Social security: overseas borrowing and agreement status

This page is for Turkish citizens who have worked or are working in Russia or Ukraine and want these periods to count toward their retirement in Türkiye. Türkiye has no social security agreement with either country; therefore, the only option is overseas borrowing under Law No. 3201. Below you will find who can borrow, how to obtain a service certificate, the 2026 amounts, and the payment period.

• According to the 2026 SGK booklet, Türkiye has signed social security agreements with 37 countries. Russia and Ukraine are not on this list.
• Consequences:
  • Insurance periods completed in the two countries do not automatically combine with periods in Türkiye.
  • Healthcare rights provided by agreements do not apply in these countries (see R7.1 and U6.2).
  • Overseas borrowing is required for these periods to count toward retirement in Türkiye.

• Requirements: Being a Turkish citizen, having periods abroad of the specified type, documenting these periods, and submitting a written application.
• Who: Turkish citizens, dual citizens, Blue Card holders, and their beneficiaries who are Turkish citizens. Turkish citizen beneficiaries may borrow the periods of a deceased insured person.
• Periods eligible for borrowing:
  • Documented insurance periods spent abroad as a Turkish citizen after reaching the age of 18
  • Periods of unemployment between or at the end of these periods, each not exceeding one year
  • Periods spent abroad as a housewife
• Periods not eligible for borrowing:
  • Periods before the age of 18
  • Periods overlapping with periods for which premiums were paid in Türkiye
  • Periods declared as unemployment or housewife periods but shown by entry-exit records to have been spent in Türkiye
  • Periods abroad before the start of the pension for persons whose full pension has been granted in Türkiye
• Those who have been granted a pension themselves or to their beneficiaries cannot borrow.
• It is not mandatory to borrow all periods; you may choose as many as you wish.

• For periods spent in countries without an agreement, SGK requires a service certificate obtained from the Embassy or Consulate General of the Republic of Türkiye.
• Documents requested by the Embassy of Moscow:
  • A petition listing your work dates in Russia
  • Originals of the passports used throughout your employment and photocopies of all processed pages, including entry-exit pages (if applying from Türkiye, photocopies certified by SGK as "true copies")
  • Photocopies of work card and residence permit documents obtained from Russian authorities
  • A work certificate from the company you worked for showing your employment dates in Russia
  • For those who obtained a three- or five-year residence permit or are Russian citizens, a work record book (трудовая книжка), if available a company certificate, and a premium certificate from the Russian Pension Fund
  • Entry-exit records for Türkiye obtained from the Police Department or e-Government
  • Photocopy of the Turkish identity card
  • If you were self-employed, documents showing the trade registry, tax registration, and payments to the Pension Fund
• Applications are submitted by mail or in person. Applications by email are not accepted.
• Fee: According to the Embassy of Moscow's 2025 announcement, the fee is 30 US dollars (Article 79 of Fees Law No. 492). At the Consulate General in St. Petersburg, the fee is 20 dollars for processing and 10 dollars for postage, totaling 30 dollars. The amount is sent in cash together with the documents by registered mail with return receipt.
• According to SGK, the service certificate is valid for 90 days from the date it is issued.
• For your work in Ukraine, apply to the Embassy in Kyiv or the Consulate General in Odesa and ask in advance about the required documents.

1. Download SGK's "Application Petition for Borrowing Overseas Periods," complete it fully, and sign it with a handwritten signature.
2. Submit the original petition and service certificate in person to the relevant SGK unit or send them by mail. You may also apply from abroad.
3. If you send them by registered mail, registered mail with return receipt, or express mail (codes RA–RZ, EA–EZ), the date you hand them over to the post is considered the application date. For private courier services, the date they arrive at SGK is decisive.
4. Applications by email or fax and petitions without a handwritten signature are not considered.
5. You may apply through a proxy; the power of attorney must include the phrase "borrowing" or "overseas borrowing."
6. If your documents are available in SGK's Overseas Borrowing Document System (YBBS), you may also apply through e-Government.

• The amount for each borrowed day is 45% of the daily earnings subject to premiums. You choose the daily earnings between the lower and upper limits.
• January 1 – December 31, 2026:
  • lower limit: TRY 1,101.00 × 45% = TRY 495.45 per day
  • upper limit: TRY 9,909.00 × 45% = TRY 4,459.05 per day
• Example: A person borrowing 5,000 days at the lower limit pays 5,000 × 495.45 = TRY 2,477,250.
• Payment period: The debt is served on you by registered mail with return receipt. It must be credited to the SGK account within 3 months from service.
  • If it is not paid within 3 months, the borrowing becomes invalid; you must apply again.
  • You may pay part of the debt; the number of days corresponding to the amount paid will be valid.
• SGK does not have a bank account abroad. From abroad, you may pay the equivalent of the notified amount in Turkish lira in convertible foreign currency through correspondent banks.
• Since August 1, 2019, borrowed periods are counted as Bağ-Kur periods (Article 4/1-b of Law No. 5510).

• To be granted a pension based on the periods you borrowed, you must:
  • have permanently returned to Türkiye
  • have paid the debt for enough periods to qualify for a pension
  • be entitled to a pension under Turkish legislation
  • submit a written application.
• Permanent return does not mean leaving Russia or Ukraine never to return. It means that, apart from short-term work, your employment abroad has ended and you are not receiving residence-based social insurance or social assistance benefits from that country.
• The permanent return requirement does not apply to beneficiaries.
• You may request through e-Government that your pension received from Türkiye be transferred abroad.

• Exceeding 90 days after obtaining the service certificate and applying late to SGK.
• Sending the petition by email or fax.
• Missing the 3-month period after service of the debt.
• Sending the original passport to Russia by mail.
• Failing to keep documents showing that premiums were paid while working in Russia.
• Assuming that permanent return means "never going abroad again" and delaying the pension application.

• Will the premiums I paid in Russia be transferred to Türkiye? No. Since there is no agreement, the periods do not combine. You must borrow the periods for them to count in Türkiye.
• Which date's amount applies? The earnings limits subject to premiums on the application date apply. For applications in 2026, the daily amount is between TRY 495.45 and TRY 4,459.05.
• Do I have to pay the entire debt? No. Within 3 months, the number of days corresponding to the amount you pay will be valid.
• How can I document my work in Ukraine? Request a service certificate from the Embassy in Kyiv or the Consulate General in Odesa.
• Do I have to leave Russia completely to retire? According to SGK, permanent return does not mean never going abroad again. For a pension to be granted, your work abroad must end and you must not receive residence-based social insurance or assistance benefits from that country.
• My spouse lived in Russia as a housewife. Can these periods be borrowed? Yes, periods spent abroad as a housewife while being a Turkish citizen may be borrowed.

• SGK – Application Petition for Borrowing Overseas Periods (Word)
• SGK – Forms and petitions
• SGK – Social Security Rights of Citizens Abroad and Overseas Borrowing (PDF, 2026)
• Ministry of Labour and Social Security – Social security agreements and Law No. 3201 brochure (PDF, April 2026)
• Embassy of Moscow – Documents requested for a service certificate (PDF)
• e-Government – Inquiry about overseas borrowing applications and viewing notices
• e-Government – Overseas borrowing request using an electronic service certificate
• e-Government – Request to transfer a retirement pension abroad