laundering rules, banks verify a non-Turkish national's identity with a passport or a residence document. Each bank sets its other requirements.
Recommendation Ask the bank in advance what it needs; many ask for a tax number and proof of address. Your university may have an agreement with a bank near campus.
Common mistakes
- Letting the 120-day phone deadline pass without deciding whether to register the phone.
- Missing the three-month window for General Health Insurance.
- Not updating your address after moving, which causes problems when you extend your permit.
- Sharing your e-Devlet password with agents or landlords. Never share it.
Official sources
- PTT: e-Devlet password services and fees Turkish.
- Revenue Administration: tax ID number application for foreigners
- BTK: central device registration system (IMEI) Turkish.
- Revenue Administration: phone registration fee payment Turkish.
- SGK: General Health Insurance for foreign students Turkish.
- SGK: General Health Insurance for university students Turkish.
- Study in Türkiye: Healthcare services
- e-İkamet: student residence permit documents (address rules) Turkish.
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