A NUMBER of issues relating to expat living in Turkey were raised at a meeting hosted by the British Embassy in Didim this week.

Among the subjects were updates on residence permits, driving licenses, the Bodrum consulate and even ISIS at the conference organsed at the Didim Chamber of Commerce’s theatre on Monday April 13.

Mr Timothy Fisher, HM Consul for Turkey, and officials from the Izmir and Bodrum consulates gave a run down on information in the one-hour meeting attended by up to 40 expats.

Mr Fisher, while providing the information supplied by the Turkish authorities, underlined that with a ‘health warning’: “Everything that I say is supplied by the Turkish authorities and may or may not be applied in practice, but it’s supposed to be working.”

The rundown of issues addressed by Mr Timothy Fisher from the British Embassy were as follows:

Residence Permits (RP)

The consulates have a direct liaison officer to approach with all their questions at the Directorate of Migration Management (DGMM).

LTRP

For those applying for Long Term Residence Permits (LTRP), it appears that you have to apply through the main province’s foreign police city department……so those living in Didim will have to apply in Aydin, those in Mugla province will have to go through the Mugla directorate, and so on.

One resident in Didim who has an LTRP revealed some of the drawbacks: one that he had paid into a Turkish pension, but the government was not now guaranteeing certain draw downs on that investment, and that he could not get a mobile contract with the permit

120-day rule.

For those out of the country for in excess of 120 days, they run the risk of having their permit cancelled. Although it appears that this is not yet being applied at immingration as computer systems were not yet in sync.

The 120 day rule is being applied back to April 2014 for both old and new style permits

If you have a family residence permit, the excess applied for being out the country is 180 days.

Those on LTRPs, the excess for being out of the country before they run the risk of the permit being cancelled is 12 months.

Mr Fisher (left) advised those who thought they may have their permits cancelled for excessive stays outside the country, should invest in an evisa before their return.

If a permit is cancelled because of the 120-day rule, you have a 10-day window in which to re-apply for a new one.

One resident asked why there were no ID pictures on the new permits. Mr Fisher advised that at some point in the future, pictures will be added to the permit cards. If that was necessary, just as you need to change your address or circumstances on the card, the cost would be 50TL – the cost of replacing the card. But he added: “There is no information coming from the DGMM when pictures will be applied to the permit cards.”

He reiterated that residents could apply 60 days before the end date of their permit for a new one. An application for a LTRP could be two months before the end of the present permit.

Mr Fisher said: “It is apparent that the law as applied in Ankara and the implementation of those laws on the ground varies significantly from office to office across the country.

”We get a rigid interpretation of the law, but we are finding that systems are not inplce, DGMM offices are not in place yet and computer systems have not been updated. A lot of the regional offices are more flexible in their interpretations of the laws. That may be to our advantage, but it can change very quickly. It’s not ideal, but that’s the situation.”

For further information you can look at the www.goc.gov. tr website

Driving Licenses

Consulates serving EU countries have sought clarification on a number of issues relating to the driving licence issue.

Mr Fisher said you can drive on Turkish roads using your original driving license, but it must have been translated and notarized. Bear in mind that if your UK license is of the card type, when it expires [10 years after issue] then so does your legality to drive on your translated document.

If you are stopped and the above has not been done, then you could be liable for fines and action.

You can obtain a Turkish driving license. From anecdotal evidence, it costs about 700TL to get it converted. However, the application from the Turkish police to the DVLA and the return confirmation can take several months, but once done, the process is relatively quickly, with a visit to four offices and few hours’ work.

Mr Fisher said that if you have to produce your license for an offence at a local police station, then you normally have 10 days to do that.

He added: “You are not obligated to get a Turkish driving license as a foreign one can be used on Turkish roads. But your original can be converted. That’s direct information supplied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.”

ISIS/Syria
In relation to ISIS and the Syrian issue, Mr Fisher said the influx of people to Turkey and onwards to the Syrian border from the UK – as well as human traffic back the same way to the UK – was causing concern for consulate staff.

He said that as a result, an extra security measure had been put in place with passports being re-checked on the tarmac before travelers boarded their aircraft. He said the need to check names could impact on delayed flights.

He added: “However, Turkey is not the Syrian border. Turkey is safe and secure. Turkey is a big country for holidaymakers to explore, but we are battling a media narrative that is not entirely positive due to the ISIS issue.”