Changes to residence permit rules included in new law

IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? Turkey has eased its restrictions on the amount of time residence permit holders can stay abroad without having their permits canceled.

What does the change mean? Short-term residence permit holders and dependent residence permit holders will no longer be subject to rules that barred them from being outside of Turkey for 120 days in a year (for short-term residence permit holders) or 180 days in a year (for dependent residence permit holders).

• Implementation time frame: The change took effect Aug. 13 and applies to permits obtained after that date.
• Visas/permits affected: Short-term and dependent residence permits.
• Who is affected: Foreign nationals holding or applying for short-term or dependent residence permits issued after Aug. 13.
• Business impact: The change will benefit business people in some cases because they will be able to remain on assignment outside of Turkey for longer than was previously allowed without jeopardizing their residence permit.

Background: The new rules for residence permit holders were included in a new law that took effect in August. Short-term and dependent residence permits in Turkey may now come and go freely without having their residence permit canceled for spending more than 120 or 180 days outside of the country.

BAL Analysis: The change is welcome news, particularly for residence permit holders who may have long-term assignments in other countries. BAL will continue monitoring the implementation of other provisions of the law and will provide updates to clients as additional information becomes available.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider located in Turkey. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.

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