Turkey's closed districts for foreigners' residence permits in 2026: where no residence permit is given

What closed districts are and where the 25% rule came from

As of July 1, 2022, Turkey's Directorate of Migration Management (Goc Idaresi) introduced a mechanism that foreigners call among themselves "closed districts". The logic is simple: if in a specific mahalle - the smallest administrative unit, a neighborhood or micro-district - the share of registered foreigners exceeds a certain threshold of the total residents, new foreigners are no longer registered in that neighborhood. And without address registration, a residence permit at that address can neither be obtained nor renewed.

The base threshold -25%. A number of sources, and for some provinces, mention an even stricter figure of about 20%, but the agency's official clarifications feature exactly the bar of a quarter of a neighborhood's population. The closure decision is made based on permanent population statistics: the migration service checks the data against the population registry authorities, and upon exceeding the threshold enters the mahalle into the list closed to new registration.

The authorities' goal isn't hidden - to distribute the migration burden more evenly across the country and prevent entire city neighborhoods from turning into enclaves with an overwhelming majority of newcomers. So the rule hits two adjacent grounds at once: both the property residence permit and the short-term residence permit through a residence address (rental, living with relatives). If you're planning legalization in Turkey, you need to understand the ban's geography before making a deposit for an apartment.

The ban's scale toward 2026: figures and dynamics

When the rule was just introduced in mid-2022, a significant number of neighborhoods immediately fell under closure. By 2026 the list has noticeably expanded. According to official migration agency data, new foreigner registration is closed for over1,169 mahalle in 63 provincesof the country - that is, the ban affects almost all of Turkey, not one or two problem cities.

It's important to understand the list isn't static. It's not a law passed once and for all, but an administrative list that's revised. Neighborhoods can both be added (if the foreigner share keeps growing) and - more rarely - reopened if the statistics change. In practice market participants note the list is updated regularly, sometimes monthly, and this is done without wide publicity. So relying on an article from a year ago or the advice of an acquaintance who got a residence permit two years ago is dangerous.

• Geography:the ban applies in dozens of provinces - not only in touristy Antalya and Istanbul, but also in Bursa, Mersin, Konya, Yalova, and others.
• Dynamics:the number of closed neighborhoods has grown since 2022 and continues to increase.
• Unpredictability:a neighborhood open today can close by the time documents are filed a few months later.

The main practical conclusion: a district's status needs checking as of the current date, not relying on outdated information. We wrote more about the residence permit processing procedure itself inour guide on a Turkey residence permit.

Which districts are closed: examples by city

Let's give benchmarks for the main locations most often of interest to property buyers. Let's caveat right away: this is a 2026 snapshot, and before the deal each specific address needs rechecking separately - see the verification section below.

Istanbul.The situation here is the toughest. About 54 mahalle are closed, and some districts are effectively closed entirely. Among the most problematic for foreigner registration are Esenyurt, Fatih, Avcilar, Bagcilar, Bahcelievler, Basaksehir, Esenler, Kucukcekmece, Sultangazi, and Zeytinburnu. These zones were traditionally densely populated by newcomers, so the thresholds there were exceeded long ago.

Antalya.Individual neighborhoods in districts popular with foreigners are listed as closed. In Konyaalti the mahalle Hurma, Sarisu, and Liman fell under the ban; in Muratpasa - the neighborhood Topcular. This means buying an apartment in a prestigious seaside part of the city doesn't guarantee at all that a residence permit can be obtained through it.

• Bursa:about 19 neighborhoods are closed.
• Mersin:one of the leaders in the number of closed mahalle - about 63.
• Konya:about 18 neighborhoods are closed for changing and registering an address.

Let's stress: even in a "closed" district, not all neighborhoods may be closed, only specific mahalle. The boundary runs exactly at the neighborhood level, so neighboring buildings on the same street sometimes end up on opposite sides of the ban.

How closed districts affect buying property for a residence permit

This is the most painful part for buyers. Many come to Turkey with simple logic: buy an apartment worth from 200,000 dollars (the current threshold for a property residence permit), process TAPU - the ownership certificate - and get a residence permit for themselves and their family on these grounds. The scheme works, but only if the property's address hasn't landed on the closed list.

If the neighborhood is closed, even a perfectly processed deal doesn't grant the right to a property residence permit: the migration service simply won't accept the address for registration. You'll keep the property, but not the grounds for residence. This turns into a costly trap: money invested, TAPU in hand, but legalization through this property is impossible.

• A neighborhood closingdoesn't cancelownership rights - you remain the owner, can live there, rent it out, sell it.
• But it's exactlythe residence permit grounds at this addressdisappears.
• Only this works for a property residence permit:residentialproperty - commercial properties don't work for these grounds.
• The valuation sum must be from 200,000 dollars; the value is confirmed by an official valuation.

So when buying specifically for getting a residence permit, the order of actions is the reverse of the usual: first we check the neighborhood's status, and only then look at the layout and the view from the window. If the property is in a closed mahalle - it shouldn't be considered a path to a residence permit at all, no matter how attractive it is. We break down the mechanics of these grounds in detail in our article onA Turkey residence permit through property.

How to check the address before purchase: a step-by-step algorithm

The main rule: the neighborhood's status is checked as of the residence permit filing date, not the purchase date. This is critical. You can buy an apartment when the neighborhood was open, get to filing in two-three months, and discover the mahalle was closed in the meantime. So the check needs to be done as close as possible to the legalization moment and preferably several times.

The recommended sequence of actions before the deal and before filing:

• Find out the exact address down to the mahalle level.Not "Konyaalti district", but the specific neighborhood - it's exactly along this that the ban's boundary runs.
• Contact the local migration directorate(Il Goc Idaresi Mudurlugu) of the province where the property is located, and clarify the specific mahalle's status.
• Check through the population registry authorities(Nufus Mudurlugu) of the district - they'll confirm there whether the neighborhood is open for registering new foreigners.
• Don't rely only on the seller's or developer's word.Their task is to sell the property, not answer for your residence permit.
• Document the check in writingand repeat it right before filing documents.

Official information on migration rules and provincial directorate contacts is published byTurkey's Directorate of Migration Management (en.goc.gov.tr). This is the primary source worth relying on, not aggregators and forums. We at BRIDGES GLOBAL always check a specific neighborhood's status before the client makes a deposit - this removes the deal's main risk.

What to do: choose open districts

The ban isn't a sentence for plans to relocate to Turkey. Only part of the neighborhoods are closed, and every city still has plenty of open mahalle, including in good locations. The strategy is simple: start from the neighborhood's migration status, and within open options choose by price, infrastructure, and view.

What helps in practice:

• First a shortlist of open neighborhoods, then properties.This way you don't fall in love with an apartment that can't be used for a residence permit.
• Consider new and developing districts.There the foreigner share is generally below the threshold, meaning the closure risk is lower.
• Budget a timeline buffer.The faster you get to filing after purchase, the lower the chance the neighborhood gets closed in time.
• Work with those who check the status officially,not "from memory".

It's worth separately keeping backup scenarios in mind. If the priority is specifically a passport, not just residence, it makes sense to compare the residence permit path with the citizenship-by-investment programme, where, as we'll show below, the district restriction generally doesn't apply. It's also useful to compare Turkey with other jurisdictions - for example, in our breakdownsThe UAE vs. Turkeyand Grenada vs. Turkey.

Conditions and risks in one table: what to budget for

To avoid holding all the figures in your head, let's gather the key conditions and risks related to closed districts and a property residence permit into one block. This is a working cheat sheet for those on the threshold of a deal.

The main risk is buying a property in a closed or about-to-be-closed mahalle and being left with property with no residence permit right. The second most frequent is delaying filing after purchase and getting caught by a fresh closure. Both are removed by proper checking and tight timelines. If you want the neighborhood's status and the deal checked before spending money, leave a request throughBRIDGES GLOBAL's contact form- we'll analyze your specific situation.

Important: for citizenship by investment the rule generally doesn't apply

Here lies a common confusion that costs time and money. A property residence permit and citizenship by investment are twodifferent programmeswith different logic. The closed-districts restriction is built around address registration and registering a foreigner in a specific mahalle. That's exactly why it hits residence permits.

Citizenship by investment (CBI) works differently. The investor acquires property worth from 400,000 dollars (with the obligation to hold it for at least 3 years and not sell before the term) and gets a passport not for the fact of living in a specific neighborhood, but for fulfilling the investment condition. So the "25% foreigners in the mahalle" rule generally doesn't apply to the citizenship programme - you aren't tied to the address limit the way you are with a residence permit.

• A property residence permit:is tied to the address and registration - closed districts are critical.
• Citizenship for $400,000:is tied to the investment sum and holding it for 3 years - the district limit generally doesn't apply.
• This doesn't mean there are no property restrictions for CBI at all - checking the deal's cleanliness and compliance with the programme's requirements is still needed.

Be with yourself when choosing a path: if the goal is specifically a Turkish passport (with access, in particular, to the US E-2 investor visa), then closed districts aren't your problem, and it's more logical to go through the investment programme. We break down thresholds, timelines, and nuances in detail in our money guideTurkish citizenship by investment. And if the task is simply to live legally in the country, then the neighborhood geography comes to the forefront.

Typical buyer mistakes and how to avoid them

Over our time working with the Turkish direction, a recognizable set of missteps accumulates. Let's list them so you don't step on the same rakes.

• Buying "for a residence permit" with no neighborhood check.A person chooses an apartment by beauty and price, processes TAPU, and at filing it turns out the mahalle is closed. Money is invested, no residence permit.
• Relying on an outdated list.The list is updated regularly; an article or table from a year ago may no longer reflect reality.
• Trusting the seller's word.For the developer and realtor, closing the deal matters; guaranteeing your migration status isn't their area of responsibility.
• Confusing a residence permit and citizenship.Some give up a good property, thinking it's "in a closed district", though they're going through the citizenship programme, where this restriction is generally irrelevant - and vice versa.
• Delaying the filing.The more time between purchase and filing, the higher the chance the neighborhood gets closed in time.
• Counting on a commercial property.Only housing works for a property residence permit; apartments with commercial status won't provide the grounds.

The common denominator of almost all mistakes is haste and the wrong order of actions. The correct sequence: determine the goal (residence or passport), check the neighborhood's status as of the current date, assess the property's type and value, and only then move to the deal and filing. This order removes most of the risks before you even part with your money.