Expat Guide Fethiye

Turkish conversation group Tuesday 2pm Poppy Apartments. Message for details.

We can arrange all types of building work including:
• plastering
• painting and coving
• plumbing
• rewiring and other electrical alterations
• floating ceiling with hidden lighting
• kitchen refurbishment
• bathroom renovation
• tiling
• laminate flooring
Ask us for a quote before you decide

Building work at competitive prices:
• Painting and decorating
• Plumbing and electrics
• Bathrooms and kitchens
Mr.haşim is waiting for your telephone call 05464800050

NEW RULES

You have probably heard about the new rules affecting villa and apartment owners. The main change is the introduction of the Temporary Residency and Identification Project, the Turkish of which is shortened to GİYKİMBİL.

GİYKİMBİL requires anybody renting their property on a short-term basis (anything less than a year’s contract) to register the guests on the government system. The registration must include all residents and be made every day of their stay. Details required include nationality, full name, date of birth, passport (or ID card) number, arrival and departure dates.

The software enabling you to make this registration is available free from the local Jandarma or police station (depending on the location of the property). There are also additional software packages available from computer shops that allow you to easily update reservations and guest files.

As all short-term rentals must now be registered, owners will be liable to pay tax on the income from these properties.

It is very important to comply with these new regulations. There is a large fine for not registering a property and a fine of 700TL per day for not completing the daily registration.

To learn more about the GİYKİMBİL system, the best way for you to deal with it and your tax liabilities, please come and visit us at our office, Elite Style Consultancy on Barış Manço Bulvarı, for a free discussion.

Entry into Turkey

Entry into and exit from Turkey shall be through the border gates with a valid passport or travel document.

Document checks

1- Foreigners should submit their passport or, travel document or documents to the officials at the time of entry into and exit from Turkey.
2- Document checks regarding border crossings can also be carried out on vehicles while they are on route.
3- Foreigners using transit areas at airports may be subject to [document] checks by the competent authorities.
4- At the time of entry into Turkey, checks shall be carried out to determine whether or not the foreigner falls within the scope of Article 7.
5- In the implementation of this article, persons regarding whom a comprehensive check is required may only be held for a maximum of four hours.

Foreigners who shall be refused to enter into Turkey

1- who do not hold a passport, a travel document, a visa or, a residence or a work permit or, such documents or permits has been obtained deceptively or, such documents or permits are false;
2- whose passport or travel document expires sixty days prior to the expiry date of the visa, visa exemption or the residence permit;
3- without prejudice to paragraph two of Article 15 of the Law No 6458, even if they are exempted from a visa, the visa shall not be issued to following foreigners whose/who:
a) passport or travel document is not valid at least sixty days beyond the expiry date of the visa requested
b) are banned from entering Turkey
c) are considered undesirable for reasons of public order or public security
d) are identified to have a disease posing public health treat
e) are suspects of or, are convicted of, a crime(s) that are subject to extradition pursuant to agreements to which the Republic of Turkey is a party to
f) are not covered with a valid medical insurance for the duration of their stay
g) fail to supply proof of the reason for their purpose of entry into, transit from or stay in Turkey
h) do not possess sufficient and sustainable resources for the duration of their stay
ı) would refuse to pay receivables, originating from overstaying the duration of visa or a previous residence permit duration or, that should be enforced and collected pursuant to the Law on the Procedure of Collection of Public Receivables No 6183 of 21/07/1953 or, debts and fines enforced pursuant to the Turkish Penal Code No 5237 of 26/09/2004.

Implementation regarding international protection claims

The conditions stipulated in entry into and exit from Turkey, document checks and foreigners who shall be refused to enter into Turkey shall not be construed and implemented to prevent the international protection claim.

Entry ban to Turkey

1- The Directorate General, when necessary and upon consultation with the relevant government departments and institutions, may impose an entry ban against foreigners whose entry into Turkey is objectionable for public order, public security or public health reasons.
2- The Directorate General or governorates shall impose an entry ban for foreigners who are deported from Turkey.
3- The entry ban to Turkey shall not exceed five years. However, in cases where there is a serious public order or public security threat, this period may be extended for a maximum of an additional ten years by the Directorate General.
4- The entry ban to Turkey for foreigners whose visa or residence permit has expired and who has applied to the governorates to exit from Turkey before their situation is established by the competent authorities upon which a removal decision has been taken, shall not exceed one year.
5- Among those who have been invited to leave Turkey pursuant to Article 56 of the Law No 6458, an entry ban might not be imposed for those who leave the country within the specified period of time.
6- The Directorate General may revoke an entry ban or, allow the foreigner to enter into Turkey for a given period of time, without prejudice to the entry ban.
7- For reasons of public order or public security, the Directorate General may introduce advance clearance conditions for the admission of certain foreigners’ to Turkey.

Persons who;

forge official or private documents such as passport, health insurance, title deed, residence permit certificate which they need to submit to the administration in the residence permit applications,

use them by knowing that they are false even if they do not forge the documents themselves,

make an illegal change to an authentic document which has been duly arranged by the competent authority,

make a false statement to the authorized person who is entitled to arrange the documents,

hide those document will be sentenced to imprisonment within the framework of the Articles 204, 205, 206, 207 and 208 of the Turkish Criminal Law No: 5237.

Moreover, a removal decision will be issued in respect of those foreigners according to the subparagraph (c) of the first paragraph of Article 54 of the Law No: 6458 and their residence permit applications will be rejected. Their entry into the country is prohibited if deemed necessary.

Respectfully announced to the public.

Amendments Ease Access to Turkish Citizenship for Foreign Investors

Access to Turkish citizenship has been eased for foreign investors with the amendments made to Turkey’s current citizenship law. The new regulations were published in the Official Gazette on January 12, 2017.

Foreigners who meet any of the following conditions would be eligible to acquire citizenship under the new regulations.

- Proven by the Ministry of Economy to have made a minimum of USD 2,000,000 of fixed capital investment
- Proven by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization to have acquired an immovable property worth a minimum of USD 1,000,000 with a title deed restriction of not to sell for at least three years
- Proven by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to have created jobs for at least 100 people
- Proven by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency to have deposited at least USD 3,000,000 in banks operating in Turkey with the condition of not to withdraw for at least three years
- Proven by the Turkish Treasury to have bought at least USD 3,000,000 worth of government bonds and provided they are not sold over the course of three years

The effective selling rate of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey as of the proving date will be used as a benchmark to determine the actual values of operations.

Restrictions on plastic bags in Turkey due by 2018

The use of plastic bags in markets and stores will be restricted across Turkey starting in 2018, the Turkish Retailers’ Federation (TPF) announced on March 28, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

TPF head Mustafa Altunbilek said the decision was made in an effort to reduce waste, adding that they were planning to motivate customers to use cloth or other non-plastic bags.

Such regulations have already been implemented in Europe and the United States, Altunbilek said, adding that plastic bags would only be sold for a fee starting Jan. 1, 2018.

The TPF head said they would launch efforts to inform people about the drawbacks of using plastic bags, adding that they would make cloth and net bags more convenient for local markets.

“We will motivate customers to use net and cloth bags while shopping. We will give paper and cloth bags to customers during the transition process. In Europe, customers bring these bags along with them due to the ban on using plastic bags,” he said.

Meanwhile, bag producers in Turkey are expected to take action following the announcement of the coming ban, with some firms moving to produce biodegradable bags.

Some experts remarked that the transition would not be easy, adding that some firms could go bankrupt, resulting in greater unemployment.

Some leading sector players said some plastic bag producers could redirect their production toward exports, daily Dünya reported, adding that other producers might also begin producing biodegradable bags for the domestic market.

A market consumes an average of 10 tons of plastic bags per month in Turkey; when extrapolated to the entire country, markets in the country are believed to consume a total of 250,000 tons of plastic bags per month.

Yavuz Eroğlu, the head of the Turkish Plastic Industrialists, Research and Development Association (PAGEV), said plastic bags were actually more environmentally friendly as they could be used over and over.

Collecting a fee from consumers for plastic bags would be a better idea than selling bags to buyers, Eroğlu said.

Eroğlu also took umbrage with the suggestion that a ban would be imposed against plastic bags, saying the changes were only limited to a regulation to sell plastic bags for a fee.

Eroğlu said they have long been pursuing efforts to produce biodegradable bags with the support of Scientific and Technical Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) and Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB).

Vedat Kılıç, the chair of the Assessable Waste Material Industrialist Association (TÜ-DAM), welcomed the decision, adding that providing plastic bags for free was resulting in a waste of resources and the creation of more garbage.

“The situation must be explained clearly to customers to prevent anger among customers. Attention should be drawn to the issue with public service ads. Otherwise, customers will say, ‘Why are we paying for plastic bags which have been free for years?’” he said.

What is the E-Devlet Website and how can foreigners use it?

From a technological point of view Turkey is a surprisingly advanced country. Internet-banking, online appointments for land registry (Tapu) procedures, doctor’s examinations, TÜV (MOT) technical vehicle control, applications for residence permits, are just some of the internet applications which have replaced (and very often simplified) tasks of daily life.

A modern and very comprehensive service available to all residents of Turkey – be they Turkish or foreign – is the E-Devlet Kapısı (E-Government Portal) » www.turkiye.gov.tr.

On this website, all public offices provide a wealth of information and online services. Any visitor can view the information but only subscribers can benefit from the online services. As a foreigner, you can subscribe (FREE) if you have a valid Turkish residence permit and the 11 digit Foreigner ID Number (Yabancı Kimlik Numarası YKN).

Services available on the E-Devlet Website include:

- Obtain a criminal record check,
- View the details of vehicles registered in your name,
- Check info and expiry dates of your current insurance policies,
- Check details of real estate registered in your name,
- Check your registered address

Anasayfa - Devletin Kısayolu | www.türkiye.gov.tr e-Devlet Kapısı'nı kullanarak kamu kurumlarının sunduğu hizmetlere tek noktadan, hızlı ve güvenli bir şekilde ulaşabilirsiniz.