Register mobile phones in Turkey

Before starting, I would like to remark on the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) possible new dawn. This is what I expect to see from the new chairman: In the first six months, there will be many promises.

Within this six months or even sooner, people will see that there has been absolutely no change, and no expectations will have been fulfilled by the new president. There will be no change in the CHP’s ideas, and they will remain on their default setting. There has always only ever been one man, and this whole concept is a one-man show; the show must go on.

The new chairman will probably only satisfy the hearts of CHP supporters by maintaining a status quo policy and by doing flashy and modest (This is not an oxymoron; vanity is the backdoor of modesty.) things like stopping his car and escort at red lights and wearing cheaper clothing, and so on. People like this kind of stuff.

If I may give an example, I would say that the ultimate level a CHP chairman could reach would be “a chairman riding a bicycle to his office” instead of a big car. I presume that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) would love to see a proper opposition party on the other side, but it seems that there will be no change.

That’s enough on political matters. I have an important real-life matter to write about here. Everybody has a cell phone, I guess. When an expat moves to Turkey, he/she needs to register a cell phone that is purchased in another country. There is no need to register phones purchased and invoiced in Turkey.

Registrations are made with the passport. Only one cell phone can be registered to one passport within two years. In other words, if you enter Turkey on Jan. 1, 2010, and register a phone, the next time you will be able to register another telephone will be Jan. 2, 2012. This, of course, causes many inconveniences. You can buy a cell phone for half the price in the US, but you are only allowed to buy one telephone in two years. I don’t know why they think someone should keep a phone for at least two years when companies release new models every day.

The second question is, what happens when the cell phone you have registered breaks? How can you deal with broken cell phones which are still listed on your passport if you can’t register a new phone when you bring it to Turkey? Do you have to wait until the end of two years before you can register a different phone? Since your old phone is broken, are you able to remove it from your passport?

Registering a cell phone is already complicated and costly. You need to pay for various features to be activated. It takes time to convince the Telecommunications Board that the telephone is broken; you need to verify this and then register it as out of order. In practical terms, it can take a long time, and it may not be feasible to pursue this process. In short, you are pushed into buying a new phone in Turkey, which costs you more.

The second topic is property ownership and checking title deeds. I received an e-mail that reads as follows: “During a search on Turkish property laws, I discovered your article titled, ‘Checking the ownership of a property.’ I noticed that you had written a few other articles on other real estate topics.

I wanted to know if you could point me in the direction of some much-needed information. My father was a born and raised in Turkey, and I am a Turkish citizen; however, I was raised in the United States and do not speak Turkish. My father and my grandparents have been deceased for quite some time, and according to a Turkish lawyer I have contacted, my brother and I have legal inheritance rights to half of my grandparents’ estate and full rights to any property my father has owned.

My question for you is, how do I contact the land registry to see if any properties are registered in their names? I believe these properties were in and around İstanbul. Is there a way to see if any land is registered in all of Turkey, or do I have to know the specific area? Any help or contact numbers you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!”

Thank you for your e-mail. Indeed, you first need to request a Turkish court to issue a declaration which demonstrates your inheritance rights. Following this, you will be able to check the properties through different land registry offices which are organized at county level; sometimes there are divisions in large counties. Practical information there are two reasons why land registry officials will not be able to assist you over the telephone: first, they are very busy, and second, they need to verify that you are an heir. On the other hand, you should be able to check the ownership by writing to them. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need further information.

Tags: fethiye, mobile phones, oludeniz, turkey

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