Settle healthcare, family and daily life.

Healthcare from the first day

Confirm coverage from arrival rather than assuming a residence application activates healthcare. Where insurance is needed for a permit, verify that the policy meets that purpose; a policy accepted for immigration may still have exclusions, limits or waiting periods relevant to your family.

SGK has several coverage routes depending on employment, self-employment, citizenship, residence and international agreements. Its general guidance includes an application route for certain foreign nationals after a continuous year of residence; this is not a universal one-year waiting rule for everyone. Check employer coverage, dependants and treaty arrangements separately.

Returning citizens and Mavi Kart holders should obtain an individual SGK status check, especially if there is existing foreign coverage, a foreign pension or prior Turkish insurance. Being eligible for income-tax relief does not waive social-security contributions.

Prepare medical summaries, prescriptions and vaccination records. Ask the insurer which hospitals participate and how claims, emergencies and continuing medication are handled. For urgent emergencies in Türkiye, use 112.

A separate plan for each family member

1. Record nationality, identity documents, residence entitlement and renewal dates for each person.
2. Obtain required marriage, birth, custody and consent documents before travel, with the appropriate translation/legalisation.
3. Contact prospective schools about placement, language support, equivalence and enrolment records before choosing housing.
4. Check whether a spouse plans to work and resolve their own work permission or statutory entitlement.
5. Arrange suitable insurance or SGK coverage for dependants, confirming when coverage actually starts.
6. Keep emergency contacts and authorised collection/decision arrangements for children.

Property, transport and imported belongings

Buying a home does not automatically grant residence or the personal tax exemption. Before paying, take independent legal advice on title, encumbrances, permitted ownership, building status and the residence route you intend to use. Budget purchase and ongoing costs separately from tax-relief projections.

Before importing a vehicle or household belongings, check customs eligibility, temporary-import conditions, allowed users and departure obligations. Mavi Kart rights do not create a blanket duty-free import right. A customs professional should review your status before goods are dispatched.

Check recognition or exchange requirements for your driving licence with the relevant authority and arrange valid insurance. For phones, follow BTK’s current device-registration rules; do not rely on an old fee or an overseas-resident concession after your circumstances change.

Make the move sustainable

Keep a first-year household budget in the currencies you actually earn and spend. Record rent, deposits, building charges, school fees, healthcare, insurance, taxes, professional costs and a contingency. Update with real quotations rather than a generic national average.

Make language support practical: identify a qualified translator for official appointments and keep a bilingual list of key document names. Store emergency, bank and insurer contact routes offline as well as on your phone.

Your document checklist

This is a preparation list. The receiving authority or bank may require additional or different documents.

• Insurance certificates and SGK coverage confirmation
• Medical, prescription and vaccination summaries
• School and family civil-status records
• Property/lease review and household budget
• Driving and vehicle/customs advice where relevant
• Emergency and service-provider contact list

Ask your adviser

• When does each person’s healthcare cover begin?
• What is excluded by the immigration insurance policy?
• Do any family members need their own residence or work application?