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Keeping your phone working in Turkey

A handset brought from abroad works on a Turkish SIM for 120 days, then the network blocks it unless you register the device and pay a fee that now runs into five figures in lira. Whether that matters depends entirely on how long you stay and whether you need a Turkish number, so this tool prices the paths against each other.

Your stay

days

A foreign handset works for 120 days on a local SIM before the network cuts it off.

GB / month

Verified 2 Oct 2026operator pages, provider pricing and the device registration system

What it costs

₺1,680cheapest option that fits: Turk Telekom Welcome 25GB
$34
the same figure in dollars
no
handset registration triggered by this stay
₺54,258
registration fee if you put your own phone on a local SIM
Turk Telekom Welcome 25GBTurk Telekom Welcome 25GB: ₺1,680₺1,680Airalo eSIMAiralo eSIM: ₺2,289₺2,289Saily eSIMSaily eSIM: ₺2,361₺2,361Yesim eSIMYesim eSIM: ₺2,480₺2,480Turkcell Tourist Welcome PackTurkcell Tourist Welcome Pack: ₺7,200₺7,200Drimsim, billed per megabyteDrimsim, billed per megabyte: ₺17,494₺17,494
OptionTotalTurkish numberWhat it is
Turk Telekom Welcome 25GB₺1,680yes4 x 25 GB pack (750 minutes and 750 SMS, taxes included).
Airalo eSIM₺2,289no10 GB for 30 days at $15.50, over 3 months.
Saily eSIM₺2,361no10 GB for 30 days at $15.99, over 3 months.
Yesim eSIM₺2,480no10 GB for 30 days at $16.80, over 3 months.
Turkcell Tourist Welcome Pack₺7,200yes4 x 20 GB pack (200 domestic minutes).
Drimsim, billed per megabyte₺17,494noEUR 10 for the card plus EUR 10.24 per GB, our arithmetic from the published per megabyte rate.

Provider names in the first column are partner links, which is how this site is funded; the order comes from the computed cost and nothing else. See how this site makes money.

Yesim states it rides on Turkcell, Vodafone and Turk Telekom; Airalo names Turk Telekom. Saily and Drimsim do not publish a host network.
None of these eSIM plans include a Turkish number or SMS. If you need a Turkish number for bank and government verification, you need a local SIM.
Several eSIM providers were blocked from Turkish networks in July 2025, so their apps and sites may be unreachable once you land. Buy and install before you fly.
Methodology and sources

The registration fee is 54,258 TRY for 2026, up from 45,614 TRY the year before; it comes from the Fees Law general tariff and is revalued annually. eSIM prices are the providers' published Turkey plans, seen on 2026-10-02. Tourist package prices are the operators' own campaign pages. Where a plan is smaller than your monthly need the tool buys more than one, which is how these plans actually work.

One comparison is deliberately missing. A home-roaming baseline would have been useful, but the roaming rates gathered for it could not be confirmed on the pages they were attributed to, so they are not published here rather than being published with a caveat.

  • A handset brought from abroad works on Turkish networks for 120 days, then the network cuts it off unless the device is registered and the fee paid.
  • Buying a Turkish SIM pairs your handset to that number and starts the clock. A visitor who leaves within 120 days never registers and never pays.
  • Registration is done through e-Devlet by holders of a Turkish or foreigner ID, or at a tax office with a passport.
  • An eSIM does not start the clock in the same way as a local SIM, because it is data only and issues no Turkish number.