Have the Neighbourhoods Closed to Foreigners Been Reopened? What to Check Before Registering an Address

Published: 22 September 2026 · Reading time approximately 8 minutes

When a foreign national applies for a residence permit in Türkiye, they declare an address. In some neighbourhoods the density of the foreign population has passed a set ratio, so no new registration is accepted there. In everyday speech the practice came to be known as the "closed neighbourhood". If the flat you have rented is in a closed neighbourhood, your application will not go forward on that address; learning this after the contract is signed costs both money and time.

What the threshold is: the 20 per cent rule

According to the press statement issued by the Presidency of Migration Management on 16 July 2023, the closure threshold is the ratio of a neighbourhood's foreign population to its Turkish citizen population exceeding 20 per cent. The same statement noted that, as of 1 July 2022, a total of 1,169 neighbourhoods across 63 provinces had been closed to new foreign registration on that basis, and that the number of neighbourhoods meeting the threshold in Istanbul was 54.

Which announcements can be verified?

The announcements on this subject that can be found on the official website of the Presidency of Migration Management are as follows:

• 16.05.2022: It was announced that 781 neighbourhoods had been closed to new registration because of the concentration of foreign nationals in various areas. Newborn children and nuclear family reunification cases were exempted.
• 30.06.2022: It was announced that the number of closed neighbourhoods had been raised to 1,169 with effect from 1 July 2022.
• 16.07.2023: A press statement was published on the claim that "39 districts in Istanbul have been closed to foreigners' residence permits", and the claim was corrected.

Two separate practices that get confused

Most of the confusion on this subject comes from a single distinction being overlooked. The 2022 neighbourhood closure announcements cover, as their text states explicitly, temporary protection registration, international protection registration and address changes for foreign nationals holding that status. The places closed to residence permit applications were announced separately, as a list at district level.

In other words, the restriction that applies to a person under protection status is not the same as the restriction that applies to someone applying for a tourist, short-term, family or student residence permit. Most third-party websites mix these two lists together and present them under a single "closed neighbourhood" heading.

The districts announced as closed to residence permits in Istanbul

The press statement of 16 July 2023 stated that 10 districts in Istanbul, not 39, were closed to new residence permit applications, and listed them together with their dates:

• January 2021: Fatih and Esenyurt
• October 2022: Avcılar, Bahçelievler, Başakşehir, Bağcılar, Esenler, Küçükçekmece, Sultangazi and Zeytinburnu

This list is the content of the 2023 statement. Because district and neighbourhood lists can change in line with population ratios, the current position should be confirmed with the provincial directorate of migration management before an application is made.

The sources behind the "it has been lifted" reports

We examined one by one the pages that rank highly in search results and announce that the restriction has been lifted. None of these pages shows a circular number, an Official Gazette date or a Presidency of Migration Management announcement date. Nor were we able to find any published announcement on the Presidency of Migration Management website stating that the closure practice has been ended.

This does not mean that the restriction is definitely still in force; there are accounts that some addresses have been opened up in practice. But the information you rely on before renting a property should not be a blog post with no source given. The right course is to obtain confirmation from the relevant directorate for the specific address.

The check to carry out before signing a tenancy agreement

1. 1

   Establish the address

   Find out the exact province, district and neighbourhood name. Within the same district one neighbourhood may be closed while the one next to it is open.

2. 2

   Identify your type of application

   Protection status and residence permits are subject to different lists. Asking for a list without knowing which one applies to you will get you the wrong answer.

3. 3

   Obtain confirmation from the provincial directorate of migration management

   Ask the relevant directorate about the current position for the specific address. Note down what you are told verbally and, where possible, ask for written confirmation.

4. 4

   Sign the agreement only after that

   The tenancy agreement and the deposit should come after it has been confirmed that the address can be registered.

If your address turns out to be closed

Living in a closed neighbourhood does not in itself invalidate your residence permit; the restriction concerns new registrations and address changes. How your situation will be assessed on an extension application depends on your permit type and the date of your existing registration. In a file like this, we go through the status of your existing registration with you before any hasty decision is made.

What do we do?

Our office is in Küçükçekmece, Sefaköy; we are in a district where this comes up every week. In residence permit files we treat the question of whether the address can be registered as the first step in planning the application, and we warn our clients before they sign a tenancy agreement. Document preparation, sworn translation, appointment planning and follow-up of the process are all handled in one place. The initial consultation is free, and we do not present something that cannot be done as though it can.