Address registration guide for expats in Türkiye under April 2025 rules

In an important update for foreigners living in Türkiye, new strict address registration regulations are now being enforced as of April 2025. The following information is based on direct communications with Provincial Migration Offices and firsthand observations, rather than official government publications.

Procedures may differ across cities, and expats living outside Istanbul are advised to verify regulations locally. Many of these rules are verbally issued or posted inside offices and are not consistently reflected on government websites..

Multiple foreigners registering at same address within a year

A notarized rental agreement must exist, issued either by the legal property owner or by an authorized representative holding a valid power of attorney, showing that the entire apartment has been rented out.

There is an important detail here: immigration officers can check how many people have registered at the address within a year by reviewing the application records and the address registration system.

Addresses with an unusually high number of rental contracts are flagged and classified as “apart hotels.” From then on, registrations at these locations are only accepted under a company name, requiring a commercial lease.

When address registrations are made under an individual’s name, it raises suspicion regarding why so many foreigners of different nationalities are frequently being registered at the same address.

The reason behind this is the widespread practice of illegal operations or individuals posing as businesses, who charge foreigners between ₺5,000 (nearly $135) and ₺10,000 (nearly $270) for address registration services.

Although these individuals draft legally acceptable contracts, the foreigners often do not actually live there, and these operations generate illegal commercial income. To combat this, immigration authorities closely monitor addresses with frequent registrations, record them in the system, and reject new address registration applications from these properties unless the property is registered as a licensed tourism business.

To avoid being defrauded, individuals are strongly advised not to trust companies or people offering room shares or fake address registration services, as it could lead to serious victimization.

How to register your address in Türkiye when flat sharing

Nearly half of the foreigners living in Türkiye choose to rent a room rather than an entire apartment for economic reasons. However, renting only a room is generally not accepted for address registration purposes.

There are exceptions only for those holding student residence permits or Erasmus students. Even in these cases, tenants often move out of the shared apartment after just one or two months.

If this happens, the landlord can apply to the local headman’s office (muhtarlik) and request the deletion of the tenant’s address registration. As a result, foreigners without an active address registration must find a new legal address and update their registration accordingly.

If a residence is rented outside the scope of student accommodation, immigration authorities may review the nationalities of other registered foreigners living on the same property.

They may reject new residence permit applications or address registrations if they suspect that the property is being used improperly, particularly when foreigners of different nationalities live together outside of student residence circumstances.

There is no definitive way to know whether a property will be flagged as suspicious.
However, you can get an idea by checking previous advertisements for the property, asking current roommates how long they have been living there, or inquiring at the local muhtarlik about how many people have registered on the property over the past year.
Still, muhtarlik offices are not obligated to provide this information.

Required documents for room rentals for other types of residence permits

• A notarized rental agreement and a notarized document from the landlord proving ownership of the property (as shown in the title deed). (Notaries do not verify title deeds; it is the tenant’s responsibility to request and check this document.)
• If the rooms are being rented out by a tenant rather than the property owner, a notarized letter of consent (muvafakatname) from the landlord authorizing the tenant to sublease the rooms is required.
• If such a consent document does not exist, the individual renting the room must present a notarized rental agreement made directly between themselves and the property owner.
• Rental agreements that are not notarized are not accepted.

Because of a history of document forgery and numerous fake address registrations, the Turkish government has tightened address registration requirements, particularly for room rentals, to ensure better population control among foreigners.

Registration of limited foreigners at same address within a year

Addresses where more than five different foreigners have registered within a single year are now increasingly being flagged as commercial properties by immigration authorities.
Foreigners staying under student residence permits are exempt from this rule. However, for foreigners holding tourism-based residence permits, flat-sharing is strictly prohibited.

As a result, if this rule is applied 100% consistently, new address registrations at these flagged properties will no longer be accepted.

Nationalities of foreigners living at same address

When foreigners of many nationalities reside at the same address — except for those with student residence permits — the situation is treated as a commercial activity by immigration authorities.

In such cases, it becomes mandatory for the notarized rental agreement to be issued by a registered tourism business, such as an aparthotel or similar establishment.
Rental agreements made between individuals (rather than companies) may lead to the rejection of residence permit applications or the denial of address registration requests.

Sponsorship method for address registration: Key details

If the sponsor is a Turkish citizen but is a tenant rather than the property owner, a notarized rental contract between the property owner and the tenant must be provided. If there is no notarized rental contract, a notarized letter of consent (muvafakatname) from the property owner allowing the foreigner to stay at the address must be obtained.

In Türkiye, due to the “Principle of Freedom of Contract” recognized by law, approximately 90% of Turkish citizens do not notarize their rental agreements with property owners.

Therefore, to avoid potential complications during foreigners’ address registration processes, it is crucial to pay special attention to this requirement.

Property owner being shareholder according to title deed

If the property owner renting out the apartment owns more than 50% of the property share according to the title deed, no additional requirements are imposed. However, if the ownership share is less than 50%, then the rental contract must be signed by the co-owner holding the majority share.

In some cases, the shareholders may reach an agreement among themselves, allowing the minority shareholder to rent out the property. In such cases, a notarized letter of consent must be obtained from all other co-owners authorizing the rental of the property.

If these conditions are not properly met, the property risks being rented without the full consent of all co-owners.

In the event that one of the co-owners files a legal complaint, the tenant (including foreigners) may be evicted from the property through a court decision. Thus, it is critical for tenants to thoroughly check title deeds and verify ownership shares before signing any rental agreement.

Address registration for foreigners overstaying in Türkiye

If a foreigner who initially rented a property legally later becomes undocumented by overstaying, the landlord bears no legal responsibility for their status. However, it is prohibited to rent properties to foreigners who do not have a legal residence status in Türkiye.

Properties rented to undocumented migrants can be sealed, and suspects caught in such situations face judicial proceedings under Article 79-1/a of the Turkish Penal Code for “bringing a foreigner into the country or enabling them to stay,” which carries a prison sentence ranging from 5 to 8 years.

Existing tenant’s address registration when renting property

Sometimes, when you rent a property, there may already be another tenant’s address registered at that address. In such cases, as a new tenant, you cannot delete the previous tenant’s registration yourself.

If the previous tenant is a Turkish citizen, they can remove their address registration within a minute through the e-Government (e-Devlet) portal. In this case, the landlord must contact the previous tenant to request the deletion.

However, if the previous tenant is a foreigner, they usually do not want to remove their address registration because, in Türkiye, foreigners must first register a new address to cancel the previous one, and this process can take weeks or even months.

Due to the complexity of the rules and procedures, it is essential to check whether there is any active registration on the property before signing a rental agreement.
You should visit the local headman’s office (muhtarlik) with a copy of the title deed (tapu) to inquire about the address status.

If there is an existing registration, you must ask the landlord to apply to the Population Directorate (Nufus Mudurlugu) or the local muhtarlik to request the deletion of the existing record before renting the property.

If you try to handle this issue after renting the property and the landlord is unwilling to cooperate, you may end up facing difficulties. Although there is a legal remedy for this situation, it can take a long time to resolve; therefore, it is strongly advised to conduct a thorough investigation before proceeding with any rental agreement.

Purchasing, renting, or registering an address in restricted areas

In these neighborhoods, address registration is only permitted for student residence permits, work permits, or family residence permits for those married to Turkish citizens.
For all other types of residence permits, address registration is not allowed in these restricted areas.

Even if a property was rented or purchased before the neighborhood was declared restricted, individuals whose address registrations were canceled cannot re-register at the same address afterward.

Technically, under the Turkish Penal Code, there is no specific prohibition regarding address registration for purchased properties; however, in practice, immigration directorates do not allow it. In such cases, you may need to file a lawsuit and formally object to the decision.

You can review our earlier article on address registration here

In a nutshell

Foreigners looking to register an address — particularly in Istanbul—must strictly follow the comprehensive rules outlined above. Your address registration is the very foundation of your residence status and legal protection in Türkiye.

For professional assistance, Expat Solutions Türkiye offers full immigration and address registration consultancy services. Feel free to fill out our contact form to reach out: https://calendly.com/expatsolutions/let-us-hear-your-request 

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About the author: Kagan Orhan is a human resources and immigration consultancy expert at “Expat Solutions Turkey”, dedicated to facilitating the adaptation processes of foreigners in Türkiye with the expertise and knowledge in managing legal procedures such as residence permit applications, work permits, business establishment, real estate and citizenship processes for foreigners settling in Türkiye with their team of lawyers and consultants.