Guide to driving into Turkey on foreign plates

Guide to driving into Turkey on foreign plates

Everything worth knowing before you set off, on one page: the residence rule, how long the car may stay, papers at the border, whether your licence still counts, insurance options, what to do after an accident, and the limits set by law.

📕 Download the 42-page guide (PDF, in Turkish) →

1. The basic rule: you must live abroad

To bring a foreign-plated car into Türkiye (Turkey) under the tourist arrangement, you need to have spent at least 185 days abroad in the last 12 months. Working on a ship or being posted temporarily to a construction site doesn’t count as living abroad. You can check where you stand with the “Residence Abroad Enquiry” service on e-Devlet.

Easier for pensioners: if you retired abroad and bring a car into Türkiye for the first time after retiring, the 185-day rule doesn’t apply. If you left before your time was up, it doesn’t apply on your return either; and up to three months before the first two years run out, the stay can be extended by another two years with the right notifications.

2. How long can the car stay?

• Citizens living abroad (standard): 730 days (2 years).
• Foreign nationals without a residence permit: 90 days in every 180.
• If you can’t meet the 185-day rule: people resident in EU countries may be given 1 month (30 days).

Going over the time or breaking the rules brings serious penalties (see section 10).

3. What to have ready at the border

• Proof of ownership (the registration document)
• Driving licence
• Passport or ID (residence permit if you have one)
• Traffic insurance valid in Türkiye (check whether your Green Card really covers Türkiye)

4. How long is your licence valid here?

• First 6 months: you can drive on your foreign licence.
• 6 months – 2 years: carry a Turkish translation certified by a consulate or a notary.
• After 2 years: you must swap it for a Turkish driving licence.

5. Who is allowed to drive?

Besides the owner, the car may be driven by their spouse, parents and children, as long as they too live abroad. Friends, neighbours and other third parties may not drive it — not even with the owner sitting next to them. Traffic and kasko policies are issued in the name of the registered owner; there’s no such thing here as adding a driver to the policy. If an unauthorised driver has an accident, the loss can land on the owner.

6. Insurance: Green Card, traffic, extended liability cover, kasko, roadside assistance

A Green Card on its own may not be enough. It covers damage to the other party only, within its limits, and pays nothing towards accident, theft, fire or glass damage to your own car. If it doesn’t cover Türkiye, it can be useless even at the border — so check the cover before you set off.

• Compulsory traffic insurance: covers damage to others within the legal limits; for 2026 the limit is 400,000 TL.
• Extended liability cover: a separate or add-on policy that raises the limit for third-party damage beyond that point — compensation in injury accidents can run into millions of lira.
• Kasko: can cover accident, theft, fire and natural events on your own car, subject to the insurer’s acceptance and the policy terms. The value is based on what the car is worth in the country where it’s registered, declared by you.
• Roadside assistance: may come as a separate service contract; the cover, number of uses and limits are set out in the service terms.

Policies can run for 1, 3, 6 or 12 months — they don’t have to be annual. Cover starts on the day you pay after approving the quote; it can’t be set to start later. That’s why it’s best to apply just before you travel.

7. How the request and quote work

Fill in the short form; our team collects quotes from the insurers we’re authorised to work with and sends them over on WhatsApp or by email. A traffic insurance quote usually takes 15–30 minutes; a kasko quote is worked out for your specific car and can take one business day. Quotes are valid for 7 days; after that they’re recalculated on current values. Policy amounts may be calculated in foreign currency, but payment is taken in Turkish lira.

8. What to do after an accident

1. Stay calm and make the scene safe.
2. Photograph the plates and the damage (a short video helps too).
3. Move the cars somewhere safe, out of the traffic.
4. Fill in the accident report form and have all parties sign it.
5. Photograph the registration, licence, traffic insurance and any kasko policy of everyone involved.
6. Once those five steps are done, call your Gurbet Kasko contact straight away.

9. Repairs, customs, and leaving the car behind

A foreign-plated car damaged in an accident must be repaired under customs supervision; replacing parts requires customs permission, so don’t have work done without it. You can leave the car in Türkiye and fly home: either hand it over to the customs office (the clock stops) or file the “Undertaking for Departure Without the Vehicle” on e-Devlet, declaring that nobody will use it.

10. What’s forbidden — and what it costs

A car brought in under the tourist arrangement may not be sold, transferred, rented out or driven by unauthorised people. Breaking these rules can mean a fine of a quarter of the customs duties and the car being sent out of the country; getting it back in can take months.

Set off with peace of mind

Let’s work out which cover fits your trip. The request is free and doesn’t commit you to anything.

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