Our move to Türkiye is off - at least for the next 2-3 years!
We were planning to obtain residence permits via the property investment route (something I cover in the latest/final YouTube video, which I’ll share with you shortly, insha-Allah), and we were pretty much ready to go!
We’d narrowed down where we were going to live, had connected with estate agents via a trustworthy third party, and had even set up a bank account…
But, due to residence permit issues, we’ve had to put the move to Turkey on hold.
It’s a long story, but, in the end, I couldn’t bring myself to relocate to a country where my eldest daughter (aged 22) couldn’t join us if she ever wanted/needed to.
In Turkey, the permit to cover family members only extends to children aged up to 18, after which they need a separate residence permit, either through work, study or their own investment (none of which were suitable for us).
I had even considered starting a company in Turkey and then employing my daughter so she’d have a work permit, but in Turkey, for every foreigner you want to grant a work permit to, you have to employ five Turks first! I understand why Türkiye have chosen this approach, of course - they’re prioritising their own citizens. Can’t blame them for that!
So, we’re relocating to the UAE insha-Allah, as I can start a company there and then sponsor my family, including boys up to the age of 18 and unmarried daughters of any age.
Alhamdulillah, our house sale is almost complete, and I’ll be heading out by myself initially to get everything set up, and my family will follow in due course, insha-Allah.
I still want to move to Turkey one day insha-Allah, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.
But for now, I’m off to the UAE insha-Allah!
So, this blog will be changing. I’ll still talk about Turkey and share what I’ve learned, but I’m also planning to share my journey to the UAE, as well as my thoughts on other topics, including Islam, business, health and more, insha-Allah.
Much of that will be in written form (like this), but I’ll create a video here and there if I can, insha-Allah.
And this blog’s name is changing from “Moving to Türkiye“ to “Hanologue” (because I couldn’t think of anything else more creative, OK?!).
For anyone who wants more info about moving to Turkey, check out these YouTube channels:
Zain & Mahno: www.youtube.com/@MahnoZain
Confused?Muslim: www.youtube.com/@confusedmuslim6005
London to Lara: www.youtube.com/@FromLondonToLara
The second channel is run by a brother called Faiz, and the third one by a brother by the name of Aadil. I had the pleasure of meeting them both in person when I was in Antalya in April; lovely guys, mashaa-Allah.
Faiz actually organises tours of Antalya for people who are considering relocating, and he introduced me to his real estate agents, too. His contact details are on his channel, so feel free to reach out to him.
We prayed istikhara before embarking on this journey, and we place 100% of our trust in Allah. Alhamdulillah - we make plans, but Allah’s plan is always better! 🤲🩵
Thanks for following the journey so far, and I hope you stick around for whatever happens next…
Bismillah.