Türkiye student visa and student residence permit

Article 38 of Law No. 6458 grants the permit to foreigners enrolled in higher education at associate, bachelor, master's or doctoral level. Pupils in primary and secondary schools whose care and costs are covered by a person or institution can receive one-year permits with consent of their parents or guardians. Foreigners studying through Turkish public institutions can be given a permit for the whole study period.

The student must present the enrolment documents, must not fall under the entry-ban grounds of Article 7 and must give an address in Türkiye. The permit is refused or cancelled if these conditions lapse, if there is evidence that studies cannot be continued, if it is used for another purpose, or if a deportation or entry-ban decision exists.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists education, Turkish language courses and internships under the student and education visa category, issued by Turkish missions after the visa.gov.tr pre-application. Students invited by Turkish universities under exchange or EU programmes apply for their residence permit at the local migration office. Student residence permits are among the permits the law explicitly allows to be requested from inside Türkiye.

Graduates of Turkish higher education can apply for a short-term residence permit within six months of graduation; it is granted once and for up to one year. Time on a student permit counts only half when calculating the eight years of uninterrupted residence required for long-term residence.

Students in formal programmes can work only with a work permit. Associate and bachelor students may work part-time after completing their first year; postgraduates are not subject to that restriction. Work permits for students in entertainment jobs unsuited to them or in domestic services are refused, and for Türkiye Scholarship holders the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities is consulted.