Insurance Information

People who come to Turkey as international students are required to have health insurance during their official residence. There are two types of health insurance. If you want, you can go to any private health insurance agency and make use of policies tailored for foreigners. Keep in mind that the coverage of these policies is limited and is only valid in hospitals where the insurance company is contracted!

Another option is General Health Insurance (GSS). This type of insurance, governed by the Social Security Institution of the Republic of Turkey, will give you the right to benefit from treatment in all state hospitals free of charge. In this way, you can get your prescription medications by paying a very low amount of contribution. The most important point to note with GSS is that you must make your application within three months following your university registration.

Renewal of your private or general health insurance every year is both a legal necessity and will save you from paying the treatment fee for an unexpected health problem.

Health services

All universities in Turkey have their own health centers. In these centers, which are generally known as MEDİKO, all students can easily perform basic health checks and medical examinations. You can contact the university’s relevant departments for detailed information about health center of your university.

Pharmacies in Turkey are open until 19:00 in the evening except on Sundays. After 19:00 and on Sundays, a certain number of on-duty pharmacies are in service in each city. Emergency service units of hospitals and university health centers provide services 7/24 for emergencies.

For ambulance services, call center number to call for free from anywhere in Turkey is 112

Working while studying

In particular, international students enrolled in a master’s or PhD program in Turkey can work as researchers in scientific projects related to their work to finance their graduate studies. Some private universities also accept graduate students with full scholarships and can provide assistantships for students in exchange for this scholarship. Undergraduate students will often find opportunities to work in a part-time job, according to their course schedules.

If you have a plan to work in your student life, what you need to know first is that your student residence permit does not cover the work permit alone. Therefore, if you want to work during your studies, you will first need to obtain a work permit. There are different types of work permits such as short-term, perpetual, independent work and are given by General Directorate of International Labour.

This information does not cover internship programs. For information about the internship Click Here

Internship Opportunities

Higher education program you are enrolled in Turkey may be a compulsory or elective internship activity. This type of internship activities, which are mostly seen in undergraduate programs, are usually conducted during summer term. In this case, you do not need to get a work permit, and with the guidance of your university, you can find opportunities for internships in many private companies, government organizations, international organizations or NGOs in Turkey.

You can also have the opportunity to do internship for 2-12 months in a European country under Erasmus + programme, which is open to participants from all over the world during your study in Turkey or immediately after graduation. Don’t forget to be in close contact with the International Office of your University for this!

https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/opportunities/traineeships-students_en

If you are a student enrolled in a university abroad and are planning to come to Turkey for internship, it is good to know that you are exempt from the work permit within certain conditions.

After Graduation

If you want to work in Turkey after graduation, do not miss the career fairs held in the university campuses. In these fairs, human resources officials come from many important companies in Turkey. They give information about their work and internship opportunities, while also collecting resumes from alumni candidates. These fairs are a great chance for business and internship opportunities.

In addition, many university career centers provide students with a variety of consultancy services, including announcement of job opportunities for post-graduation career steps, interview simulation and resume creation.

Recognition and Equivalence services are carried out within Council of Higher Education since 1983, in order to determine equivalents of associate, bachelor’s and master’s degree diplomas from international higher education institutions in higher education system of our country.

Equivalence procedures are carried out within the scope of Convention on the Recognition of Documents Related to Recognition of Higher Education European Region (Lisbon Convention), Higher Education Law No. 2547 and the Regulation on the Recognition and Equivalence of International Higher Education Diplomas.

RECOGNITION: Acceptance by Council of Higher education that an international higher education institution and a relevant program of this institution are authorized to give academic degrees. Higher education institution which gives the diploma should be authorized by competent authorities of the country in which it operates, to give academic diplomas and degrees and there should be accreditation and quality assurance processes that are transparent, accessible and sustainable.

EQUIVALENCE: It is the determination of equivalence of associate degree, undergraduate and master’s diplomas obtained from overseas higher education institutions and programs to Associate degree, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees awarded by higher education institutions in Turkey in terms of achievements in related education level. Academic level of graduated higher education program, the degree and the qualification, the total of national credits and/or ECTS required for graduation are evaluated in terms of knowledge, skills and competencies that need to be gained.

Diploma Equivalence Certificate: Those who want to perform professions according to their graduated International Higher Education program and those who graduated from health fields (compulsory) and who want to have a Master’s or PhD education in Turkey can use this document.

Graduation Recognition Certificate: Only those who want to document “Higher Education Graduation” as a result of evaluation of academic degrees without evaluation of vocational achievements.

For Diploma Equivalence and Graduation Recognition documents, pre-applications must be made at the following web site addresses.

Turkish citizens: https://www.turkiye.gov.tr/yok-denklik-basvurusu

Foreign nationals: http://denklikbasvuru.yok.gov.tr/denklik/yu-denklik-basvuru-form

Institution Recognition Certificate: It is the document which is prepared by Council of Higher Education for the recognition of a foreign higher education institution. It can also be obtained via E-government: http://okultanima.yok.gov.tr

Recognition Office for Higher Education Institutions

It is the office that responds to information requests from international stakeholders, which conducts research and reporting on the recognition of countries’ educational systems, accreditation of higher education institutions, diplomas and degrees from relevant institutions, and recognition of their academic or professional qualifications.

ENIC-NARIC Turkey Office

NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centers) and ENIC (European Network of Information Centers) networks, which were merged by the Lisbon Recognition Convention Committee in 2004, operate under the name of ENIC-NARIC country offices and exchange information on issues such as the recognition of academic and professional qualifications, quality assurance in higher education, use and dissemination of Bologna process tools and academic mobility, and produce international policies. Turkey ENIC-NARIC office has been continuing its activities since 2003 under Council of Higher Education. Click for details: https://www.enic-naric.net/turkey.aspx

Detailed information about recognition and equivalence services can be found at https://denklik.yok.gov.tr/.