Moving to Fethiye as a Brit: the residence routes that actually work

Getting into Turkey is the easy bit; living in Fethiye means swapping the visa-free stamp for a residence permit, the ikamet, before your 90 days run out.

The short version

• British citizens can visit Turkey without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period, for tourism or business. Your passport needs at least 150 days left on arrival [1].
• Anyone staying longer than that must apply for a residence permit online through the e-ikamet system, then attend an appointment at the migration office [3].
• Turkey has six types of residence permit. For most Brits in Fethiye the realistic routes are a short-term permit (as a homeowner, a long-stay visitor or a retiree), a family permit, a student permit or a work permit through a Turkish employer [3][4].
• Turkey isn't in the EU, so the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and the EU's 90/180 rule don't apply. Turkey runs its own 90-in-180 rule instead [1].
• The good news for retirees: your UK State Pension is uprated every year in Turkey [6].

First, the 90-day rule

Turkey lets British citizen passport holders in visa-free for 90 days in any 180-day period, for tourism or business [1]. That isn't a tourist visa you can extend at the town hall. It's a rolling window, and when it's used up you either leave or hold a valid residence permit. Our guide to visa-free stays and the 90/180 rule shows how to count the days.

The FCDO is clear that the visa-free stay isn't for work: if you plan to work in Turkey, you need the correct permits [1]. Your passport needs at least 150 days of validity on arrival and a blank page as a visitor; once you live in Turkey, the FCDO says it must be valid for six months from the date you arrive [1].

Plenty of Brits first came to Fethiye on a fortnight's package to Çalış or Hisarönü and went home dreaming. The 90 days are a good trial run: a winter visit tells you far more than August does, when the town is heaving and it's 35°C in the shade.

The routes, side by side

Turkey's Law on Foreigners and International Protection (Law No. 6458) sets out six residence permit types: short-term, family, student, long-term, humanitarian, and one for victims of human trafficking [3][4]. Only the first four matter for most of us.

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = TRY 67.4414, £1 = USD 1.3476).

Owning a home

This is the classic Fethiye route. If you own a house in Turkey and use it as your home, you can apply for a short-term permit on that basis, and family members who share the property can apply too [3]. A short-term permit is issued for up to two years at a time [3]. Buying a property worth at least USD 400,000 (about £297,000) opens a separate route to citizenship, which our citizenship by investment guide covers [7].

Retiring or staying long without buying

Turkey has no special retirement visa. Retirees who don't own property usually apply for a short-term permit for tourism purposes, with a statement of travel plans (where, when and how long) and, if asked, documents to back it up [3]. In practice, officials look harder at tourism permits than at homeowner ones, so a proper rental contract, bank statements and a clear plan help. Our ikamet guide goes through the documents.

Work

Working in Turkey means a work permit, which your employer applies for through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. The migration authority says a valid work permit counts as a residence permit in its own right, so you don't need a separate ikamet while it lasts [3]. Jobs open to foreigners in Fethiye tend to be in tourism, yachting, property and teaching, and many are seasonal.

Remote work

There's no remote-work permit among the six types in Law 6458 [4]. Many remote workers in Fethiye hold a short-term permit and work for UK clients or employers. That's a grey area: a short-term permit doesn't give the right to work in Turkey, and UK tax rules still apply to you. Our guide to working abroad for a UK employer explains the UK side, and a tax adviser who knows both countries can check your situation.

Study and family

A student permit covers people enrolled at a Turkish university or school [4]. If your spouse is Turkish, or holds a residence permit, you can apply for a family permit as their foreign spouse, and your children can apply too [4].

How to apply, step by step

1. Check your days. Apply while your 90-day stay is still running. The application has to be made before your legal stay ends [3].
2. Apply online at e-ikamet.goc.gov.tr. First, extension and transfer applications are all made through the e-ikamet system [3].
3. Get health insurance that covers the whole period of the permit you're asking for. Private health insurance counts, as does a document showing you've joined the Turkish state scheme [3].
4. Book and attend the appointment. For a first application you go to the migration office on the date the system gives you, with your original passport and the documents on the list. If you miss the appointment without a valid reason, it counts as if you never applied [3].
5. Pay the fees. For 2026, the residence permit card costs 964 TL (about £14), and there's a separate permit fee that depends on your nationality and how long the permit is for [5].
6. Wait for the card. The law gives the migration authority up to 90 days from a complete file to decide [3]. The card arrives by post, so keep your address and phone number up to date.

Once you've applied, you get an application document. With it and the fee receipt you can leave Turkey and come back within 15 days; stay away longer than that and the visa rules apply to you again [3].

The migration authority also warns that it doesn't work with agents and has found fake documents sold by people charging for applications. It says applications should be made in person [3]. Worth knowing before anyone in a Fethiye café offers to "sort your ikamet".

Your first month in Fethiye

• Register your address. The FCDO says you must register your address within 20 working days of arriving or getting your residence permit [2].
• Get your numbers. Your permit card carries your foreigner identity number. Before then, a tax number from the tax office covers most jobs, from opening a bank account to buying health insurance. Our first-month guide covers e-Devlet, the tax number, banks and phone registration.
• Health cover. Turkey has no reciprocal health agreement with the UK, so your GHIC is no use for living there. After a year's legal residence you can join the state health insurance scheme run by the Social Security Institution (SGK) [2].
• Driving. You can drive on your UK licence for up to six months; after that the FCDO says you need a Turkish licence [2].

Don't forget the UK end

Tell HMRC you're leaving (usually on form P85), check the Statutory Residence Test, and keep the UK–Turkey double taxation agreement in mind. The FCDO notes that the agreement means you don't pay tax on the same income in both countries [2].

For pensioners, Turkey is one of the countries with a social security agreement where the UK pays an annual increase in the State Pension [6]. The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27, roughly £1,046 a month [8], and it keeps rising with the triple lock while you live in Fethiye.

Turkey allows dual citizenship, so taking Turkish nationality doesn't mean giving up your British passport [2]. The British Honorary Consulate in Fethiye, on Atatürk Caddesi, can help with lost passports, emergency travel documents and emergencies, but it can't help with visas [9]. When we checked on 8 November 2026, the FCDO travel advice for Turkey was still current at 8 November 2026 and was last updated on 27 October 2026. It advises against all travel to within 10 km of the border with Syria, which is a long way from the Turquoise Coast [10].

Want to hear how the e-ikamet appointment really went this year? Our community group for Brits in Turkey has plenty of people in Fethiye who've just been through it.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (FCDO): Turkey travel advice – entry requirements (updated 30 October 2026)
2. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in Turkey (last updated 31 December 2025)
3. Presidency of Migration Management: Residence permit – general information (checked 8 November 2026)
4. Presidency of Migration Management: Residence permit types (checked 8 November 2026)
5. Presidency of Migration Management: Residence permit card fee and residence permit fee amounts 2026 (checked 8 November 2026)
6. GOV.UK (DWP): Countries where we pay an annual increase in the State Pension (updated 27 October 2026)
7. Invest in Türkiye: Acquiring property and citizenship (checked 8 November 2026)
8. GOV.UK: The new State Pension – what you'll get
9. GOV.UK: British Honorary Consulate in Fethiye (updated 7 September 2026)
10. GOV.UK (FCDO): Turkey travel advice (still current at 8 November 2026, updated 27 October 2026)

Keep reading

• Turkish residence permits for Brits: the ikamet
• Fethiye, Çalış and Hisarönü: choosing where to live
• Healthcare and health insurance in Fethiye
• Moving abroad checklist for Brits