Goreme1990

Thanks for this information Ken, it's very useful. We expect to have a great time! It's my birthday next Saturday and his in August and we are looking forward to being out and about, swimming and eating out. Masked and socially distanced as required of course!

I am going to Eski Foca with my husband as a birthday treat (yay!) in a few weeks. We will fly to Izmir and then plan to get the Izban from the airport to Hatundere and a bus from there. My question is, do I need to buy an Izban card and register my HES code? And, can we use the Izban card for the bus to Eski Foca? Thank you

As far as I remember, student RPs do not count towards long-term residence permits so you will need to have been in Turkey for 8 years on other types of permits to meet the requirements.

I'm really sorry you have been through this but it is not uncommon for Turkish men to get to a certain age (anywhere from 24 upwards) and marry due to family pressure. I have a close Turkish girlfriend who dated a Turkish man 10 years younger than her. She had already been married and didn't want children and always knew he would eventually marry someone else. What she, and all of us, her friends, didn't expect, was to find out that the during the summer of the second year they were together he got engaged to a girl from Morocco. At the time he said his sister was in hospital which we all accepted as the reason we didn't see him for a couple of weeks but later realised must have been when the girl came over to Turkey, met him and they decided to get married. About four months later we were on an overseas trip, where my Turkish girlfriend shared a room with this guy, and found out he was marrying someone else. When we told him we didn't want to see him any more because he'd lied to my best friend, and to us, he didn't understand why we were so upset. I don't know how to help you get over that man but do hope you can, otherwise he'll just keep coming back and expect to pick you up again like a discarded toy, even after he marries.

You are correct that taxes and commissions are separate from the prices listed on Hurriyet Emlak and other platforms. It is not standard practice to negotiate these charges into the sales price. The agents charge their commission separately from the property price and the tax is calculated on the fiscal value of the property as determined by and paid at the tapu (property title deed) office. By law the 4% tax is meant to be split between seller and buyer but in practice the buyer usually ends up paying the total amount.

Not in Istanbul. We included a translated notarised wedding certificate and it didn't make any difference.

I read it in the actual Turkish legislation at some point but think it's written in the information Doc Martin supplies and also know from personal experience. I live in Istanbul with my husband in an apartment we own that is only in my name. When we applied for a two year RP in December 2019 I was given two years in the home owner category and he was only given one in the touristic purposes category (just living with me, his wife, a home owner, is not enough). Since then I've read in FB expat groups of this happening to numerous people, but mainly in Istanbul. The extra year we paid for him was not refunded because between this application and the previous one we made some years ago, the wording of the receipt you sign after all your paperwork has been accepted now says no refunds will be given. Normally we read everything before we sign it but due to the stress of the whole application process we didn't. Even if we had though I think it would have been a case of sign this or your application won't be processed.

Also, unless you own a property you will not get a RP for two years.

I have to disagree with Ken. While the quality of the apartments can be good, noise from neighbours can be a real problem. People often stay up late talking loudly and watching TV at full volume, especially during holiday periods when up to 30 people might come and visit, kids are allowed to stay up late and run heavily thumping the floor while screaming loudly and neighbours stand out on their balconies having loud conversations on their phones or in groups, especially in summer. If you complain about the kids you get told they are just being children and if you ask the neighbours to be quieter they rudely ask you what business it is of yours. I've been lucky but have heard horror stories from other people living in Istanbul and other cities in Turkey. As Ken suggested either live on the top floor or spend a few evenings linering outside the building you are thinking of living in to get an idea what sort of people live there.

You pay 4% tax on the fiscal price of the property as shown on the title deed. The value shown there may or may not be the price you pay. This tax is meant to be shared by buyer and seller but in reality usually ends up being paid by the buyer. There's no rule of thumb renegotiating prices, it will depend on whether the owner is in a hurry to sell, has a set figure in mind or something you'll never understand. You also have to pay earthquake insurance which was 175 to 250 TL in 2020, depending on the size of the property, a fixed land registry fee of 260 TL, land registry stamp duty of 485 TL as well as a fee to have the property inspected which I think is around 1500tl. All figures are from 2020 so they will have gone up this year. Real estate agents charge 2-6% commission on the sale price of the property which is meant to be split between buyer and seller, but usually the owner tells the agent how much they want for the property and buyer pays all the commission. Other costs will include translation and notary fees.

First up, there is no charge to be vaccinated if you hold a valid resident permit. As I said before, you have the right to be vaccinated if you have a residence permit. Being over 65 means your husband was eligible to get his first vaccination injection over a month ago. You haven't said if you have registered with e-nabiz. This is essential for you to get your vaccinations.

As a foreigner with a residence permit you will be able to get the vaccine but when that happens depends on your age. They have just started vaccinating people in the 60-64 age range. You need to be registered on the e-nabiz site first.

If you are in Istanbul the best thing to do is go to the immigration office at Fatih with all your paperwork (print out the message about your application) and ask what is happening. Going there is the only way to get a correct answer. There are usually long queues so don't go too late in the day.

Turkey is not a member of the EU so having permanent residence in Greece has no impact on your right to stay in Turkey. Depending on your citizenship you cannot generally stay in Turkey for more than 3 months on a tourist visa. If you want to stay for five consecutive months you would need to apply for a residence permit. Given the paperwork and costs involved it may not be suitable for you.

Thanks for giving us the update and I do hope everything goes through easily for your daughter.