If you bring a Ukrainian car into Turkey, you become the owner of the right to use it duty free for a limited period of time(read more). But not everyone knows that the circle of persons who can drive such a car in Turkey is limited!
Quick answer
There is a common belief that the car can only be driven by the duty-free licence holder himself/herself, his/her spouse, parents and children.. And it’s true. But that’s not the whole truth. Read more about it below.
For example, my wife and I are not officially married. Therefore, only one of us can drive the car. And since Olga works as a photographer in Antalya (by the way, be sure to look at her portfolio) and she often has to travel to Side, Kemer, Belek, Perge, Alanya, Isparta, etc., we decided to register the car to her and then make a legal marriage in the Ukrainian consulate in Antalya.
So, let’s get right to the point. But note that Turkish law is very complicated and confusing. Ukraine has a general structured legal framework and all questions can be easily found in it. There is no such common base in Turkey. You have to look up all the laws in separate documents and understand if there have been any changes to it or not. Whether it works or not.
But let’s try to deal with our question.
Customs Act No. 4458
The Law on Customs No. 4458 does not say anything about who can drive a vehicle with foreign license plates. However, the circle of persons is limited by other regulatory documents.
Decision of the Turkish Cabinet of Ministers
In accordance with Turkish Cabinet of Ministers Decision No. 2009/15481 on the application of certain articles of the Customs Law No. 4458,
(1) Goods subject to the temporary importation regime may not be rented, lent, transferred for use to third parties or sold.
Thus, a car with foreign license plates in Turkey can only be used by the holder of a temporary import permit (i.e. it is the only person – the driver who drove the car in Turkey).
It would seem that if you turn to Turkish law, everything is very sad! However, as we said above, Turkish law is specific. So we look at other documents.
Customs communiqué
This is another customs document, which somewhat expands the range of persons. On the Internet, some resources refer to subparagraph (a) of paragraph (1) of Article 15 of customs communiqué SER0054 No.: 1 “Land vehicles for personal and commercial use” of January 23, 2010.
However, this is not quite right, because after that a new customs communiqué dated 22.04.2011 was issued, which is called “General customs report on temporarily imported land vehicles (serial number: 1)”. And Article 26(1)(a) says this:
Use of the vehicle by a person other than the owner of the [temporary import permit].
ARTICLE 26
(1) About the vehicles covered by this Communiqué;
a) Vehicles temporarily imported for tourism purposes may be used by the spouse, parents and children of the owner of the vehicle whose place of residence is outside the customs territory of Turkey.
Thus, driving a car, in addition to the permit holder, can also spouse, parents and children who (Important!) have spent at least 185 days abroad in the last year.
Explanation from customs
This is also confirmed by an unofficial customs document – the Customs Explanation. According to this document, spouses, parents and children whose place of residence is outside the customs territory of Turkey can drive a vehicle with foreign plates. There is one important addition to this document: although the temporary license holder need not be in the vehicle. That is, Customs emphasises that the listed persons may drive the vehicle without the presence of the permit holder.
Provided that the holder of the car import permit (note: the driver who entered Turkey) is in Turkey, the car can be used by the spouse, parents and children whose place of residence is outside Turkey. The permit holder does not have to be in the vehicle. However, as long as the permit holder is abroad, the vehicle left in Turkey must be parked and cannot be used by anyone (including any relatives).
But there is a nuance!
There are several points that are important to pay attention to:
- Brothers, sisters, father-in-law, mother-in-law, mother-in-law, common-law husband, friends and lovers are not on the list!
- If the car is driven by a spouse, the marriage must be formalized. A common-law marriage is not considered a marriage under the law. We recommend that you bring a notarized translation of your marriage certificate (although it is usually sufficient for document verification that the last name on the license is the same as the last name of your spouse).
- Within the meaning of Turkish customs law, your place of residence is outside the customs territory if you have spent at least 185 days abroad in the last year. (The range of persons who are considered as persons residing outside the customs territory of Turkey is regulated in Article 3(1)(z) of the “Customs Law No. 4458”).
Thus, if the husband entered Turkey with his wife by car and registered the car permit in his name, the wife can drive the car for 180 days after the date of entry, and then automatically loses that right.
And if the couple has already been in Turkey for the last 185 days before the date of entry, the right to drive ends even earlier.
In practice, in a normal document check, the Turkish police do not monitor your length of stay abroad in the last year. And the whole family uses the car without any problems.
NOTE (January 2023):
Recently, our friends were involved in an accident and the police wrote them a fine for unauthorised driving citing this law. The fine itself is small (196 Turkish Liras), but it can have big consequences. We will keep an eye on the situation and will write here about how the story ends.
All of the above is valid, provided that you do not forget to renew your car permit in Turkey after entry. Read more: “How to Renew a Car Permit”.
What is the fine for the violation?
If the car will be driven by an acquaintance who has no “first line” relationship with you, then expect a large fine. And believe me, you won’t like him very much 🙂
Conclusion
So, we have understood with references to Turkish laws that the range of persons who can drive a car in Turkey is limited to the holder of the temporary car import permit (the person who brought the car into Turkey), his/her spouse, parents and children, whose place of residence is outside the customs territory of Turkey. The enumerated persons may drive the vehicle without the permit holder being present in the vehicle. That’s it. No one else has the right to drive such a car.
And since you are in Antalya, let me inform you that my wife Olya, one of Kiev’s best photographers, also happens to be here. At this link you can see her portfolio in Antalya.
You can make an appointment for a photo shoot with her from the Contacts section.
Antalya is a truly unique place. There is the old colorful city, the ruins of ancient settlements, and the unique nature with its sea, canyons, waterfalls, lavender fields, and much more.
A photo shoot here will be a unique gift for yourself or your sweetheart.
I still have questions about driving in Turkey
Please ask your question in the comments below and I’ll try to answer it. Sure, if I know the answer! 🙂