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Fees and Tariffs for Foreigners in Istanbul, 2026 (Checked Monthly)

Official rules Updated · Last checked · reviewed by Nomad Istanbul editorial team

Residence permit card, work permit, IMEI, notary, translation, Istanbulkart, taxi and Havaist prices in lira and dollars, each with its in-force date and source. Rechecked at the start of every month.

A Turkish residence permit costs 964 TL for the card plus a fee (harç) that depends on your nationality, as of 2 October 2026. A US, UK or most EU citizen pays $25 for the first month and $5 for each further month, so $80 for a one-year permit, converted to lira on the day. Czech, Danish and Irish citizens pay no fee.

Short version: every official price in this table is in lira, converted to dollars at the central bank rate on the day we checked, with the date it came into force and the page we read it on. Turkish fees are reset every January and transport tariffs move two or three times a year, so any guide without a date is probably wrong. We recheck at the start of each month and log what changed.

What we could not confirm, so did not list

  • Residence-permit health insurance premiums: insurers quote by form only; typical ranges are in the health insurance guide
  • E-visa fees: evisa.gov.tr could not be fetched; UK citizens have been visa-exempt since January 2024
  • Notary fee for a rental contract: no distinct published tariff line found

The table

Last checked: 2 Oct 2026. USD at 48.97 TL, TCMB forex buying, 2 October 2026. Permanent link: nomadistanbul.com/kb/istanbul-fees-for-foreigners/#table

Residence and work permits

ItemTRYUSDUnitIn forceSource
Residence permit card (değerli kağıt bedeli)Same for every nationality. Also charged for work permit cards.964 TL$20per card1 Jan 2026Göç İdaresiofficial
Residence permit fee (harç): US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Canada, Australia and 150 other countriesReciprocity table 'Ülkelere göre harç miktarları' on the Göç İdaresi page. On top of the 964 TL card.1,224.25 TL$25first month; then $5 per month. 1 year = $80, paid in lira at the day's rate1 Jan 2026Göç İdaresiofficial
Residence permit fee (harç): Albania, Philippines, Israel, Japan, Cambodia, North Macedonia, Mali, Tajikistan, Oman685.58 TL$14first month; then $3.50 per month. 1 year = $52.501 Jan 2026Göç İdaresiofficial
Residence permit fee (harç): Belgium, Belarus, Algeria, Spain, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, Singapore, Taiwan, Jordan440.73 TL$9first month; then $2.50 per month. 1 year = $36.501 Jan 2026Göç İdaresiofficial
Residence permit fee (harç): Ethiopia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Micronesia, Russia342.79 TL$7first month; then $1.50 per month. 1 year = $23.501 Jan 2026Göç İdaresiofficial
Residence permit fee (harç): Morocco, Ivory Coast, Iraq, Montenegro, Egypt, Tunisia244.85 TL$5first month; then $0.50 per month. 1 year = $10.501 Jan 2026Göç İdaresiofficial
Residence permit fee (harç): Czechia, Denmark, Ireland, Kosovo, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkmenistan, Northern Cyprus, PalestineFreeFreeexempt under reciprocity; card fee still applies1 Jan 2026Göç İdaresiofficial
Residence permit fee (harç): Serbia, Fiji, Norway, Northern Mariana Islands (not in any group)2,232.30 TL$46per month after the first; first month 348.10 TL/day, min 653.70, max 3,359.901 Jan 2026Göç İdaresiofficial
Work permit fee (çalışma izni harcı), 1 year12,575 TL$257per year, plus the 964 TL card1 Jan 2026Atakurumsal, citing the 2026 tariffreported
Tax number (vergi kimlik numarası)Online at the Interactive Tax Office; no visit needed.FreeFreefree2026Gelir İdaresiofficial
IMEI registration for a foreign phone (BTK)Fixed by Harçlar Kanunu Genel Tebliği Seri No 98, Resmi Gazete 31 December 2025. Most people buy a Turkish phone instead.54,258.90 TL$1,108one-off per device1 Jan 2026Resmî Gazete · Harçlar Kanunu Genel Tebliği 98, tariff 8, VIIIofficial

Paperwork

ItemTRYUSDUnitIn forceSource
Notary: general power of attorney (vekaletname), minimumTypical bill 1,500 to 2,500 TL depending on length.1,176.90 TL$24per document1 Jan 2026Kadim Hukuk, citing the 2026 notary tariffreported
Sworn translation, English to TurkishNo regulated tariff. 120 to 500 TL plus VAT per page depending on document. Notary certification billed separately.350 TL$7per page, typical minimum2026Okeanos Tercüme price surveymarket
Apostille at the kaymakamlık or via e-DevletTranslation and notary costs are separate.FreeFreefree2026Ziya Tercümereported

Getting around

ItemTRYUSDUnitIn forceSource
Istanbulkart full fare, metro, bus, tram, ferryWas 42 TL from 16 February 2026. Single-use tickets cost far more; buy the card.46.20 TL$1per ride20 Jul 2026İBB tariff, Meclis decision 813official
Istanbulkart, anonymous card50 TL$1per card2026Kartal24reported
Yellow taxi: flag dropUKOME decision of 17 July 2026. Was 65.40 TL.71.94 TL$1per ride20 Jul 2026Hürriyet Bigparareported
Yellow taxi: per kilometreWas 43.56 TL.47.92 TL$1per km, no night rate20 Jul 2026Hürriyet Bigparareported
Yellow taxi: minimum fare (indi-bindi)Was 210 TL.230 TL$5per ride20 Jul 2026Hürriyet Bigparareported
Havaist bus HVL-9, Istanbul Airport to TaksimWas 355 TL before 20 July. Pay by Istanbulkart, QR, credit or debit card; no transfer or student discount.470 TL$10per ride20 Jul 2026İBB tariff, Meclis decision 813official
Havaist bus HVL-6, Istanbul Airport to KadıköySultanahmet (HVL-11) is 420 TL; Sabiha Gökçen to Sultanahmet (HVL-13) 405 TL.515 TL$11per ride20 Jul 2026İBB tariff, Meclis decision 813official
M11 metro, Istanbul Airport line (Gayrettepe / Halkalı)Priced by stations travelled. The gate takes the maximum on entry and refunds the rest when you tap out.42.34 TL$1per ride for 4–6 stations; 37.40 TL for 1–3, up to 73.19 TL for 15–1620 Jul 2026İBB tariff, Meclis decision 813official

Visas and investment (set in US dollars)

ItemTRYUSDUnitIn forceSource
Digital nomad visa: monthly income thresholdAges 21 to 55, eligible-country list applies.146,910 TL$3,000per month, or 36,000 a year2026Ministry of Culture and Tourismofficial
Citizenship by investment: property minimumBank deposit and other routes: 500,000 USD.19,588,000 TL$400,000held 3 years2026Invest in Türkiyeofficial

Confidence: official = Read on the issuing body's own page. reported = From a major Turkish outlet or professional body citing the official tariff; primary page not machine-readable. market = No regulated tariff; typical price from providers.

How to use these numbers

  • Budget in lira, not dollars. The lira figure is the one on the receipt. The dollar column is only there so you can compare with home; it will drift with the exchange rate between our checks.
  • Fees reset on 1 January. The residence and work permit fees, the card fee, the notary tariff and the IMEI fee are all revalued each January by the revaluation rate published in November. If you are applying in December, apply in December.
  • Transport moves mid-year. Istanbulkart, taxi and Havaist tariffs rose in February and again on 20 July 2026. If it has been three months since our date above, assume 10% more.
  • Reciprocity decides the permit fee. Turkey charges each nationality roughly what that country charges Turks, in five dollar-denominated bands. Most Western passports are in the top band: $25 for the first month, $5 a month after that, so $80 for a one-year permit plus the card. Russians pay $23.50, Egyptians $10.50, Irish nothing.

What tourists pay compared with Turkish citizens at the big sights is in our foreigner prices report. Related guides with the process behind each fee: residence permit health insurance, Turkish bank account, SIM card and IMEI registration, airport transfer.

Change log

2 Oct 2026

  • October check: residence permit card (964 TL) and permit fees unchanged on the Göç İdaresi page. Istanbulkart (46.20 TL) and taxi tariff unchanged since 20 July; no new UKOME or İBB fare decision since then.
  • Havaist corrected: Istanbul Airport to Taksim is 470 TL since 20 July (we listed 355 TL, the January fare). Added Kadıköy (515 TL) and the M11 airport metro, both from the official İBB tariff, so M11 leaves the 'not confirmed' list.
  • Istanbulkart fare now cited to the İBB tariff itself (official). Dollar column at 48.97 TL (TCMB, 2 October).

8 Sept 2026

  • First published. 17 items checked; 5 left out because we could not confirm them (listed above the table).
  • Added the per-nationality residence permit fee (harç) table: five reciprocity groups plus exempt and unlisted countries, from the Göç İdaresi image table. A 1-year permit for a US or UK citizen is $25 + 11 × $5 = $80 in lira, plus the 964 TL card.
  • IMEI fee corrected to 54,258 TRY, the figure in the tariff communiqué itself, replacing a secondary-source 55,900.

Cite or embed this data

Free to reuse with a link (CC BY 4.0). Machine-readable copy, updated monthly: /data/istanbul-fees.json

<p>Source: <a href="https://nomadistanbul.com/kb/istanbul-fees-for-foreigners/">Fees and tariffs for foreigners in Istanbul</a> (Nomad Istanbul), last checked 2 Oct 2026. Data: <a href="https://nomadistanbul.com/data/istanbul-fees.json">JSON</a>.</p>

Have a primary source for an item we left out? Email hello@nomadistanbul.com and we will add it with credit.

Disclosure

No affiliate links on this page. Every figure links to the page we read it on; where that page is not the issuing body, the confidence label says so.

Sources

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