Russian buyers and tenants of Turkish property increasingly obtain residence permits

A tourist residence permit is a permit for temporary stay in Turkey, granted for 6 months with the possibility of subsequent extension, provided that the property is owned or rented.

In 2022, 153,000 Russian residents had Turkish residence permits, but by 2023 their number had dropped to 100,000. This decline is largely due to the massive non-renewal of tourist residence permits by the Turkish authorities. According to Turkstat, about 250,000 foreigners left Turkey last year.

Turkish authorities have increased the frequency of issuing residence permits to Russians based on the purchase or lease of property, without taking into account its value. At the end of 2022, the process of issuing such residence permits was effectively frozen, although no official bans were introduced. The situation began to change in July of this year.