Press Cards for Foreign Journalists in Türkiye

Foreign journalists who want to work in Türkiye apply for a press card to the Presidency's Directorate of Communications under the Press Card Regulation. They fill in the electronic application form on the Directorate's website, and the documents come largely from the media organisation abroad and from its country's embassy.

Assignment by the media organisation

The regulation requires foreign journalists to document that they have been assigned by their media organisation. For permanent accreditation, the Directorate's page says the assignment letter must state the journalist's position or title, the period of work and that the salary is paid by the employer. For temporary accreditation it asks for a letter from the media organisation stating that the person has been assigned to Türkiye as a journalist, setting out the title and the period clearly. For renewals of resident international journalists, the other documents uploaded to the accreditation system must also be recently dated.

The introduction letter

The regulation also asks for a letter of introduction from the embassy, legation or consulate in Türkiye of the country where the organisation has its head office. The Directorate's accreditation pages specify that this letter must be written in Turkish. Foreign journalists who apply through the Anadolu Agency or the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation do not need the introduction letter.

The texts we quote do not require an apostille or a translation for the media organisation's assignment letter; ask the Directorate whether it accepts a letter in another language. We translate assignment letters and supporting documents into Turkish in Ankara through translators sworn before a Turkish notary. The Directorate of Communications decides on press cards.