HOW TO REGISTER YOUR MOBILE PHONE IN TURKEY
Turkish mobile communication infrastructure is highly advanced and you can use almost all mobile devices in all GSM frequency bands (such as 900 / 1800 Mhz, 2G, 3G, 4G and 4,5G). It means all iPhone and Android devices work perfectly in Turkey (unless the device is locked by your resident company). But there is a problem, you can use your mobile phone in Turkey up to 120 days in a calendar year without registering your phone in Turkey. Once 120 days pass after you insert a SIM card to your phone, your phone will be blocked in Turkey. After that time, you have to register it via BTK (IT and Communication Authority) and pay a registration fee of 20.000 TRY (roughly 750 USD). 20.000 TRY may change but it is the Turkey phone registration fee in 2023.
Our latest art piece named "Paying the phone registration fee"
WILL MY PHONE WORK IN TURKEY?
Since we were stuck in Turkey for almost 7 months due to Covid-19 both our phones were blocked. We used our old pre-registered phones for 3 months until 1 Jan 2021 and with the new year we were entitled another 120 days for our foreign mobile phones.
When you start to use your mobile phone with a sim card in Turkey, BTK sends an sms within 2-3 days saying that the phone is unregistered and you have 120 days before it is blocked in Turkiye. If you continue using it, you'll receive another SMS a month later, stating that you'll have 90 days remaining and goes on like this until it is blocked. Please remember that you have 4 x 30 days rather than 120 consecutive days. It means you can use your phone 4 non-consecutive months in a year. With simple math, if you start to use your phone in Turkiye in the beginning of September, you can use it for eight months in a row until May because it extends to new year. After that, you can switch to e-sim (four 4 more months) or youe have to wait for the next year. You can simply unblock your phone in Turkiye via BTK. Mobile phone registration in Turkey is pretty complicated and honestly the rules change every minute.
IMPORTANT STUFF TO KNOW ABOUT REGISTERING YOUR PHONE IN TURKEY
*You have to register all your devices with an IMEI Number. These devices include but not limited to cell phones, cellular iPads, 4G Laptops etc.
*You can register only 1 device per person/per passport in a three years period.
*You have to register your phone in 120 days. If you don't register it, you have to go abroad and come back to be able to register it. Please be aware that going abroad and coming back won't start over your 120 days usage quota.
*If you do not register your device within 120 days, it will be blocked and you won't be able to make or accept any calls and use internet, but you can still use your WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Zoom, Skype etc. via wifi and make emergency calls (Police, ambulance etc.). If your phone supports both physical and e-sim you're lucky since you have separate four months in each calendar year for each IMEI that your phone has.
*After you registered your phone, it will only work with a sim card in your name. (I am not sure if this rule is working since we always change our sim cards with my wife and our devices still works perfectly).
*To register your phone, you'll need to have a Turkish Resident Permit or a Turkish ID.
*You can register only 1 device per person/per passport in a three years period.
*You have to register your phone in 120 days. If you don't register it, you have to go abroad and come back to be able to register it. Please be aware that going abroad and coming back won't start over your 120 days usage quota.
*If you do not register your device within 120 days, it will be blocked and you won't be able to make or accept any calls and use internet, but you can still use your WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Zoom, Skype etc. via wifi and make emergency calls (Police, ambulance etc.). If your phone supports both physical and e-sim you're lucky since you have separate four months in each calendar year for each IMEI that your phone has.
*After you registered your phone, it will only work with a sim card in your name. (I am not sure if this rule is working since we always change our sim cards with my wife and our devices still works perfectly).
*To register your phone, you'll need to have a Turkish Resident Permit or a Turkish ID.
You can register your foreign phone online
How to register a foreign mobile phone in Turkey
- Check your IMEI by dialing *#06# on your phone.
- Take your passport, IMEI number and mobile phone and go to the tax office
- They will provide forms for you to fill
- Then you will be given a bank receipt for payment to the bank
- Pay your phone registration fee in Turkey directly to Ziraat Bank or click İnteraktif Vergi Dairesi (Interactive Tax Office) select "Harç ve Değerli Kağıt Bedeli" and click "Cep Telefonu Harcı Ödeme" and pay it with your credit card.
- After you pay the fee, you need to register it via the e-government (e-Devlet) website. You need a PIN to enter this website and you can purchase it from a local PTT branch (Postal Service Office) with your Turkish Resident Permit or Turkish ID.
- Alternatively you can take your bank receipt after payment, passport stamp of entry to Turkey and mobile phone to a Turkish mobile phone agency and get it registered there with a new SIM card.
- If you're an internet banking customer of any Turkish Bank, you can reach e-devlet without a password by clicking redirect button.