e-Devlet for Foreigners in Turkey (2026):
How to Register and What You Can Do

Yes. Foreigners who hold a valid Turkish residence permit, work permit, or temporary protection card can register for e-Devlet (turkiye.gov.tr). Once your permit is processed, the Turkish population registry (MERNİS) issues you an 11-digit Foreign Identity Number (Yabancı Kimlik Numarası, or YKN) that generally starts with "99" — this, not your tax number, is what you use to log in. You also need a Turkish mobile number registered in your own name and either a PTT password or a bank mobile signature. Without a residence permit or equivalent status document, access is very limited.

e-Devlet (kısaca "elektronik devlet", e-Government) is Turkey's centralised digital portal at turkiye.gov.tr, run by the Presidency's Digital Transformation Office. It gives access to thousands of services from government bodies including the Interior Ministry, Migration Administration (Göç İdaresi), Social Security Institution (SGK), and Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi) — from one login. For expats, it increasingly replaces in-person visits: checking SGK coverage, viewing your registered address, downloading a tax number certificate, or pulling a criminal record for a visa application can all be done from your phone instead of queuing at an office.

Your Foreign Identity Number (YKN) — not your tax number (vergi numarası). These are two separate numbers issued by two different systems: the 11-digit YKN and a 10-digit tax number. The YKN is generated by the population registry (MERNİS/Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık İşleri) once your residence permit is in process, and it is the identity number you enter at turkiye.gov.tr. Your tax number is issued separately by the Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı) at a Vergi Dairesi and is only used for tax-related matters — opening a bank account, paying utility bills, or filing e-fatura — not for the e-Devlet login screen. Many foreigners confuse the two despite the different digit counts; a quick way to tell the YKN apart is that it typically begins with "99".

Go to tckimlik.nvi.gov.tr, the population registry's official lookup tool, and enter your Residence Permit (İkamet Tezkeresi) number, found on the front of your permit card or application document, along with the requested personal details. The system returns your 11-digit Foreign ID Number. If nothing appears, your residence permit records may not yet be finalised in MERNİS, or you may need to contact the Foreigners Department (Yabancılar Şube Müdürlüğü) directly.

You need: (1) A Foreign Identity Number (YKN) — generated once your residence permit, work permit, or temporary protection application is processed. (2) A Turkish mobile number registered in your own name (or with your IMEI registered if using a foreign handset). (3) A password. Most foreigners get this at a PTT branch, though a Turkish bank mobile signature (mobil imza) works as an alternative if you already have one. Your passport is required at PTT unless you hold a temporary protection card, in which case it is generally not needed.

Mostly no. turkiye.gov.tr is built and maintained in Turkish, and while a handful of top-level pages have partial English content, the vast majority of services — including the ones expats use most, like SGK and residence permit inquiries — are Turkish-only. A browser translation tool (Chrome/Edge's built-in translate, or the Google Translate extension) handles most pages adequately. For anything with legal or financial consequences, having a Turkish-speaking friend, your relocation agent, or a lawyer double-check the page is worthwhile.

Go to any PTT branch with your passport and residence permit card (or work permit / temporary protection card). Tell the clerk "e-Devlet şifresi almak istiyorum" (I want an e-Devlet password). They verify your Foreign ID Number in the system and send a one-time password to your registered Turkish mobile number by SMS, or hand you a sealed envelope with it. PTT charges a small transaction fee — historically around 5 TL for a first-time password and roughly 20 TL if you need a replacement later — though PTT revises its tariff periodically, so treat these as approximate and check the current rate at the counter. You must be at least 15 years old, and the process cannot be done remotely or by post.

Yes, if you are abroad. Turkish consulates can issue an e-Devlet password by appointment for citizens and eligible foreign ID holders who are not currently in Turkey. This is slower than a PTT visit and requires booking a consulate appointment in advance, so if you are about to travel to Turkey anyway, getting it at a domestic PTT branch is usually faster.

Partially — and it is important not to confuse the two systems. While your residence permit application is still being processed, you track it at e-ikamet.goc.gov.tr, the Migration Administration's own portal, using your application number plus your phone number or email. Once your permit is approved, e-Devlet has a separate service ("Göç İdaresi – İkamet İzni Kişisel Bilgi Sorgulama") that lets you view the details of your issued permit, but it is not the tool for watching a pending application move through the queue — for that, e-ikamet.goc.gov.tr is the correct and only place to look.

The highest-value services for expats are: SGK Hizmet Dökümü (checking your health insurance / social security status and contribution history), Adres Kaydı Görüntüleme (viewing your MERNİS-registered address), Vergi Numarası Doğrulama (downloading an official tax number confirmation), Göç İdaresi İkamet İzni Sorgulama (viewing your approved residence permit details), Adli Sicil Kaydı (a criminal record extract, often required for visa applications to third countries), and, for the self-employed, the e-Fatura / e-Arşiv invoicing system.

Common causes: (1) your residence permit is still mid-process and MERNİS has not yet finalised your record — this typically resolves once the permit card is issued; (2) you entered the number incorrectly — double-check the exact digits against your permit card, since it is easy to transpose digits in an 11-digit string; (3) your permit has expired, which can suspend access to some services until it is renewed. If none of these explain it, visit the Foreigners Department (Yabancılar Şube Müdürlüğü) tied to your province, or your local Göç İdaresi office, and ask them to confirm your MERNİS record.

Yes. The official app is called "e-Devlet Kapısı", published by the Presidency's Digital Transformation Office (T.C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Dijital Dönüşüm Ofisi), and it is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. It has well over 100 million downloads and mirrors the desktop site's services in a mobile-friendly layout. Download only the official app — unofficial clones asking for extra permissions are a security risk. You log in with the same credentials: your Foreign ID Number plus your PTT password or mobile signature.

Mobil imza is a SIM-based digital signature offered by Turkish mobile operators (Turkcell, Vodafone, Türk Telekom) in partnership with banks, and it works as an alternative e-Devlet login method to a PTT password. It typically requires an existing Turkish bank account and a compatible SIM. For most foreigners who only need occasional e-Devlet access, a PTT password is simpler to obtain; mobile signature is more useful if you also need to sign contracts or banking documents digitally on a regular basis.

Barely. Without a residence permit, work permit, or equivalent status, you have no Foreign Identity Number, and without a YKN you cannot register for e-Devlet at all. Digital nomads on a 90-day tourist stamp who have not applied for an ikamet will not be able to access the portal. If you plan to stay in Turkey longer-term and expect to need government services, applying for a residence permit — which unlocks both e-Devlet and the wider Turkish administrative system — should be an early priority.

Your YKN itself is tied to you as a person, not to a specific permit card, so it generally stays the same across renewals. However, some e-Devlet services — particularly the ones that check your current residence status — can show as restricted or "not authorised" during the renewal window if your previous permit has expired and the new one has not yet been finalised in MERNİS. This is a common, temporary glitch rather than a sign of a lost account; it typically clears once the renewed card is issued.