
How Many Foreigners Live in Turkey on a Residence Permit? Up-to-Date Statistics
It has become known how many foreigners live in Turkey under residence permits and what countries these foreigners are citizens of. The statistics are constantly updated by the Turkish Presidency of Migration Management.
So, according to data for May 2025, there are just over 1.1 million foreigners living in Turkey on existing residence permits; in 2023, there were 1.3 million. It is interesting to look at these figures in terms of dynamics, as it is noticeable that the number of residence permits issued to foreigners has dropped significantly over the last six months.
What are the types of residence permits in Turkey and how many people with these documents live there?
Residence permit type |
Number of foreigners in May 2025 |
Number of foreigners in September 2023 |
Short-term residence permit |
744,025 |
939,351 |
Student residency permit |
147,290 |
150,973 |
Family residence permit |
110,589 |
102,070 |
Others |
198,421 |
164,531 |
Top 10 countries whose citizens live in Turkey on a residence permit:
Foreigners native country |
Number of foreigners in May 2025 |
Number of foreigners in September 2023 |
Turkmenistan |
122,443 |
104,707 |
Azerbaijan |
87,546 |
66,662 |
Russia |
82,086 |
134,073 |
Iran |
75,977 |
85,527 |
Syria |
72,608 |
83,340 |
Iraq |
65,217 |
100,278 |
Uzbekistan |
58,155 |
54,563 |
Kazakhstan |
46,865 |
44,110 |
Afghanistan |
38,024 |
46,211 |
Ukraine |
33,209 |
38,897 |
Top 3 regions where foreigners are registered:
- Istanbul — 608,648 (six months ago — 706 thousand.)
- Antalya — 141,269 (six months ago — 158 thousand.)
- Ankara — 76,440 (six months ago — 86 thousand.)
In all other regions, there are far fewer migrants.
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