Turkish real estate vocabulary

Kimlik / Identity card


In Turkey everyone has a so-called "kimlik", which is an ID card that contains an unique ID number for each individual.

The kimlik card can be used for identifying yourself at places such as the bank, land registry office, the notaries office and so on.

According to Turkish law a person must have his ID card on him at all times, when in a public place. The unique ID number consists 11 digits and will follow you your entire life.
Also foreigners can get a Turkish ID number and an ID card. This requires that you apply for and obtain a resident permit.

For foreigners the ID number will always start with "99".
Recent new versions of the ID card also contains a chip and biometric data. This increases the security of the system and allows both private and government institutions and organizations to use the ID card to perform secure identity verification.