Foreigners in Turkey planning a long stay in the country will inevitably face the problem of blocking mobile phones in a few months. In fact, it is a real government policy to combat the illicit trafficking of imported gadgets. We will tell you how to unlock the phone and safely use it in Turkey.

Why is the phone locked?

This is not the first year that the CEIR system, which monitors connections to mobile operators, has been operating properly in Turkey. When activating a Turkish SIM card in a phone purchased in Turkey, all data is automatically transferred to the CEIR system. If you put a Turkish SIM card in a phone brought from abroad, you will have 120 days to use it in the country.

After the expiration date, the mobile device will be locked. Not the gadget itself or the SIM card should be blocked, but its IMEI slot, where you inserted the local Turkish card. If you return a foreign SIM card to the slot, you will have a connection again, but you will be roaming to call and use the Internet. To prevent this, your phone data must be entered in the CEIR program. To do this, you need to register your mobile device.

In another country, outside of Turkey, the phone will work properly.

How much does registration cost?

The cost of registering a phone is growing significantly every year. From January 1, 2023, Turkey has more than doubled the fee for processing foreign gadgets, from 2,732 lira to 6,091 lira.

Until recently, “telephone tourism” was observed in Turkey - residents of the country traveled to Georgia to buy an iPhone for almost half the price. Now it will become unprofitable to buy a mobile phone in another country.

What do I need to register an imported phone?

1. Residence permit

2. The tax number you received with your residence permit

3. Foreign passport with the date of entry into the country not more than 120 days ago

How to register your phone?

Phone registration in Turkey is carried out through the state electronic program E-devlet.

1. Go to https://www.turkiye.gov.tr/ (you can use the built-in translator)

2. In the upper right corner, press Giriş Yap (LOGIN)

3. Enter the number of your kimlik (residence permit) and the password received in the SMS from the E-Delvet system in the fields.

4. Giriş Yap again (LOGIN)

5. Follow this link. This is a direct link to the phone's IMEI registration https://www.turkiye.gov.tr/btk-imei-kaydet 

Fill in what you see on the screen now. When you go through all the stages, everything will be fine with your phone and the registration procedure of the number and the device in Turkey will be completed.

FAQ

1. How to find out your IMEI number?

To do this, dial * # 06 # and you will see this number on the phone screen, if the phone has 2 seven cards, the request must be made from the card that you will register.

2. Is it possible to register 2 cards?

It is important to know that for 1 passport you have the right to register only 1 phone number and link it to the IMEI, the next time you can do it only in 2 years!

3. Is it possible not to pay tax for the phone and not to register it?

This is possible, but you will have to reflash the phone and change its IMEI-number. However, we want to warn you that such a service will be quite expensive and illegal! Also, it may be blocked again after a while, so this is not the best solution to your problem. Also keep in mind that after such a procedure, you will lose the warranty on your device. There is also a risk that your IMEI belonged to a previously stolen device, in which case you will get a lot of problems.

The only life hack that will allow you to save on registration and will be legal is to buy a cheap local smartphone, for which all taxes have already been paid. It can be used for calls in Turkey and let yoy distribute the Internet to all your gadgets.