With advancing technology, people’s living conditions are changing. Sometimes individuals migrate or leave their country for a period to access better education or services. If they meet the necessary conditions while living abroad, they may be eligible for dual citizenship and thus benefit from rights in their host country as well.
Many of our citizens move abroad to find work and eventually settle there. Those who have worked overseas often want to retire in their home country using the rights and contributions they earned abroad. One of the most important issues in this context is the dual citizen’s right to retire in Turkey based on periods worked overseas.
The first initiatives aimed at enabling citizens living abroad to retire in Turkey began in the 1970s and have evolved significantly since then. These measures are intended to prevent hardship for those who return to their homeland after working abroad and to ensure they can access social services when they return. Another objective is to increase foreign currency inflow to the country.
Retirement essentially represents social security. For dual citizens who worked for years in a foreign country and then wish to return home, a pension provides a source of income. In addition, they may benefit from subsidized health care services provided by the state. As long as the required insurance premiums are paid, these services are available to eligible people.
Conditions for Retiring in Turkey by Purchasing Service Periods
There are specific conditions for citizens living abroad and dual nationals who wish to purchase (buy back) abroad service periods to become eligible for retirement in Turkey. Eligible applicants generally include:
- Being at least 18 years old.
- Having worked abroad or currently working abroad, or being a housewife living abroad.
- Holding Turkish citizenship.
Dual citizens who are also Turkish citizens can benefit from this right.
When purchasing service periods, dual nationals may buy back part or all of their time spent abroad, depending on their preference. For men, one of the conditions for foreign service to count toward retirement is that the work or other activities abroad must have lasted no more than one year in certain categories. For women, the rules are generally more flexible, and housewives can also benefit from this provision. Applicants who wish to use this right must submit documentation proving the periods they worked abroad, or for housewives, the periods of residence abroad, to designated state offices.
The institutions to which dual nationals should apply for retirement by purchased periods are as follows:
Those currently abroad who, before leaving Turkey, were not covered by any Turkish social security institution should apply to the Social Insurance Institution (Sosyal Sigortalar Kurumu Başkanlığı). Before departing, applicants should apply to the Turkish social security institution where their last premium was paid; housewives should apply to Bağ-Kur if applicable.
After returning to Turkey, individuals who are not covered by any social security institution and wish to buy back their service periods abroad should apply to the Social Insurance Institution. Persons who are working at the time of application must apply to the social security institution to which they are currently affiliated.
Dual nationals living abroad who wish to benefit from this right must complete the required application form and the declaration/commitment document and submit them to the relevant authorities.
There is no fixed deadline for paying the purchased service fees. However, until the debts are paid, the purchased periods will not be evaluated for retirement rights; daily amounts payable may vary depending on changes in the applicable foreign currency conversion or daily rate.