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Turkey's 90/180-Day Rule: How to Count Your Days and Stay Legally

By Av. Talha Yayla · October 7, 2026 · 12 min read

Under Turkish law, a visa or visa exemption allows a foreigner to stay in Turkey (Türkiye) for no more than 90 days in any 180-day period. The rule is in Article 11(1) of Law No. 6458. The 180 days are a rolling window counted backwards from each day of your stay, so leaving and re-entering — a "visa run" — does not give you a fresh 90 days. To stay longer you need a residence permit, and overstaying by more than ten days is a ground for deportation.

This guide explains how the days are counted, how the rule interacts with shorter visa-free periods for some nationalities, what happens if you overstay, and the lawful ways to stay in Turkey beyond 90 days.

The rule: stay under a visa or visa exemption may not exceed 90 days in every 180 days (Art. 11(1)).
Rolling window: on any day, count the days you spent in Turkey during the previous 180 days; the total must not exceed 90.
Your nationality may allow less: some passports get 30 or 60 days per entry; the 90/180 ceiling still applies on top.
More than 90 days: a residence permit is compulsory (Art. 19).
Overstay over ten days: ground for deportation (Art. 54(1)(e)); fines and a possible entry ban.
Self-reporting helps: leaving on your own initiative and paying the fine may avoid a ban (Art. 9(4)).

Legal status of this guide. It reflects Law No. 6458 as currently in force. Visa-free periods for individual nationalities are set by international agreements and presidential decisions and change; always check the current rule for your passport with the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a consulate. Last updated: October 2026.

What the law says

Article 11(1) of Law No. 6458 provides that foreigners who will stay in Turkey for up to 90 days arrive with a visa stating the purpose of their visit, obtained from a Turkish consulate, and that "the period of stay in Turkey provided by a visa or visa exemption may not exceed ninety days in every one hundred and eighty days".

Three related provisions complete the picture:

Article 12 — nationals of countries exempted by agreement or by presidential decision, holders of valid residence or work permits, and certain other groups do not need a visa to enter.
Article 13 — a visa issued exceptionally at the border gives a right to stay of at most 15 days, unless a different period is set by the President.
Article 19 — foreigners who will stay longer than the period allowed by their visa or visa exemption, or longer than 90 days, must obtain a residence permit.

So the 90/180 rule is a ceiling on short stays. It does not limit people who hold a residence permit or a work permit, which are separate legal bases for living in Turkey.

How to count the days

The method is the same as the one used for the Schengen area:

Take the day you want to check — for example, the day you plan to enter, or today.
Count back 180 days from that day, including the day itself. That is your window.
Add up every day you were physically in Turkey within the window under a visa or visa exemption. The day of entry and the day of exit both count as days of stay.
If the total is 90 or fewer on that day — and will remain 90 or fewer on every day of your planned stay — you are within the rule.

Because the window moves forward one day at a time, older days of stay "drop out" of the window as time passes, and new days are added. You do not get a block of 90 new days on a fixed date; you regain days one by one, exactly 180 days after each of them was used.

The simplest case: a person who stays 90 consecutive days must then remain outside Turkey for 90 days before the earliest days begin to fall out of the window. After a full 90 days away, they can again stay for up to 90 days.

Hand writing on a blank monthly calendar with a marker — Count back 180 days from each day of your stay. Days are regained one by one, not in a block.

Worked examples

The dates below are illustrative. For your own trip, count with a calendar or a reliable 90/180 calculator, and leave a margin of a few days.

Example 1: One long stay

Anna enters on 1 January and stays until 31 March — 90 days. On 1 April she has used all 90 days in the previous 180. If she leaves on 31 March and returns on 15 April, the window on 15 April still contains all 90 days of her earlier stay, so she has no days available and risks refusal at the border or an overstay record from the first day. Her first usable day is 30 June, when 1 January drops out of the window; from then on she regains one day per day.

Example 2: Several short trips

Ben makes three business trips: 20 days in February, 25 days in April and 30 days in June — 75 days in total. He wants to return for a holiday on 1 July. Counting back 180 days from 1 July reaches early January, so all 75 days are inside the window. He has 15 days left. If he stays longer than 15 days, he overstays — unless enough February days have dropped out of the window by then. They begin to drop out 180 days after they were used, that is, from August onwards.

Example 3: The "border run"

Carla has been in Turkey for 88 days. She flies out for a weekend and comes back, expecting a new 90 days. On her return the window still contains 88 days. She has two days. On the third day she is overstaying.

Example 4: A nationality with 30 days per entry

Dev's passport allows visa-free stays of 30 days per entry. He may stay 30 days, leave, and re-enter for another 30 — but only until he has used 90 days within 180. And a single stay may not exceed 30 days even if he has unused days under the 90/180 ceiling.

Shorter visa-free periods by nationality

The 90/180 rule in Article 11(1) is the maximum the law allows for stays under a visa or visa exemption. Within that maximum, the conditions for each nationality are fixed by bilateral agreements and by presidential decisions under Articles 12 and 18:

many nationalities may enter visa-free for up to 90 days within 180 days;
some are limited to 30 or 60 days per entry, or to a total number of days within a period;
some need an e-Visa or a sticker visa issued for a stated number of days and a stated number of entries;
some may enter visa-free only if they hold a valid visa or residence permit from certain other countries.

Whichever is stricter applies. If your e-Visa says "30 days", you have 30 days from entry, not 90. If your nationality gets 60 days per entry, a single stay ends at 60 days. The duration allowed for your passport is published by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; check it shortly before you travel, because these arrangements are changed from time to time.

What counts and what does not

Situation	Counts towards the 90 days?
Days in Turkey under visa-free entry	Yes
Days in Turkey under an e-Visa, consular visa or border visa	Yes
Day of entry and day of exit	Yes, both
Airside transit without passing border control	No — you have not entered Turkey
Days spent in Turkey as the holder of a valid residence permit or work permit	These rest on a different legal basis; the 90/180 limit applies to stays under a visa or visa exemption
Days waiting for a decision on a residence permit application filed in time	Lawful stay under the application document; you are no longer relying on the visa period
Days in Turkey after the visa period expired, with no application pending	Overstay

A point that causes trouble: when a residence permit ends and you leave Turkey, your next entry as a visitor is assessed under the visa rules for your nationality. If you intend to alternate between residence permits and visitor stays, ask the provincial migration directorate how your previous period will be treated at the border, and carry your old permit card.

Why visa runs no longer work

For years, foreigners living in Turkey without a residence permit left the country every three months and returned the same day to obtain a new entry stamp. Under earlier legislation this was tolerated. Law No. 6458 ended it: a new entry does not reset the count, because the count looks at the previous 180 days rather than at the latest stamp.

Border officers see entry and exit records electronically. A traveller who arrives with no days left may be refused entry as an inadmissible passenger; see refused entry at a Turkish airport. A traveller who is admitted in error and then stays is recorded as overstaying on exit.

If you overstay

The consequences rise with the length of the overstay and depend on who notices it first.

Consequence	Rule
Administrative fine and unpaid residence fees	Calculated on exit for the period of unlawful stay; the tariff is revised every year
Deportation order	Those who exceed the visa or visa-exemption period by more than ten days fall within Art. 54(1)(e)
Entry ban	Follows deportation (Art. 9(2)); length linked to the length of the overstay; maximum five years
No ban	Possible if you apply to the governorate to leave before detection, pay the fines and have not exceeded the Ministry's limits (Art. 9(4))
Future visas and permits	Refusing to pay debts from a previous breach is a ground for refusing a visa (Art. 15(1)(ğ))

Practical guidance:

A few days over: leave promptly, pay the fine at the airport or border, keep the receipt. An overstay of up to ten days is not a deportation ground, although it is still a breach and still fined.
More than ten days over: do not wait to be stopped. Reporting yourself and paying is treated very differently from being detected.
You have a reason to remain — a spouse, a job offer, studies, a medical condition: take advice on a residence permit application before leaving, because some applications can only be made while lawfully present.

The fines, bans and remedies are covered in detail in our guide to overstaying a visa in Türkiye, and entry bans in Entry Ban to Turkey: How to Check It and How to Lift It.

Not sure how many days you have left, or already over? Send your entry and exit dates and your nationality. Message Yayla Law on WhatsApp or use the contact form. It is far easier to fix a status problem before you reach the border than after.

Lawful ways to stay longer than 90 days

The answer to "how do I stay more than 90 days?" is always a different legal basis, not a way around the count.

Short-term residence permit — for one of the purposes in Article 31: owning qualifying immovable property, establishing a business or commercial connections, scientific research, in-service training, study or exchange programmes, medical treatment, Turkish language courses, and tourism where a concrete justification is shown. Tourism-purpose permits are now granted sparingly.
Family residence permit — for the spouse and children of a Turkish citizen or of a foreigner holding a residence permit (Art. 34).
Student residence permit — on enrolment at a higher education institution (Art. 38); see student residence permit in Turkey.
Work permit — applied for by a Turkish employer; it counts as a residence permit (Art. 27).
Long-term residence permit — after eight years of uninterrupted residence (Art. 42).

Timing rules that matter:

As a rule, residence permit applications are made at Turkish consulates abroad (Art. 21); applications inside Turkey are possible in the cases listed in Article 22 — among them student permits, long-term permits, changes from one permit type to another, and situations where leaving is not reasonable or possible. In practice first-time short-term applications are also accepted inside Turkey through the e-ikamet system; apply before your visa or visa-free period ends.
Your passport must be valid for at least 60 days beyond the permit period requested (Art. 21(2)).
A refused application does not extend your visa period. See Residence Permit Rejected in Turkey.

What happens at the border

On entry, the officer's system shows your previous entries and exits. If the days you have used leave no room for a stay, you may be questioned about your plans and may be refused. On exit, the system calculates whether you stayed beyond your allowance; if so, you are taken to the fines desk, the amount is calculated, and you are asked to pay before departure. Paying is strongly advisable: an unpaid fine becomes a debt that blocks later visas and may make your entry subject to prior permission (Art. 9(7)).

Keep your own record. Passport stamps are not always legible and e-gates may not stamp at all. A simple list of entry and exit dates, with boarding passes or e-tickets, lets you check the count yourself and correct an error if one is made.

Common mistakes

Thinking in calendar halves — "90 days from January to June, another 90 from July". The window rolls daily.
Assuming exit resets the clock.
Ignoring the per-entry limit printed on an e-Visa or set for your nationality.
Not counting entry and exit days.
Applying for a residence permit after the visa period has expired.
Treating an e-Visa approval as proof that you have days left. The e-Visa system does not check your 90/180 count.
Leaving an overstay fine unpaid.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 90/180-day rule in Turkey?

It is the rule in Article 11(1) of Law No. 6458 that a stay in Turkey under a visa or visa exemption may not exceed 90 days in every 180-day period. The 180 days are a rolling window counted back from each day of stay.

Does leaving Turkey reset the 90 days?

No. The count is based on the days you spent in Turkey during the previous 180 days, not on your latest entry stamp. Days are regained only as they fall out of the 180-day window, one by one.

How long must I stay out of Turkey after 90 days?

If you stayed 90 consecutive days, you must remain outside Turkey for 90 days before you can again stay for a full 90 days. After shorter or split stays, the answer depends on when each of your earlier days drops out of the rolling window.

Can I stay in Turkey for 6 months as a tourist?

Not on a visa or visa exemption alone. Beyond 90 days in 180 you need a residence permit. A short-term residence permit for tourism is possible in law but is granted only where a concrete justification for the longer stay is shown.

What happens if I overstay the 90 days in Turkey?

You are fined on exit. If the overstay exceeds ten days you are also liable to a deportation order and an entry ban whose length depends on the length of the overstay. Reporting yourself, paying the fine and leaving before detection may avoid the ban.

Do days on a residence permit count towards the 90 days?

The 90/180 limit applies to stays under a visa or visa exemption. Time spent in Turkey as the holder of a valid residence permit or work permit rests on a different legal basis.

Does the day of arrival count?

Yes. Both the day of entry and the day of exit are counted as days of stay.

My e-Visa says 30 days. Can I still stay 90?

No. The period on your visa or the per-entry period for your nationality applies if it is shorter. The 90/180 rule is an upper ceiling, not an entitlement.

Can I apply for a residence permit after my 90 days have expired?

You should apply before the period ends. Once you are overstaying, you are in breach, an application may be refused, and after ten days you are liable to deportation. If you are already over, take advice before going to the migration office or the border.

Legal basis and sources

Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection, Articles 9, 11–13, 15, 18–22, 27, 31, 34, 38, 42 and 54 — official consolidated text at mevzuat.gov.tr.
Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visa information for foreigners — mfa.gov.tr.
Presidency of Migration Management, e-ikamet — e-ikamet.goc.gov.tr.

This article provides general legal information on Turkish law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice. Visa-free periods and fine tariffs change; verify the rule for your nationality before travelling.