Residence Permit Application for Exchange Students
Why Residence Permit?
Exchange Students who are enrolled in an academic program in Turkey for 3 months or longer are obliged to acquire a short-term residence permit as per the Law on Foreigners and International Protection. The Residence Permit gives you the right to stay in Turkey during your study period.
You must apply for a short term residence permit before the expiry of your visa, visa exemption period, or residence permit card and your passport must be valid at least 60 days beyond the requested ending date of residence permit. To do this, you must enter Turkey with your passport; you need to complete the necessary documents, submit fingerprints, make an online residence permit application and submit your documents to International Relations Office.
Disclaimer
- An application can be only made after entering Turkey. Residence permit applications made from abroad are invalid.
- It is not recommended to leave Turkey before obtaining the residence permit card. Departing from Turkey before the residence permit evaluation may result in rejection.
- Please make sure all required documents are complete before submitting your online application. Files with missing documents are not accepted by the Immigration Office.
- The Immigration Office reserves the right to request additional documents and to reject applications. Our university only guides you on how to apply and submits your files to the Immigration Office on your behalf. The initiation, evaluation, and approval of the process are entirely the responsibility of the Directorate General of Migration Management. This matter is not within the authority of our university.
Application Steps
Please follow the required steps by the given deadlines, or you may face delays in getting your residence permit card. These dates change monthly, so remember to refresh this page before starting your application.
Step 1: Collect the Required Documents
***Collect the Required Documents between 1 - 20 October 2024***
| Document Name | How to get it | |
| 1. Declaration Document | Download it here, fill, print and sign it. | |
| 2. Address Proof Document
| If you are staying on campus ) Get your Dorm Address Document from Dorm Management (Building D2) or request it here: suticket.sabanciuniv.edu | |
If you are staying off campus get your Rental Agreement under your name (in Turkish ''Kira Sözleşmesi'') Click here to learn more about how to get it.
if you are staying off campus and not have a rental agreement get your letter of commitment (in Turkish ''Taahhüt'') Click here to learn more about how to get it.
Note: Airbnb platform is not accepted as an address document. Even if you stay at an Airbnb, you must make a rental agreement or taahhütname with the house owner. | ||
| 3. Passport Copy | Get a copy of
| |
| 4. Biometric Photo | Get your 4 biometric photos (size 4x6 cm). There is a photo booth available on campus near the bank office | |
| 5. Student Certificate | Get it from Student Resources | |
| 6. Online Application Form | Follow the Step 2 to learn more about how to get it. | |
| 7. The receipt Residence Permit Card payment | Follow the Step 3 to learn more about how to get it. | |
| 8. Finger Print | Follow the Step 4 to learn more about how to get it. | |
| 9. Valid Health Insurance for Residence Permit Purpose | Click here to learn more about how to get it. | |
Step2: Submit your Online Application and Get Your Online Application Form
***Submit your Online Application between 21-23 October 2024**
You should submit your online application only within the given dates below. Please ensure that you apply before your visa, visa exemption, or residence permit (if applicable) expires.
| Online Application Dates |
21-23 October |
| Online Application Link |
Online Application Instructions
Step3: Pay your Application Fee
You must first obtain a tax ID number. Click here to learn how to get it. Only after then, pay it your residence card fee via either Tax Office, Ziraat Bank, Halk Bank, or Vakıf Bank with the 9207-reference code. If you already have a residence permit card before, you can use the old residence card number as a tax number. Please note that the payment of the card fee must be in your name with your tax ID number.
See below the addresses of the Tax offices:
- Yakacık D-100 Kuzey Yanyol Caddesi No: 47/A-B Kartal ISTANBUL
- Kadıköy Tax Office: Osmanağa, Halitağa Caddesi No:19, Kadıköy ISTANBUL
Note: The application fee is subject to change annually.
Make sure to have more than 565₺ cash with you when you go to pay. However, you must pay this amount in total since you are a student in Turkey. The personnel might not be able to speak English. Therefore, you can bring this message to anyone, and they will help you:
“Merhaba! Ben SABANCI Universitesinden geliyorum. Yabanci Uyrukluyum. İkamet kart ücreti ödemeye geldim. Yardiminiz icin tesekkurler.” (Hello! I study at SABANCI University and am a foreigner. I came here to pay my residence card fee. Thank you for your help in advance.)
If you pay your residence card fee via bank or tax office, please make sure you have a stamp on the receipt. If not, please ask for a stamp (in TR.: Makbuza mühür basar mısınız?)
Never throw away the original payment document as you have to deliver it to the Immigration Office along with other documents, keep the original document. Otherwise, you will have to pay again
Step 4: Get your Finger Print
***Get your Finger Print between 21-23 October 2024**
After completing your online application form, you must go to Pendik Immigration Office or any Immigration Office closest to your location to check your fingerprints and get the criminal record number starting with GI on your application form. You can complete this step by going to the fingerprint section without an appointment with your original passport, student ID card and online application form. You must also have your current residence permit card with you, if you have one.
Note: Even if you have previously provided fingerprints, you need to go to the immigration office to get the GI number. Applications submitted without a GI number will be rejected.
If you have a language problem at the immigration administration, simply show the following Turkish text to the authorities:
“Merhaba. Sabancı Üniversitesi öğrencisiyim. Öğrenci ikameti başvurusu yaptım. Parmak izimi vermek istiyorum.”
(Hello. I am a Sabancı University student. I applied for a student residence permit. I want to give my fingerprint.)
| Finger Print Location | Working Hours |
Pendik Immigration Office: Doğu, Nevbahar Sk No:2, 34890 Pendik/İstanbul Click here to see on Google Map | 9 am to 5 pm between Monday to Friday |
Necessary documents you need to take it with you:
- Original Passport
- Student ID Card
- Residence Permit Online Application Form
Step 5: Book an Appointment and submit your documents to IRO
After applying online and checking your fingerprints, you are expected to bring your documents to the IRO by the given date. Your file must contain the necessary documents for your application.
📢❗🚨 Before submitting your file to us, you must obtain approval from the IRO because we cannot accept your file if there are missing documents. To ensure that your file contains no missing documents, you need to send all your scanned documents to irolegal@sabanciuniv.edu After we confirm that your documents are complete, you can make an appointment to bring the documents to the office.
| Book an Appointment |
| https://calendly.com/irolegalsabanci/legal-procedures |
| Submit Location |
| Room 1168 @ Sabancı Business School |
Step 6: Tracking your Residence Permit Card
***Submit your all documents to IRO between 24-25 October 2024**
After you submit your documents to IRO, we will deliver your file to the Istanbul Provincial Immigration Administration. The evaluation result will be delivered to the student within 30-90 days via email/SMS and Immigration Office website https://e-ikamet.goc.gov.tr/Ikamet/DevamEdenBasvuruGiris
The authority to evaluate and announce results lies with the Directorate General of Migration Management. The IRO does not receive application results. Therefore, we recommend regularly checking the website for updates.
It may take up to 90 days for your application to be approved and for your cards to be prepared. Your cards will be sent to the addresses listed on the address document you provided in your application. Tracking the cards is the student's personal responsibility.
If you provided Sabancı University Tuzla Campus as your address in your residence permit application form, your card will be sent to the Communication Center on campus. You will be notified by the Communication Center once your card arrives.
After receiving your card, please don't forget to send a copy to irolegal@sabanciuniv.edu and studentinfo@sabanciuniv.edu.