In the summer of 2026 Turkey effectively restarted the rules on registering foreigners by place of residence. Most of the districts that had been listed as closed to residence permits for years are accepting applications again, and the e-ikamet system began working without the earlier blocks across most of the country.
Content:
- Why districts are “closed” at all
- What changed by June 2026
- Where it is already open
- Where the status is unclear
- What remains closed
- What a closure does not affect
- How to check a specific address
- What to do if the address is closed
- What this means in practice
- Popular questions
Why districts are “closed” at all
The restrictions do not work at the level of a city or even of a district (ilçe) but at the level of a neighbourhood, the mahalle. Once the share of foreigners in a given mahalle exceeds the set threshold — 20% of registered residents — the migration authority stops accepting new applications and registering new addresses there. The threshold has not always been that: it was originally 25%, and was lowered to twenty on 1 July 2022, after which the list of closed neighbourhoods grew sharply.
Two consequences are often missed by buyers. First, the restriction concerns the residence permit and not the right of ownership: an apartment can be bought and a TAPU issued in any district whatever its status — the closure affects only registration and the residence application. Second, the status of a location is checked at the moment of application, not at the moment of purchase. Any list, however fresh, is a snapshot on a given date.
What changed by June 2026
The main news at the start of June was that Turkey opened almost all previously closed districts for residence permits, and the e-ikamet system began accepting applications without the earlier restrictions across most of the country.
The destinations popular with foreign buyers thawed first. Several districts of Alanya were noted, followed by signs of wider relaxation in Mahmutlar, Kestel, Avsallar and Kargıcak. One detail matters: at the outset this looked more like a process working itself out through practice than a single official package of decisions covering every territory at once.
That caveat still stands. The opening did not come as one decree with a published list but through practice: in some places applications began to be accepted, in others not. The migration authority’s own pages on neighbourhood closures are dated 2021 and 2022, and there is no updated public register of open addresses. Any list, including the one below, is therefore a guide rather than a document.
Where it is already open
- Alanya — the centre (Merkez), Oba, Türkler and some of the previously closed locations.
- Antalya — Kepez and Altıntaş are named most often. That does not mean the whole city is open without exception, but these zones appear in recent surveys as available.
- Istanbul — Avcılar, Beylikdüzü, Şişli, Beyoğlu, Küçükçekmece and a number of other districts.
- Mersin, Izmir, Ankara — most districts remain broadly available, though individual neighbourhoods are worth rechecking.
Where the status is unclear
Some locations came back into circulation in practice but without a single confirmed list, so an address-level check is needed:
- Alanya — Mahmutlar, Kestel, Avsallar, Kargıcak. Reopening was reported at the start of June, but the information came through applications being accepted and local reports rather than a general register.
- Istanbul — individual neighbourhoods inside districts that are already open: even in a formally available district a particular mahalle may remain closed.
- Antalya — parts of Konyaaltı and Muratpaşa, which appear in updated lists from time to time as disputed.
What remains closed
The picture here has moved since the first version of this article, and it deserves careful wording. Fatih and Esenyurt were closed to first applications from 15 January 2021 — that is confirmed by an official migration authority announcement. In June 2026 reports appeared that the restrictions had been lifted from them too, but there is no confirmation on the authority’s portal, where the 2021 and 2022 announcements still stand. The status of these two districts is precisely what has to be checked address by address rather than taken on trust either way.
Individual mahalles in Istanbul, Antalya, Alanya, Mersin, Izmir and Ankara — the restrictions apply to a particular neighbourhood rather than a whole district.
Conditions are still being clarified for particular districts and types of application, so even amid a general opening the details vary: the rules may differ for a first residence permit, a renewal, and applications on different grounds, and for owners as against tenants.
What a closure does not affect
- The right of ownership. Housing can be bought and a TAPU issued in any mahalle, closed or open;
- a residence permit already issued. A closure applies to new applications and new addresses, not to existing cards;
- citizenship by investment. The 400,000 $ threshold and the procedure do not depend on the status of a neighbourhood;
- the right to let the property. Letting is possible, but a foreign tenant will not be able to register at the address, which narrows the pool;
- tourist stays. The 90 days in any 180 apply everywhere, and no address registration is needed for them.
How the residence permit itself works, what grounds exist and what an application requires is set out in our article on the ikamet in Turkey.
How to check a specific address
- Get the exact address from the seller or landlord: province, district, mahalle, street and building number. Without the mahalle the check is meaningless;
- check the status in the e-ikamet system or directly with the migration office where the property is located;
- do it immediately before applying rather than months ahead: the status changes and it is decided on the date of application;
- check not only the address but the ground: rules for a first application, a renewal, an owner and a tenant may differ;
- do not rely on what the seller or the developer says — the commercial interest is obvious, and a refusal will be the buyer’s problem.
What to do if the address is closed
- The neighbouring mahalle. The restriction works at neighbourhood level, and the building across the road may belong to an open one;
- a different ground for the permit. A work permit, study or marriage to a Turkish citizen follow their own logic;
- a purchase from 200,000 $, which carries the right to a residence permit — though the address is still checked;
- applying in another province, if that fits the plan;
- waiting. Neighbourhoods are opened as readily as they are closed, and over the past year the movement has been towards opening.
What this means in practice
The working formula today is this: check the mahalle and the type of permit, not the city. Before buying or applying it is worth verifying the current status of the address with the migration authority rather than going by the news. The trend towards opening is clear and steady, but the final word on a particular address belongs to the official e-ikamet system.
For a buyer that yields a simple rule: if the property is being bought for the sake of a residence permit, the address is checked before the deposit. A deposit in Turkey is almost never returned, and a refusal to register at the address does not count as grounds for a refund. The procedure and what else to check before paying are in our article on the procedure for buying property in Turkey.
“A client turns up with a list of open districts from the internet, and what decides it is a line in the system on the day of application. Online lists lag reality by weeks, in both directions,” a migration consultant says.
Popular questions
Can you buy an apartment in a closed district?
Yes. The restriction concerns only address registration and the residence application; ownership and the TAPU work the same everywhere.
What is the threshold for closing a neighbourhood?
Twenty percent foreigners as a share of registered residents of the mahalle. Before 1 July 2022 the threshold was 25%.
Is an existing residence permit cancelled if the neighbourhood closes?
No. A closure applies to new applications and new addresses; permits already issued continue to work.
Are Fatih and Esenyurt open?
The official announcement of their closure dates from January 2021, and reports of the restrictions being lifted appeared in June 2026, but there is no confirmation on the authority’s portal. The status has to be checked for the specific address.
What if the building you want is in a closed mahalle?
Look at the neighbouring one, consider another ground for the permit, or another province. The restriction works at neighbourhood level, not city level.