Which Decisions of a State Body Can Be Appealed, and Within What Time Limits?
In short: what can be appealed and within what time limits
✅ Allowed
- Challenge any decision of the administration in court: the court path is open (Constitution, Article 125).
- File a claim with the administrative court within 60 days of written notification, if there is no other time limit (Law No. 2577, Article 7).
- Appeal a deportation decision within 7 days of service (Law No. 6458, Article 53).
- Apply to a higher body: the time limit for appeal is suspended (Law No. 2577, Article 11).
- On a refusal of information, apply to the Information Access Board within 15 days (Law No. 4982, Article 13).
⛔ Not allowed
- Miss the time limits: they are short, and a missed time limit usually cannot be restored.
- Treat the silence of the administration as consent: after 30 days without an answer the request is considered rejected (Law No. 2577, Article 10).
- Wait for a final answer longer than four months from the date of the request (Article 10).
- Assume that a refusal of citizenship has a special time limit: we did not find one in Law No. 5901, so the general time limit applies.
This is a short summary of the text of the law. Details, quotations of articles and links to the official texts are below. The visa-free stay depends on your citizenship, and amounts and lists of countries are set by secondary acts, so check them on the date of your decision.
A refusal of a residence permit, a deportation decision, a refusal of access to information: which decisions of a state body can be appealed in Turkey and within what time limits depends on the kind of decision. The general rule is written in the Constitution, and the time limits and procedure are set by special laws. Below the rules are gathered from the texts of the laws, with the articles, so that a foreigner knows what to do after receiving an unpleasant decision.
The material is for information and does not replace advice from a lawyer. The time limits for appeal are short and missing them usually cannot be corrected, so on receiving a decision contact a lawyer at once.
The general rule: the court is available against any action of the administration
Article 125 of the Constitution: the path to court is open against any actions and decisions of the administration. Article 36 gives everyone the right to a fair trial and protection.
“İdarenin her türlü eylem ve işlemlerine karşı yargı yolu açıktır” (Constitution, Article 125). The court path is open against any actions and decisions of the administration.
The procedure for applying to the administrative courts is determined by Law No. 2577 on Administrative Procedure: mevzuat.gov.tr, Law No. 2577.
The time limit under the general rule
Article 7 of Law No. 2577: unless special laws set another time limit, sixty days are allowed for applying to the Council of State and the administrative courts, and thirty days for the tax courts. The time limit starts on the day after written notification of the decision. So the date of service matters: keep the envelope, the notification and a screenshot of an electronic notification.
If you disagree but are not yet ready to go to court
Article 10 allows a request to the administration to perform an act that may become the subject of a claim. If there is no answer in thirty days, the request is considered rejected, and a claim may be filed within the time limit. If an answer is received but it is not final, one may treat it as a refusal or wait for the final one, but one cannot wait longer than four months from the date of the request. Article 11 allows, before filing a claim, asking a higher body to cancel or change the act; such a request suspends the running of the time limit for appeal.
Decisions concerning foreigners: Law No. 6458
- Deportation. The decision is served on the foreigner, their legal representative or lawyer with an explanation of the consequences, procedure and time limits for appeal. The application to the administrative court is filed within seven days of service (Article 53). While the time limit is running or the case is in court, the person is not deported without their consent. The court considers the case within fifteen days, and its decision is final.
- Residence permit. A refusal, non-extension and cancellation are served on the foreigner or a lawyer with an explanation of how to appeal them (Article 25). In a refusal, family ties, length of residence and the interests of a child must be taken into account. For a short-term residence permit, the claim is considered ready for hearing on submission of the defence or on expiry of the time limit for the defence (Article 31, paragraph 7).
- Visa. A refusal of a visa and the cancellation of a visa are served on the person concerned (Article 17).
- Refusal of entry. Those refused entry are served with a decision with an explanation of how to effectively use the right to object (Article 7, paragraph 2).
- Administrative fines and other measures. Law No. 6458 in Article 101 directly provides for application to the administrative court.
Decisions on citizenship: Law No. 5901
Decisions on the acquisition and loss of citizenship are served on the person concerned, and decisions on deprivation of citizenship are published in the Official Gazette and considered served on the day of publication (Article 41). A decision of refusal can be challenged in the administrative court under the general rule of Law No. 2577; we did not find a special time limit for a refusal in Law No. 5901, so the general time limit of sixty days from notification applies. The provisions of the law also allow technical errors to be corrected (Article 39) and decisions made without legal grounds to be cancelled (Article 40).
A refusal of information: Law No. 4982
If an authority has refused to provide information, the applicant may within fifteen days after service of the decision apply to the Information Access Board; the Board decides within thirty working days, and such an application suspends the time limit for applying to court (Article 13). Foreigners residing in Turkey enjoy this right in respect of matters concerning them, on the basis of reciprocity (Article 4). More in article No. 20.
What to do after receiving a decision
- Record the date and the way of service.
- Read which body made the decision and what time limit for appeal is stated in it.
- If it is deportation, remember the seven days.
- Contact a lawyer who works in Turkey the same day.
- Decide whether a request to a higher body (Article 11 of Law No. 2577) is needed to stop the time limit.
- Do not breach the conditions of stay while the appeal is under way.
Related topics
Which bodies make decisions is in article No. 18, and about the law that determines the grounds in the article on Law No. 6458. You can choose housing in Mersin in the catalogue.
Conclusion
In Turkey any decision of the administration can be challenged in court, and the time limits depend on the kind of decision: under the general rule sixty days, for deportation seven days. Keep the documents on service and contact a lawyer at once. Read the other questions of this section on the page “Laws of Turkey”.
The material does not replace advice from a lawyer. The information was checked against the texts of the Constitution and Laws No. 6458, No. 5901, No. 2577 and No. 4982 as of 21 October 2026.
Photo: YG01 (CC BY 4.0), Wikimedia Commons; photos of the complexes are used with the site owner’s consent.
