Turkey ID Card: Foreign Identity Document 2026

Every foreigner who obtains a residence permit in Turkey — whether through standard immigration channels or as part of one of the citizenship-by-investment routes before naturalization completes — is assigned a Yabancı Kimlik Numarası, or foreigner identification number. This page focuses on what that number is, what it's used for, and how it differs from both a passport and the separate Turkish national ID a person receives only after actually becoming a citizen.

What the Foreigner ID Number Actually Is

The YKN is an 11-digit identification number generated by Turkey's migration authorities and linked to a foreign national's residence permit, international protection status, or temporary protection status. It is not itself a physical document in the way a passport or ID card is — rather, it's the reference number printed on your residence permit card and used across Turkish government and financial systems to identify you as a registered foreign resident.

The "99" Prefix

According to widely cited public sources on Turkish identification numbering, foreigner ID numbers conventionally begin with the digits "99," which visually separates them at a glance from the 11-digit T.C. Kimlik No. issued to Turkish citizens. This convention is commonly referenced by immigration lawyers and relocation guides as the quickest way to tell the two apart on a document — though you should always read the actual number on your own card rather than relying on a rule of thumb alone.

What You Actually Need It For

Purpose	Why the YKN matters
Opening a bank account	Turkish banks generally require it to open any personal account for a foreign resident.
Mobile phone / SIM contracts	Telecom providers use it to register a subscriber for a standard contract line.
SGK (social security) registration	Needed for both employment-based and voluntary social security enrollment.
Tax matters	Used alongside or instead of a separate tax number depending on the transaction.
e-Devlet access	Many of Turkey's e-government services for residents are tied to this number.
Lease agreements and utility contracts	Commonly requested by landlords and utility providers as part of registration.

YKN vs. Passport vs. Turkish National ID

These three documents/numbers are easy to conflate but serve entirely different purposes:

• Passport: issued by your home country (or, after naturalization, by Turkey — see our passport procedures guide) and used for international travel and identity across borders.
• Yabancı Kimlik Numarası (YKN): issued to foreign residents in Turkey, tied to your residence status, and used for domestic transactions while you remain a non-citizen resident.
• T.C. Kimlik Kartı / T.C. Kimlik No.: issued only after naturalization as a Turkish citizen — including through the investment-based citizenship routes — and functionally replaces the YKN for that person going forward.

What Happens to Your YKN If You Naturalize

If you go on to obtain Turkish citizenship, you register with the local Population Directorate (Nüfus Müdürlüğü), which issues you a new Turkish citizen identity number and the T.C. Kimlik Kartı. From that point, your day-to-day identification shifts to the national number rather than the foreigner number you used during your residence-permit years — a transition worth understanding if you're on the investment-based path toward citizenship and currently operating under a YKN.

Conclusion

The foreigner ID number is a small but essential piece of practical infrastructure for anyone living in Turkey on a residence permit — without it, everyday tasks like banking, phone contracts, and e-Devlet access simply don't work. It's also worth understanding as a marker of where you are in the broader journey: a YKN reflects resident status, while the separate T.C. Kimlik No. reflects citizenship. If you're navigating this alongside a citizenship-by-investment application, our team can help keep the sequence of registrations straight — request a consultation to get started.