How to get a short-term tourist residence permit (ikamet) in Istanbul: requirements and current status in 2026

From messages by 7 participants in 3 sources · Last activity: 9 days ago

TL;DR

As of July 2026, Istanbul is still issuing tourist residence permits, though processing can take longer than before; for an apartment-rental based application banks often expect a balance of roughly 20,000–40,000 TL per person, and the document-intake office is operating normally.

What the community said

As of late July 2026, Istanbul is still granting tourist residence permits without blanket refusals, but applicants report longer processing times than before — plan extra buffer time.

Tourist ikamet

As of early July, the document-intake office of the migration authority (referred to as "DP" in chats) was working as usual — documents were accepted without disruptions or new restrictions.

Foreigners' document office (Yabancılar Şubesi)

For a tourist residence permit based on an apartment rental contract in Istanbul, banks/immigration typically expect an account balance of around 20,000–40,000 TL per person — the exact figure depends on the bank and shifts with the exchange rate, so check the current minimum before applying.

~20,000-40,000 TL balance