When you come to Turkey with your mobile phone, you will definitely need it in order to operate your communication line and obtain a Turkish number, through which you can make calls, send text messages and open internet data on your phone, but you should be aware that if you prolong your stay In Turkey, you must officially register your mobile phone in Turkey, so that it can continue to operate in order to activate the number permanently.


An overview of mobile registration in Turkey

According to the Turkish laws in force in the telecommunications and information technology sector in Turkey, any mobile device brought from outside Turkey must be subject to the registration laws on the Turkish telecommunications system “Communications System.”

It is a routine procedure, but it has recently become costly due to the imposition of an increase in the fees required for mobile restriction in Turkey. 

In the normal case, when you come to Turkey and you bring a phone that is not restricted to the system, and you put a Turkish SIM card in it, it will work normally, but for a limited period, approximately for four consecutive months "120 days".


But after this period, the SIM card network is turned off, and you need to register the mobile phone, until the network is restarted normally again.


Why do you need to register the mobile?

In the first class, the prices of mobile phones in Turkey are rather expensive, and this is what prompts foreigners and travelers to keep their personal phones.


But the need to operate a Turkish SIM card, take advantage of telecommunications services, send text messages, and open internet data, especially for a long-term resident in Turkey, prompts him to restrict the phone in Turkey and avoid losing the mentioned services.


In the event that the mobile restriction is suspended in Turkey, you can benefit from the services of connecting to Wi-Fi networks only, and you cannot receive or send calls or text messages.


Steps to register your mobile

You can register your phone in Turkey by following these steps:

  • You pay the tax amount "phone restriction fee in Turkey" and it is 1500 TL which is approximately equal to 265 USD.

  • Payment is made either at the Tax Department in Turkey or through a bank in Turkey that provides the service of paying the phone registration tax in Turkey and we will mention it in a special paragraph when talking about tax details.

  • After paying the tax, take a receipt or document proving your payment of the tax.

  • Then you go to the nearest telecom store, preferably a branch of one of the main companies: Turk Telecom, Turkcell, Vodafone, and an employee from the company will register your phone directly, in return for paying the phone registration fee, which varies according to the company and ranges between 30 to 100 Turkish liras, and you can ask In advance of the amount of fees you will pay before starting the restriction.

  • You can do the phone restriction in Turkey electronically by obtaining an electronic code given from the E-Devlet application, and doing so electronically.

  • To accept the registration of the phone in Turkey on your name, it is required that you have not registered any other phone within two years from the date of your desire to restrict, and you must also be aware that you cannot register any other phone until after two years of registering your current phone.


Read also: Turkish Post PTT - A comprehensive and detailed report


Documents required to register your mobile phone 

You are only required to provide:

  • A receipt or document proving payment of the telephone restriction tax

  • Passport, and it is required to carry the entry stamp to Turkey.

You also need to know your phone number, as it can be extracted from your personal phone by pressing *#06#, which consists of 15 numbers, and be careful not to give the serial number to an unreliable person.


Pay the mobile registration tax


As we mentioned in the previous paragraphs, paying the phone registration tax in Turkey is done in one of two ways:

  • Through the Tax Department: where there is a department dedicated to taxes in each state, and in major cities such as Istanbul and Ankara, there is more than one tax department, which you can visit and pay the tax and receive the receipt.


  • Through banks in Turkey: The following is a list of the most important banks that offer the service of paying the Turkish mobile registration tax and give you a receipt recognized by the Turkish government, which are:


  1. T.Garanti Bank / T.Garanti Bankası 

  2. TC Ziraat Bank / TC Ziraat Bankası

  3. İş Bank / T.İş Bankası

  4. Anadolu Bank / Anadolu Bankası 

  5. T.Halk Bank / T.Halk Bankası 

  6. Vakıflar Bank / Vakıflar Bankası -

  7. Asya Bank / Asya Bankası

  8. Aktif Bank / Aktif Bankası 

  9. T.Finance Bank / T.Finansbank Bankası

  10. Al Baraka Bank / Albaraka Türk Bankası 

  11. Tekstil bank

  12. Denizbank

  13. İNG Bank

  14. HSBC Bank 

  15. Şekerbank 


Change the value of mobile registration tax

  • Since the entry into force of the mobile phone restriction law in Turkey, the tax for the restriction was about 170 Turkish liras, and at that time it was equal to about 50 dollars.

  • But later, the value of the phone restriction tax in Turkey was raised to 500 Turkish liras, which is approximately "100 dollars" according to the exchange rate at the time

  • Then to 618 Turkish liras, roughly "108 US dollars."

  • Although the exchange value has not changed significantly in the last period, foreigners received shocking news of the increase in the value of the restriction tax on phones in Turkey, as it amounted to 1500 Turkish liras, or "236 US dollars."




The effect of increasing the mobile registration tax on foreigners in Turkey

In general, the costs of mobile registration tax in Turkey have become very expensive, as it may reach 80% of the average price of the original mobile, for example, if you want to buy a phone in Turkey with a value of 2000 Turkish liras, you need to pay 3500 Turkish liras as a price for it.


This raises fears among foreigners in Turkey to restrict their personal phones or buy imported phones that are not registered in Turkey, although imported phones have a lower price than Turkish devices, because mobile device registration costs are relatively high.


Many will be reluctant to pay the phone registration tax in Turkey, at least for the time being, until they adapt to the new tax.


Many people who are interested in the Turkish economy believe that the goal is to raise the tax values ​​to approximate the difference between the prices of phones in Turkey and imported phones.


In general, many people like to talk about this issue by saying: The foreigner should buy a new Turkish mobile phone instead of restricting his personal phone in Turkey.

We talked about registering mobile phones in Turkey because we are sure that foreigners in Turkey are always looking for the best opportunities and plans that will facilitate their residency affairs in this country, especially since long-term residence opportunities in Turkey are available to many, such as students, workers, merchants, businessmen, and residency Real estate and family, and even tourist residence, despite its shortness, is considered a good period of time, so it is good for the foreigner to obtain during this period of residence everything that achieves his comfort.