Family residence permit is a residence permit issued by the Turkish authorities to foreign nationals in order to protect family unity.
Family residence permit is a short-term residence permit issued in Articles 34 and 37 of the Foreigners and International Protection Law No. 6098.
In order for a foreign national to apply for a family residence permit, the presence of a supporter is required.
The sponsor may be a Turkish citizen, a blue card holder who has renounced Turkish citizenship, foreigners with a legal residence permit in Turkey and foreigners with secondary protection status.
In order to obtain a family residence permit, the applicant must be counted as a family member of the foreign sponsor.
Who can apply for a family residence permit?
In Article 34 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, the foreigners who can apply for a family residence permit are listed as follows:
- Supporter's foreign spouse,
- Minor children of the sponsor or his/her foreign spouse,
- The dependent child of the sponsor or his/her foreign spouse can apply for a family residence permit.
Required documents when applying for a family residence permit
All documents required for foreign spouses and children applying for a residence permit are almost the same.
In addition to the application of the foreign spouse, a document proving the marriage is requested.
For children, if there is a parent or father who has joint custody of the child outside the country, they must give their consent.
What are the conditions for a family residence permit?
Family residence permit conditions are listed in Article 35 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection.
These conditions required for the sponsor are;
- Having income at the level prescribed by law,
- Having housing conditions in accordance with general standards according to the situation of the family,
- All family members have health insurance,
- Not being convicted of the crimes listed in the law and within the periods,
- If the sponsor is a foreigner, he/she must have the legal right to stay in Turkey for at least 1 year,
- Finally, it is to be in the address registration system.
If the sponsor has more than one spouse, can each spouse obtain a family residence permit?
Although polygamy is accepted by some countries, monogamy is adopted in Turkish law. Since marriage is considered a public order, polygamy is not protected by Turkish law.
For this reason, spouses other than the spouse who will be considered the sponsor's official spouse under Turkish law cannot benefit from the family residence permit.
How long is the family residence permit?
Family residence permit is included in the scope of short-term residence permit. For this reason, unlike long-term residence permits, they can be issued for a maximum of 3 years.
But these three years are not a one-off. The rule here is to grant a family residence permit for a period not exceeding 3 years each time.
Another important issue is that when granting a family residence permit to a foreigner, the duration of the permit cannot exceed the sponsor's residence period in Turkey.
What are the application options if the family residence permit is rejected, canceled or not extended?
If the conditions required for the family residence permit are not met, the application will be rejected.
After all the conditions are met and the application is accepted, if the fulfilled conditions are no longer valid, the cancellation or non-extension of the family residence permit will be on the agenda.
Those who have deportation orders or who are found to be staying in Turkey illegally cannot apply for a family residence permit unless these decisions are lifted or their sentences are executed.
In such cases, if it is thought that the administration has unfairly rejected or canceled the application, an annulment lawsuit is filed against the decision.
Annulment cases differ from cases heard in general courts in terms of procedure and duration. For this reason, it is important to get professional support to avoid loss of rights when filing an annulment lawsuit.