Turquoise Card Turkey 2026: Eligibility, Rights, Deadlines

The five categories set out in the Turquoise Card Regulation, read live on 22 September 2026.

What is the Turquoise Card in Turkey?

The Turquoise Card is a document issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to foreigners whose files are assessed as an addition to the Turkish economy, and it grants its holder the same rights as an indefinite work permit. Its basis is Article 11 of International Labour Force Law No. 6735, and it is awarded on qualification and contribution rather than years of residence.

The difference is structural. Every other route is measured in time; the Turquoise Card is measured by the file. A researcher with a rare qualification, or an investor whose activity moves employment figures, may hold one before completing a single year in the country.

Turquoise card turkey eligibility and the five categories

The Turquoise Card Regulation sets out five categories and no more. This is the canonical table for this article:

Category	Published assessment criterion
Highly qualified workforce	Education level, salary, professional knowledge and experience
Highly qualified investors	Level of investment or export and its effect on employment
Scientists and researchers	Contribution to scientific and technological development
Cultural, artistic and sporting figures	International-level success in the relevant activity
Promoters of national recognition	Contribution to Turkey's international recognition

⛔ A numeric "points system" table circulates widely for the Turquoise Card. The regulation states that assessment criteria are determined by the Ministry, and no public points table with numeric thresholds is published. No invented scoring table is printed here; the confirmed criteria are the five categories above and the wording of Article 11.

The transition period and the 180-day deadline

This is the figure cardholders lose the card on. The regulation is explicit: "Turkuaz Kart ilk üç yılı geçiş süresi olmak kaydıyla verilir" — the card is issued with its first three years as a transition period, during which the Ministry may request information and documents about the activity being carried out.

To lift that annotation and convert the card into an unlimited one, the request must be filed inside a defined window: "Geçiş süresi kaydının kaldırılması talebi, geçiş süresinin dolmasına yüz seksen gün kalmasından itibaren, her durumda geçiş süresi dolmadan yapılır".

Figure	What it means in practice
3 years	The transition period from the date the card is granted
180 days	When the window to request removal of the annotation opens
No extension	The request must in every case be filed before the period expires

Miss that window and the card ceases to be valid. It is not a penalty or a discretionary decision, but the direct effect of a lapsed deadline.

The governing figures of the Turquoise Card: three transition years, a 180-day window, six months and two years for cancellation.

Turquoise card benefits and the rights it grants

A Turquoise Card holder enjoys the rights of an indefinite work permit, and those rights are themselves defined in Article 10 of the same law: "Süresiz çalışma izni olan yabancı, uzun dönem ikamet izninin sağladığı tüm haklardan yararlanır".

The chain therefore ends at the rights of a long-term residence permit, with stated exceptions: "Seçme, seçilme ve kamu görevlerine girme hakkı ile askerlik hizmeti yapma yükümlülüğü yoktur".

• The right to work without being tied to a single employer or an annually renewed permit
• The rights conferred by the long-term residence permit
• No voting, no standing for election, no entry to public office
• No military service obligation

For the ordinary employer-tied route, see work permits in Turkey for foreigners.

Family inclusion under the Turquoise Card

The spouse and dependent children of a Turquoise Card holder receive a document evidencing the relationship that stands in place of a residence permit. The regulation provides that as a rule this application is made to the Ministry at the same time as the card application itself: "Turkuaz Kart sahibi yakını için ikamet izni başvurusunun bu başvuru ile aynı anda Bakanlığa yapılması esastır".

In practice, filing the family file later and separately complicates the route for no gain. Filing them together is the intended sequence.

The Turquoise Card against the long term residence permit, Law 6735 compared with Law 6458 on authority, time and basis of grant.

When is a Turquoise Card cancelled?

The regulation lists grounds that operate regardless of the holder's wishes:

1. Not coming to Turkey within six months.
2. Staying outside Turkey for more than two uninterrupted years without force majeure.
3. Failure to extend the validity of the passport.
4. Established work in breach of the provisions of the law.

Six months and two years are the governing figures, and both are considerably more generous than the single year that governs a long-term residence permit. For a holder whose work keeps them moving, that is a point in the card's favour.

Turquoise Card versus the long term residence permit in Turkey

Item	Turquoise Card	Long-term residence permit
Basis	Article 11, Law 6735	Article 42, Law 6458
Authority	Ministry of Labour and Social Security	Provinces with ministerial approval
Time requirement	No set number of years	Eight uninterrupted years
Basis of grant	Qualification and economic effect	Meeting the residence conditions
Transition period	Three years	None
Absence tolerated	Two uninterrupted years	One uninterrupted year
Work	Rights of an indefinite work permit	Citizen-level rights with four exceptions

The practical conclusion: a strong professional or investment file does not wait eight years, and a file without one waits for time to do the work. Both routes converge on very nearly the same set of rights.

Does the Turquoise Card lead to Turkish citizenship?

The Turquoise Card is not citizenship and does not confer a Turkish passport, because voting, standing for election and public office are expressly excluded by Article 10. Ordinary naturalisation is governed by Article 11 of Citizenship Law No. 5901, which requires five uninterrupted years of residence, sufficient Turkish, good moral character, income or a profession, and no disease posing a public health danger.

For the direct investment route to citizenship, see Turkish citizenship by investment.

Documents and how to apply for the Turquoise Card

Applications run through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and the file is built to evidence the category you apply under:

• A valid passport
• Educational certificates and professional qualifications
• Evidence of experience or international achievement in your field
• Investment documents and their employment effect, for investor applicants
• Biometric photographs
• The residence document application for a spouse and dependent children, filed at the same time

⛔ The Ministry does not publish one unified checklist covering all five categories, because the evidence differs by category. No final document table is printed here; the Ministry's requirement at assessment is the reference.

Who should apply for a Turquoise Card?

• A doctor, engineer or researcher with a rare qualification and a documented track record
• An investor creating real jobs or measurable export volume
• An artist or athlete with an international record
• Anyone whose work keeps them outside Turkey for long stretches, where the one-year rule on a long-term permit does not fit

If none of that applies, the route is to build qualifying years of lawful residence instead, mapped in types of residence permit in Turkey.

For anyone outside the five categories, the time-based route is set out in full in the long term residence permit in Turkey.

Book your Turquoise Card consultation with Livist Group

A turquoise card turkey file succeeds or fails on how well it evidences your category, not on how many papers it contains. Livist Group reviews your qualifications or investment against the five published categories, files the card and the family document together, and tracks the 180-day window through to removal of the transition annotation. Talk to us before you start.

Sources for this turquoise card guide

• International Labour Force Law No. 6735, Articles 10 and 11, mevzuat.gov.tr. Read live 22 September 2026.
• Turquoise Card Regulation — categories, transition period, relatives' document and cancellation, mevzuat.gov.tr. Read live 22 September 2026.
• Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Directorate General of International Labour Force — Turquoise Card page. Read live 22 September 2026.
• Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901, Article 11, mevzuat.gov.tr. Read live 22 September 2026.