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From a 35-year Istanbul native · For foreigners in Türkiye

Settle in Türkiye like you know someone here.

Free tools + a hand-picked guide to 118 Istanbul places, plus 5 cost calculators and 20 neighborhood guides — anonymous, no signup to start.

For everyone building a life in Türkiye — workers, students, families, retirees, remote workers. New arrival or ten years in.

Instant answers from SettleIn's AI — 3 a day free, no signup (5 with a free account).

ISTANBUL · RIGHT NOW

What's happening in the city

Live concerts, theatre, exhibitions & nightlife — pulled from Biletix, tiyatrolar & bugece. Not just paperwork.

See all events
What's actually inside — every number links to the page it counts
The Full Shelf— 21

Built around what you actually need.

Grouped by stage. The tools you need on day one, week one, and every week after — everything in one place.

The first 5 things every expat needs.
SettleIn Pro · $4.99/mo

When free isn't enough.

Every article, calculator and checklist stays free. Pro watches your case, checks your document list and lifts the daily caps.

Monthly
$4.99/mo
Cancel anytime.
Yearly
$39.99/yr
One bill. 33% less than monthly.
Your case, watched
When a rule or fee that touches your permit changes, I write to you, based on what you told the renewal check.
Your documents, checked
Before you file, email me your document list. I check it against Göç İdaresi's published list and reply within 48 hours.
Full Istanbul guide
All 118 hand-picked restaurants, bars and breakfast spots, with no sponsored picks.
No daily caps
Chat, document scans and vault entries without the free-tier limits.
Neighbourhood tips
Area tips re-ranked for your household.
Redaction and PDF export
Mask TC ID, IBAN, phone and passport numbers, and download checklists and scans for your files.
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From the founder
Arek Yasulkal, founder
“
I built SettleIn because my friends kept asking me the same questions I solved years ago.
Arek Yasulkal
Founder · Istanbul native
Why not just ask an AI?

An AI can read the rules. It has never stood in the line.

SettleIn is what I wish had existed when my friends arrived. Answers from someone who's stood in those lines, bargained with that landlord, knows which notary takes walk-ins, and which neighborhood is quiet in November.

When we asked an AI assistant how an overstay fine is paid, it said cards are “generally accepted” in Istanbul. Two readers who actually paid at the border were told: cash only. That is the difference between information and experience, and it is what this site is built on. Even our own AI assistant answers from facts checked by someone who lives here.

35
years in Istanbul
5
languages
0₺
to start
COMMUNITY · FOUNDING ERA

You didn’t move countries to scroll Facebook groups.

A social home built only for foreigners in Türkiye — searchable answers that stay answered, neighborhood rooms, scam policing, and every SettleIn tool one tap away. Small on purpose. Honest by rule. Founding members wanted.

KadıköyModaCihangirBeşiktaşÜsküdarAntalyaBodrumPermitsHousingNew here
Common questions

Honest answers, not marketing.

The six most-asked. Still unsure? Ask the chat — it has context.

There is one government document fee — the ikamet izni belge bedeli, 964 TL in 2026 — plus the residence fee (harç), which for most nationalities (US, UK, most of Europe) works out to about $80 for a 12-month permit. Citizens of ten countries including Ireland, Denmark and Czechia pay no harç at all. US, UK and EU citizens enter visa-free, so no entry-visa fee applies on arrival. The bigger cost is usually mandatory health insurance. The cheapest policy that satisfies the permit — sold as yabancı sağlık sigortası, written to the official minimum cover rather than to protect you — runs roughly 4,000–8,000 TL/year for younger adults, more with age.
Ziraat and Garanti BBVA typically open accounts same-day in Beyoğlu/Kadıköy with passport + tax number. İş Bankası and Yapı Kredi sometimes require a residence permit first.
For residence permit applications, yes — private Turkish insurance is mandatory. Foreign travel insurance is not accepted by Göç İdaresi. Buy from Allianz, AXA, Mapfre, or Anadolu Sigorta.
Between 2022 and 2025, 1,169 neighborhoods across 63 provinces (in districts like Fatih, Esenyurt, Başakşehir and Avcılar) were closed once foreigners passed ~20% of residents. Those closures were reportedly lifted in June 2026, though there is no official Göç İdaresi confirmation and reports conflict on Fatih and Esenyurt. Don't rely on a list — verify your exact address when you apply (call 157 or check e-ikamet) before signing a lease.
The chat, SOS, phrases, every calculator, the neighborhood map and 27 of the 118 guide places are free forever, no signup — and with a free account, so are reminders for your vault dates by email, calendar or iOS push. Pro ($4.99/mo or $39.99/yr) adds a watch on your case for rule and fee changes, a check of your document list before you file, all 118 guide places, neighborhood tips ranked for your household, and no daily caps on chat and scans.
Mostly no. The app loads the live site, so it needs a connection. The earthquake safety page keeps working offline once you have opened it, and it is worth saving 112 in your phone for emergencies.