International & Erasmus students in Istanbul
You're here. Now make it count.
Smileys helps international students experience Istanbul, meet people outside their campus and build a social life early — alongside members from all over the world and locals.
Not instead of your university's orientation or student network — alongside it, for the people and plans beyond campus.
Your first week in Istanbul
Five steps, roughly in this order — save this page before you fly.
Get connected
A working phone number first: maps, banking codes and every group chat depend on it.
SIM and mobile internetLearn the city
Get a transport card, work out your commute, and save the emergency number before you need it.
Transport card and getting around Emergency numbers Scams and staying safeEat and explore
Spend your first free afternoons finding out what Istanbul is like — much of it costs little or nothing.
On a budget FoodieMeet people
Pick one event marked first-timer friendly and go — plenty of people come on their own.
First-timer friendly eventsFind your rhythm
Something every week is how acquaintances become friends. Find a regular activity, and the part of the city that suits you.
Regular activities Neighbourhoods
Your semester, stage by stage
A semester goes faster than it looks from week one. What to do when.
Before arrival
Check how long you can stay, and ask your university’s international office what your programme needs for a residence permit. Applying to Smileys now means you’re in before you land — reviews take 24–48 hours.
Entry rules and stay limits How residence permits work Read: Erasmus in IstanbulWelcome week
Get in from the airport, get a SIM and a transport card, and go to one event on your own.
From the airport Your first week, step by stepFirst month
Go back to something you liked the first time. Join a club or a weekly activity — the faces you see every week become your friends.
Regular activities Istanbul clubsMake the most of it
Try the parts of Istanbul that aren’t on the first-week list, and bring a classmate to something new.
Slow days Something different
Your first event
Events the team picked as an easy first one to come to on your own. Each card shows the price, where it is and who’s going.
Something every week
Regular activities members run — showing each one's next date. Going back is how you get to know people.
Explore Istanbul on a budget
Experiences from the Istanbul Guide, by what you're in the mood for.
The practical side
From the Istanbul Handbook.
Entry rules and how long you can stay
Entering Türkiye: Visa-Free Stays, e-Visas and the 90/180 Rule
Links official sources
How residence permits work
Getting Your Residence Permit (İkamet) in Istanbul
Links official sources
SIM, eSIM and mobile internet
Getting a SIM Card and Home Internet in Türkiye
Links official sources
Transport card and getting around
Istanbulkart Mastery: The only ticket that matters
Links official sources
From the airport into the city
Arriving in Istanbul: Getting from IST and Sabiha Gökçen into the City
Links official sources
Money and bank accounts
Opening a Bank Account in Istanbul
Links official sources
Renting a flat
Renting an Apartment in Istanbul: What Foreigners Should Know
Links official sources
Scams and staying safe
Scams & Tourist Traps in Türkiye: How to stay safe without becoming paranoid
Links official sources
Emergency numbers
Emergency Numbers in Türkiye: Call 112 and Other Numbers Worth Saving
Links official sources
How healthcare works
How Healthcare Actually Works in Istanbul
Links official sources
Practical guidance, not legal advice. Residence permits and other paperwork depend on your nationality and your programme, and the rules change — your university's international office and the official sources each guide links to are where to confirm your own case.
Before you join
- International students — Erasmus, exchange or a full degree — are welcome. You apply like anyone else, with no university details asked.
- Anyone can browse this page, the events calendar, the Guide and the Handbook. Members can RSVP, join clubs and meet other members; some events are for members only, and their cards say so.
- Joining is free. You only pay for events you choose, and the price is on every event before you RSVP.
- A person reads every application, within 24–48 hours — it keeps events safe to walk into on your own. The form explains why it asks for each detail, and your phone number is never shown publicly. Privacy policy.
Meet people beyond campus.
Make your semester in Istanbul more than lectures.