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
A foreign handset works for 120 days on a local SIM before the network cuts it off.
Verified 27 Aug 2026operator pages, provider pricing and the device registration system
What it costs
| Option | Total | Turkish number | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airalo eSIM | ₺2,237 | no | 10 GB for 30 days at $15.50, over 3 months. |
| Saily eSIM | ₺2,307 | no | 10 GB for 30 days at $15.99, over 3 months. |
| Yesim eSIM | ₺2,424 | no | 10 GB for 30 days at $16.80, over 3 months. |
| Turk Telekom Welcome 25GB | ₺3,120 | yes | 3 x 25 GB pack (50 all-network minutes plus 750 in-group minutes, taxes included). |
| Turkcell Tourist Welcome Pack | ₺7,200 | yes | 4 x 20 GB pack (200 domestic minutes). |
| Drimsim, billed per megabyte | ₺16,583 | no | EUR 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.
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 27 Aug 2026. 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.
- Mobil Cihaz Kayit Sistemi (mcks.gov.tr): 120 day rule and registration channels
- Turkish operator campaign pages for the tourist and postpaid packages
- Provider pages and esimdb.com for the Turkey eSIM plans
- Fees Law general tariff, Official Gazette 31 Dec 2025, for the registration fee