Andy Probert: SO another year down, and another year sorting out the residence application here in Turkey.
This time, I first had to apply online.
After a few hairy moments on the website – https://e-ikamet.goc.gov.tr/ – I eventually got through to the end and arranged for my ‘interview application’ for Friday.
What you need before you apply:
New health insurance details;
A biometric picture which you’ll need to download from your laptop to the online application.
It took me three goes at filling in the application form on the Internet for me and twice for my partner.
I came a cropper first time around when testing the system to discover it wanted the private health insurance reference number. Having duly got that, I filled out the form again, only to find the health insurance details included our old address.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a simple case of changing the new address on the private health insurance. No, it had to be binned and a new insurance reference raised.
That meant our online applications (my second and my partner’s first) had to be scrapped as they still included the old health insurance references. So I inputted all the new details with fresh applications (now my third and my partner’s second).
Here’s what’s required for one person for renewing their residence permit and is renting property. You need to take these to your appointment :
The signed, downloaded residence permit application.
A photocopy of your passport
4 biometric photographs
A photocopy of your bank savings: This bank statement should declare a minimum of 1,404tl per month or if receiving pension/payments from the UK – statement showing the monthly payments.
Valid health insurance
A copy of your address – this you can be obtained on the ground floor of the Didim Governor’s Nufus office. ‘Yerleşim Yeri ve Diğer Adres Belgesi’.[ Population Registration document]. It has to be up to date.
A valid rental agreement
Birth certificate and photocopy
On the online application, I asked for a 2pm Friday afternoon appointment, which both of us attended at the Department of Migration on the second floor of the Didim Governor’s office, behind the Jandarma barracks and close to Didim Polis Station.
When we got there, we were met by a notice on the door that said the office would not accept applications after 2pm on a Friday afternoon! This really incensed me as it seems Didim was acting completely independently of the Turkish Government’s own system.
One harried officer did give our applications a quick eye over and told us to come back Monday morning at 9am. In the meantime, we went to the Tax Office and paid our dues for our new cards and period of time required.
We headed back at 9am on Monday and by about 11.15am we were out, with the applications in the system. We were advised the wait is about 3 weeks before confirmation comes over by mobile phone that the card is ready for you.