Retiring in Türkiye: Residence Permits, Taxes and Where to Settle

Türkiye is one of the few countries where a comfortable coastal retirement is still affordable, and the Aegean shore between Kuşadası and Bodrum has absorbed a large share of that demand. What surprises most new arrivals is that the legal route in is not what they expect: Türkiye has no "retirement visa" category at all. There is no equivalent of Portugal's D7 or Spain's non-lucrative visa. Retirees settle through the ordinary residence permit (ikamet izni) system, most often on the basis of owning a home.

This guide sets out how that actually works: which permit applies, the property value rule that governs it, the health insurance requirement and the exemption for those aged 65 and over, how a foreign pension is taxed once you become a Turkish tax resident, what happens to Turkish property on death, and where along the coast people are actually buying.

A note on the figures. The thresholds and lists below reflect the position as of 2 September 2026. The property value rule, the list of neighbourhoods closed to new registrations and the applicable tax rates all change by administrative decision, sometimes at short notice. Confirm the current position before committing to a purchase. This article is general information and is not a substitute for legal advice on a specific case.

1. There Is No Retirement Visa — What Exists Instead

Foreign nationals reside in Türkiye under the Law on Foreigners and International Protection no. 6458. For retirees, three routes matter in practice:

• Short-term residence permit. The ordinary route. It is granted on a number of grounds, and the two that concern retirees are owning immovable property in Türkiye and, in some circumstances, intending to stay for tourism purposes. It is issued for up to two years at a time and is renewable.
• Family residence permit. For those married to a Turkish citizen, or to a foreign national holding a permit. It carries broader rights than the short-term permit and counts towards long-term residence.
• Long-term residence permit. Available after eight years of uninterrupted residence, subject to further conditions. It is indefinite and removes the need to renew.

A residence permit is not a visa and is not obtained at a consulate: the application is made from inside Türkiye, online through the Directorate of Migration Management, followed by an in-person appointment. Nationals of many countries may enter visa-free or on an e-visa and apply during that lawful stay — but the permitted visa-free period is not extended by making an application, so the calendar must be planned carefully.

2. The Property Route and the USD 200,000 Rule

The most common basis for a retiree's permit is ownership of a residential property. Two conditions govern it:

• Minimum value of USD 200,000. Since October 2023 the property must be worth at least this amount, and the figure applies uniformly across every province — there is no lower threshold for smaller towns. The value is not the price on the contract but the figure established by an appraisal report from a valuation firm licensed by the Capital Markets Board (SPK).
• Residential classification and registration. The property must be classified as a dwelling in the records, and the title deed must be registered in the applicant's own name. Buying through a company, or holding only a promise-to-sell, does not support the permit.

The closed-neighbourhood problem catches buyers out. Where the foreign population of a neighbourhood exceeds a set density, the Directorate of Migration Management closes it to new residence permit registrations. The property is still perfectly lawful to buy and own — but it will not support a residence permit application, and the buyer discovers this only after completion. The list is amended periodically. The address must be checked against the current list before signing anything; this is the single most common and most expensive mistake we see.

Two further checks belong in any purchase on this coast:

• Military restricted zones. Acquisition by foreign nationals is prohibited in these areas. The check is made through the land registry and is not optional.
• Annotations on the title deed. Mortgages, attachments, easements and construction-servitude entries all survive the sale. The land registry record must be read in full, not merely relied on as a summary.

For a fuller treatment of the acquisition itself, see our Kuşadası Property Lawyer page.

3. Health Insurance — and the Exemption at 65

Every residence permit applicant must hold valid health insurance covering the whole period of the intended stay. In practice this means a Turkish private policy covering inpatient and outpatient treatment; travel insurance does not qualify.

Applicants aged 65 and over are exempt from this requirement. That exemption is a significant practical advantage for retirees, and it is one of the reasons Türkiye compares favourably with European destinations, where private cover at an advanced age is often the largest single line in the relocation budget. Cover remains advisable even where it is not required.

There is a second layer. After one year of uninterrupted residence, foreign nationals may in principle apply to join the Turkish general health insurance scheme (GSS) as voluntary contributors, which gives access to the state system. Separately, Türkiye has bilateral social security agreements with a number of countries, and where one applies, entitlement in the home country may extend to healthcare in Türkiye. Both routes depend on nationality and on individual circumstances and should be checked before relying on them.

4. Tax: the 183-Day Rule and Your Pension

This is the part most often overlooked until the first year has already passed.

A person who is present in Türkiye for more than 183 days in a calendar year, or who has established their legal residence there, becomes a Turkish tax resident and is in principle liable to Turkish income tax on worldwide income. Buying a property does not by itself create tax residence; spending most of the year in it does.

Whether your pension is actually taxed in Türkiye then depends on the double taxation treaty between Türkiye and the country paying it. Türkiye has an extensive treaty network, and the treaties follow the OECD Model Convention, which draws a two-way distinction:

• Private-sector pensions — under Article 18 of the model, taxable as a rule only in the country of residence. For a retiree who has genuinely moved to Türkiye, that generally means Türkiye rather than the home country.
• Pensions arising from government service — under Article 19, taxable as a rule in the paying state. A retired civil servant, teacher or member of the armed forces will usually continue to be taxed at home on that pension.

This is the general rule and it is not identical in every treaty. Some treaties give the source state a taxing right as well; some deal with state social security pensions separately from occupational ones; some carve out payments above a threshold. Where both states may tax, relief comes either through exemption under the treaty or through a foreign tax credit. Before relying on any of it, the relevant article of the specific treaty between Türkiye and your country must be read in its own text.

Rental income from Turkish property is on a different footing: it arises in Türkiye and is taxable in Türkiye regardless of residence status. See our Tax Law page.

5. Where Retirees Actually Settle on the Aegean

Demand is not evenly spread, and the legal profile of each area differs enough to matter.

• Kuşadası. The largest concentration of foreign owners in the province of Aydın, with a long-established British, Irish and Northern European community. Most enquiries here concern apartments in managed sites: service charges, the powers of the site management and disputes over common areas. Litigation is heard at Kuşadası courthouse.
• Didim (Altınkum). Historically the most concentrated British-owned market on the coast. Its characteristic issues are older complexes with title and licensing irregularities from the construction boom, and inherited property where the owners are abroad.
• Söke and the surrounding villages. Increasingly chosen by buyers who want land rather than an apartment. Agricultural land carries restrictions of its own, and zoning status must be verified before purchase rather than assumed from the seller's description.
• Çeşme and Alaçatı (İzmir). A higher price bracket, with a shorter season and a market dominated by second homes. Rental of a home to visitors engages licensing rules that owners frequently overlook.
• Bodrum (Muğla). The most international market on the coast, and the one where site management structures are most complex — large multi-building complexes governed by their own management plans.

Where the property sits determines which courthouse hears any dispute, and that is worth knowing before you buy rather than after. Our regional pages cover this in more detail: Kuşadası, Didim, Çeşme and Ephesus & Selçuk.

6. Living in a Managed Site: Service Charges and the Owners' Assembly

Most retirees on this coast buy into a managed complex, which brings them within the Condominium Law no. 634 whether they engage with it or not. Three points are worth knowing in advance:

• The management plan registered at the land registry binds every owner and every subsequent purchaser — including one who never saw it.
• Service charges cannot be avoided by non-use. An owner who spends only part of the year in Türkiye is liable in full, and unpaid charges attract late-payment compensation at 5% per month.
• Resolutions of the owners' assembly can be challenged, but the deadline is one month for an owner who attended and voted against, and one month from learning of it (six months at the outside) for one who did not attend. An owner living abroad who does not follow the assembly can lose the right to object simply by missing the post.

Our detailed treatment is in Apartment Management in Türkiye.

7. Inheritance: What Happens to Turkish Property on Death

This is the subject foreign owners think about last and should think about first.

Under Turkish private international law, succession to immovable property situated in Türkiye is governed by Turkish law, whatever the deceased's nationality and whatever their home-country will provides. The practical consequences are significant:

• Turkish law reserves compulsory shares for certain heirs — the surviving spouse, children and, in their absence, parents. A will that leaves a Turkish apartment entirely to one person can be reduced on the application of a reserved heir.
• Heirs must obtain a certificate of inheritance and register the transfer at the land registry. Where the heirs are abroad and the documents are foreign, they require apostille and sworn translation, and the process is materially slower.
• Inheritance and gift tax is payable in Türkiye on the Turkish estate, with its own declaration deadlines.

Planning for this while both spouses are alive is far cheaper than resolving it afterwards. See our Family & Inheritance Law page.

8. Long-Term Residence and Citizenship

• Long-term residence permit: available after eight years of uninterrupted lawful residence, subject to conditions including not having received social assistance and holding sufficient means and valid health insurance. It is granted indefinitely.
• Citizenship by ordinary naturalisation: requires five years of uninterrupted residence together with further conditions, including an intention to settle and adequate Turkish.
• Citizenship by investment: the property route requires acquisition of at least USD 400,000 with a three-year no-resale annotation on the title deed. Note that this is double the USD 200,000 threshold for a residence permit — the two are frequently confused. See our guide to Turkish Citizenship by Investment.

Turkish law permits dual citizenship; acquiring Turkish nationality does not require renouncing your own. Whether your own country permits it is a separate question.

9. Common Mistakes

• Buying before checking the neighbourhood. A perfectly good property in a closed neighbourhood will not support a residence permit application.
• Relying on the contract price rather than the appraisal. The USD 200,000 threshold is tested against the SPK-licensed valuation, not what you paid.
• Confusing the two thresholds. USD 200,000 is for residence; USD 400,000 is for citizenship.
• Letting the permit lapse while abroad. Extended absences can interrupt the continuity that long-term residence and naturalisation both require.
• Ignoring tax residence. Spending most of the year in Türkiye has consequences that are far easier to plan for in advance than to correct in arrears.
• Leaving no one able to act. A power of attorney drawn up before a Turkish notary — or at a Turkish consulate if you are abroad — allows utilities, tax filings, land registry transactions and litigation to be handled in your absence. Most of the delays we see come from its absence.

If you are considering the opposite direction — a Turkish reader looking at passive income and retirement visas in Europe — our Turkish-language guide covers Portugal, Spain, Greece, Italy, Malta and Cyprus: Avrupa'da Pasif Gelir Vizesi (in Turkish).

Frequently Asked Questions

For assistance with a residence permit application, a property purchase on the Aegean coast or succession planning over Turkish assets, see our Residence and Citizenship Law and Real Estate Law pages, or request an appointment through our Contact page.