The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry has launched a digital visa program aiming to attract foreigners who work remotely to travel to Turkey and temporarily live there, according to the ministry’s website.
The digital nomad visa is being offered by many countries. This type of visa allows remote workers to come and temporarily live in a foreign country for six months to a year. They often come with the ability to renew it once or twice.
Those who qualify for a digital nomad visa must work remotely as a freelancer, entrepreneur or employee for a company located outside of the country in which they wish to reside.
The visa does not give the holder the right to find local employment. However, depending on some schemes, the holder may be required to pay local taxes.
İstanbul, the western holiday resort of Dalaman in Muğla province, the western province of İzmir on the Aegean coast and the popular holiday resort of Antalya are some of the places where digital nomads are advised to live and work in Turkey.
The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry has launched a website where interested parties can see the criteria to apply for the digital nomad visa and fill out an application form.
“Thousand years old ancient cities, unique bays hidden between forests, turquoise seas, dynamic people, big cities; Türkiye has all! In addition, this beautiful country is one of the biggest countries of the world in terms of economy and business, with the strong infrastructure services!” it says in the visa promotion on the ministry’s GoTürkiye website.
“If you are a digital nomad, if you do not like to work in one office during long time, Türkiye will offer you the best options!” it continues.
Citizens of EU countries, the UK, Switzerland, the United States, Canada, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus aged between 21-55 are eligible to apply for the digital nomad visa for Turkey if they meet certain criteria.
Among other things, applicants are supposed to have at least an annual income of $36,000 and a university degree to be able to apply for the digital nomad visa.