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Thousands of people flock to Turkey daily and millions of foreigners live in it after obtaining an entry visa, but if these people wish to extend their residence, they must obtain a residence or work permit, which is granted to foreigners for a specific legal period, after which the holder must either leave or renew the residence Otherwise, he will expose himself to punishment if he remains in Turkey without regularizing his status.

In this article, we will discuss the legal penalties that are imposed on violators of the period of stay, such as a fine or an entry ban, putting in your hands answers to the questions you face.

The Turkish Directorate General of Immigration Management announced the "denial of entry” mechanism to Turkey, which will be applied to foreigners, whose period of stay in Turkey has exceeded the legal period, and indicated that there are two types of violators of residence in Turkey:

The first section: is subject to the penalty of paying the financial fine without the penalty of entry ban: they are foreigners whose period of stay in Turkey did not exceed the permissible legal period (three months), and who decide to leave the country before the relevant authorities establish their legal status. These pay a fine according to the Financial Fines Law No. 492, in which case they will not be prevented from entering the country again.

The second section: is subject to the penalty of paying the fine in addition to the entry ban: They are of two types. Section bans from entering the country are applied for a period of time starting from one month and up to 5 years, depending on the violator’s status, and they are:

1. Foreigners whose period of stay in Turkey did not exceed 3 months after the expiry of the legal residence period, but a deportation decision was issued in their regard and did not comply with the period granted to them to leave Turkey, and they do not pay the financial fine imposed on them.

2. Foreigners whose stay exceeded three months from the date of expiry of the legal period, and who voluntarily go to the border gates to leave the country, and their status has been confirmed by the concerned authorities, and who have paid the administrative fines imposed on them, and the ban period is:

Duration of overstay	ban duration
From 3 months to 6 months	one month
From 6 months to 1 year	3 months
From one to two years	One year
From 2 to 3 years	two years
From 3 years to 5 years	5 years

And a section where the ban on entering the country is applied for a period of time starting from 3 months and may reach 5 years, depending on the state of the violator, and they are:

1. Those whose violation of the legal period has not been established by the concerned authorities and who do not pay the financial fines imposed on them.

2. Those who have been proven to have violated the legal period and have been officially invited to leave the country, whether or not they have paid the fines imposed on them.

3. Those whose residence permit has been refused or revoked, but who have not voluntarily left Turkey within the period granted to leave the country, whether or not they have paid their fines.

4. Those whose legal residence period has expired according to the entry visa "visa” or the period of exemption from entry visa, and were granted permission to enter Turkey on the condition that they apply for legal residence in Turkey within "10 days” but did not do so, whether they paid the fine or They didn't pay it.

5. If the violating foreigners were subjected by the Administrative Control in Turkey to "alternative” obligations and the period granted for taking the alternative obligations was terminated without taking into account whether or not they paid the financial fine incurred by them.

6. Foreigners, against whom a deportation decision is issued, accompanied by responsible officials, but who did not comply with the decision, whether they paid a fine or not. In this case, the ban period is as follows:

We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the duration of the residence violation is calculated starting from the date of expiry of the visa granted to the person, and the period of the ban from entering Turkey is calculated from the date of legally leaving the country after the name of the violator is established and the financial fine due is paid

Finally, as an advice that Acuad offers to all foreigners to avoid violating the period of residence granted by the Turkish authorities and to avoid the imposed penalties, adhere to:

1. Commitment to the duration of the visa granted to you or the period of exemption from the visa

2. Commitment to the period granted to you to leave the country

3. Issuance of a residence permit in Turkey for those wishing to reside for a period exceeding the period of the visa or the period of exemption

4. Renew your residence permit in Turkey two months or less before its expiry date.

5. Voluntary exit from Turkey before the expiry of 3 months of your violation of residence in Turkey

6. Obligation to pay the financial fines incurred by you, because in the event of non-payment, even if the entry ban period has expired, you are not allowed to enter the country until after paying the financial fines incurred by you.