When you visit Turkey as a foreigner, you can use your phone for up to 120 days in international roaming or with a Turkish SIM card without having to register it.
After 120 days, you must register your device and pay the registration fee, otherwise your device will be blocked from the three Turkish mobile networks.
You can only register one phone every 3 years.
Important parts you need to know
All mobile devices imported into Turkey, whether mobile phone, laptop (cellular), tablet (cellular) or watch (cellular) must be registered in the system registration of mobile devices (Mobil Cihaz Kayıt Sistemi).
Each individual is allowed to register only one SIM compatible device in Turkey every 3 years. In other words, one phone per passport. Since January 01, 2021, you can now add up to 3 IMEIs per registration, several foreign SIM cards or ESIMs.
Choose your phone carefully. If you want to get a new phone and register it, you will need to replace the old IMEI number registered in your passport with the IMEI of your new device. This means that you will have to pay the registration fee again.
Your registered device will only work with a SIM card issued in your name (the name printed on your passport). If you decide to gift your phone to a friend and decide to put in their own Turkish SIM card, it won’t work.
You can only register your cell phone with IMEI once every three years. If you plan to buy a new mobile outside the country, you will not be able to register it until the old registration expires.
To Register Your Cell Phone in 2022, You Will Need:
Your mobile device,
Your valid passport and the entry stamp inside that shows your date of entry into the country (the immigration police will stamp a page when you arrive),
Your Turkish residence permit*, or in Turkish, your “ikamet tezkeresi”,
2732 Turkish Lira – telephone recording fees in Türkiye for 2022.
*If you are on a diplomatic mission in Turkey or have been deployed for military purposes, or if you are a student at a Turkish university, you will be allowed to use other documents proving your residency.
The Registration Process
Registering your phone should be one of the first things you do when you arrive in Turkey. Try to complete this process as soon as possible as you have a 120 day time limit.
Find your device’s unique 15-digit International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number and write it down.
This information can be found under Settings in the About section on Android and in Settings > General > About on iOS devices. If you have a phone with a removable battery, check the sticker under the battery for your IMEI number.
Pressing *#06# on the keypad may also reveal your handset’s IMEI.
From here you have 2 options. The first will require you to browse a Turkish website but allow you to make an online payment.
Payment of Registration Fees at the Tax Office
After you arrive in Turkey, your passport is stamped by the police at customs. After this date, you have 120 days to register your mobile phone. If 120 days have passed since your last arrival, you may need a new entry stamp to complete the registration process.
Take your passport, residence permit card and 2.732 TL with you and go to any tax office in your district. After entering the building, you need to go straight and ask for Vezne (Payment Office). You should tell them “Cep Telefonu Kaydı” which means Cell Phone Registration
They will ask you for the IMEI number of your mobile. You can learn it by pressing these numbers:
*#06#
After learning your IMEI number(s), write it down on a paper with your passport full name and passport number and Turkish Overseas Identification Number (YKN, the number starting with 99, 98…) You will pay 2.732 TL and you will receive a receipt. Here there is something you should pay attention to.
Please check your receipt details are correct or not. IMEI number, your name, surname and passport number, residence permit number If there is an error, you cannot register your phone with this receipt. You will pay the tax again with the correct information.
Registration
You can register with two options if you have a residence permit or not?
Registration through the operating company
After receiving your correct receipt. You can go to the store of your mobile operator in your district (Türk Telekom, Vodafone or Turkcell) to register your phone.
Mobile phone companies charge about 300 TL for registration (excluding SIM card fees). So you will pay 3000-3300 TL in total for mobile check-in including government fees.
On the other hand, don’t forget to match your SIM card with your residence permit card identification number (YKN), you probably got your SIM card with your passport, and the BTK system needs your mobile number matches your foreign identification number (YKN). So your operator will associate your passport number and YK, then the system will reactivate your number.
Registration with residence permit by e-Devlet (via turkiye.gov.tr)
You can go to any PTT office and get an e-devlet password with your residence permit card. Then you can login and register your phone on e-devlet website. To register your phone in the system, you must pay your tax (government tax) in advance with the correct details.
In short, if you want to use a Turkish SIM card on your mobile phone, you must register your phone with the BTK system, but if you think that 2.732 TL is too expensive to pay as a tax, it makes more sense to buy a inexpensive smartphone or a mobile phone already registered in the BTK system.
Registration of your SIM card with your residence permit number
Your Turkish SIM card will be blocked after a period of 30 days x 4 times, i.e. 120 days. So this means that from the first time you start using your SIM card even 1 day the period of 30 days starts for you and after actively using it in the following months 30+30+30+30 =120 days then it will be blocked. During these 4 months, you should already start your residence permit process, then you should match your Turkish foreign ID number with your Turkish mobile number. To carry out this registration, you must go to your operator’s company and give them your active residence permit card.
