They are not giving Tourist Ikamets anymore unless you are Russian, Ukrainian, or perhaps from an Arab country. If you are from a western country, it will 100% be denied unless you know someone in the government that can help get it approved.
They're happy to collect your application fees though.
The only way to guarantee your ikamet is by buying property worth $75k or more or marrying a Turkish citizen.
That being said, I really hated living in Istanbul. I've been maybe 10 times and spent 1+ year of my life there, but living there and visiting are very different things.
Source: American who applied with a lawyer and had my Turkish gf navigating everything for me. In my time in Istanbul Russians and Ukrainians were the only ones getting approved.
They are not giving Tourist Ikamets anymore unless you are Russian, Ukrainian, or perhaps from an Arab country. If you are from a western country, it will 100% be denied unless you know someone in the government that can help get it approved.
They're happy to collect your application fees though.
The only way to guarantee your ikamet is by buying property worth $75k or more or marrying a Turkish citizen.
That being said, I really hated living in Istanbul. I've been maybe 10 times and spent 1+ year of my life there, but living there and visiting are very different things.
Source: American who applied with a lawyer and had my Turkish gf navigating everything for me. In my time in Istanbul Russians and Ukrainians were the only ones getting approved.