Before you start

A work, residence or student permit application in progress — the permit unlocks SGK and an MHRS-eligible ID
A Yabancı Kimlik Numarası (YKN), issued with the permit — needed for e-Devlet, MHRS and e-Nabız
A Turkish address and phone number for insurer paperwork, e-Devlet SMS and hospital registration
Private cover for the first permit if you are NOT employed — no policy means no permit

Step-by-step

1
If an employer is hiring you, confirm the SGK start date with HR
Enrolment is legally from your first working day, and the employer files it — but ask HR to confirm it has been done and to give you the SGK registration, because the entitlement only becomes usable once you appear in the system. SGK covers you, a spouse and children under 18, gives near-free access to state hospitals and family health centres, and covers SGK-contracted private hospitals for a top-up fee. Employees at the plants are usually also inside a workplace occupational-health scheme on top.
Via employerWho: Your employer's HR teamFrom day one of employment
2
If you are NOT employed, buy private insurance for the permit
Every non-employed first-year resident must show a valid private policy at the residence-permit appointment; SGK does not count for the initial permit. Since April 2025 the policy must meet raised minimums — roughly 15,000 TRY outpatient and 150,000 TRY inpatient cover — and must state that it is valid for residence-permit applications. Buy a 'yabancı ikamet' compliant plan from a Turkish insurer (Allianz, Axa, Anadolu, Aksigorta). You can only opt into SGK voluntarily after one continuous year of residence.
OnlineWho: You (or a broker / relocation agent)Same day to one day~US$150-250/year for a basic compliant policy; more with age or comprehensive cover
3
Register on MHRS and e-Nabız, and know where to go
Book public appointments through MHRS (mhrs.gov.tr, the app, or ALO 182) and view your records on e-Nabız, both reached with your foreigner ID through e-Devlet and both available in English. In Bursa the practical routing is: Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi's hospital at Görükle for anything specialist or complex, the district state hospitals and family health centres for routine care, and a private hospital such as Acıbadem or Medical Park when you want an English-speaking consultation quickly.
Mobile appWho: YouRegistration minutes; public appointment lead times vary from days to weeksPublic: free or nominal with SGK · Private specialist visit ~US$30-120 self-pay
4
Know emergencies (112), pharmacies and the mountain
Dial 112 for an ambulance; emergency care (acil) at state hospitals is provided to everyone regardless of insurance or status. Pharmacies (eczane) are everywhere, pharmacists advise on minor ailments, and many medicines are cheap and over the counter — a foreign prescription is not legally valid. Outside hours a rotating nöbetçi eczane is always open; search 'nöbetçi eczane' plus your district. On Uludağ, be aware that mountain incidents are handled through 112 with jandarma and AFAD involvement, and that the ski season brings a predictable orthopaedic caseload.
In personWho: YouImmediate112 emergency care free · many common medicines a few dollars
5
Use what the city is actually good at: thermal rehabilitation
Çekirge's hot springs have supported medical bathing since Roman and Ottoman times, and the tradition survives as a genuine physical-therapy and rheumatology specialism rather than a spa gimmick. Physical medicine and rehabilitation departments here use the thermal facilities, and SGK covers referred physiotherapy. If you arrive with a musculoskeletal condition, this is the one thing Bursa medicine is nationally known for.
In personWho: You, via a GP or specialist referralCourse-based, typically over weeksCovered by SGK when referred; private thermal courses vary

Documents you’ll need

Passport and work/residence/student permit (or in-progress application)
Yabancı Kimlik Numarası (foreigner ID number)
SGK registration from your employer, if employed
Private policy marked 'valid for residence-permit applications', if you are not employed

Things most newcomers don’t know

Bursa is the Turkish city where most foreign arrivals skip the private-insurance year entirely — because they arrive employed.

SGK enrolment is immediate for anyone on a Turkish employment contract with a work permit, with no waiting period, and it covers a spouse and children under 18. The painful twelve-month private-cover year that dominates the coastal retiree experience simply does not apply to the engineers and managers the plants recruit.

Source: Sosyal Güvenlik Kurumu (SGK) rules; Turkish work-permit practice, 2026

Ask HR to confirm the SGK filing, not just to promise it.

The entitlement starts on your first working day in law, but you can only use it once you actually appear in the system. New hires turn up at a hospital, find no record and pay privately for something they were covered for. A screenshot of the SGK registration is worth asking for in week one.

Source: SGK employer registration procedure

Winter air quality in the Bursa basin is a genuine respiratory factor.

The city sits in a bowl between Uludağ and the plain, and still winter weather traps heating emissions and industrial air over it. If anyone in the household has asthma or a respiratory condition, this belongs in the decision about which district to live in — the higher western neighbourhoods fare better than the low inner ones.

Source: Regional air-quality reporting; municipal environmental monitoring, 2026

The thermal-spring rehabilitation tradition in Çekirge is real medicine here, not tourism.

Physical medicine and rehabilitation services use the Çekirge thermal facilities, and SGK covers referred physiotherapy. For anyone arriving with a chronic musculoskeletal condition it is a concrete reason to be in Bursa rather than another second-tier Turkish city.

Source: Bursa physical-medicine and thermal-facility guidance, 2026

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming your employer filed the SGK enrolment without checking, then paying privately for covered care.
Arriving ahead of a job and budgeting for SGK — you cannot opt in voluntarily until you have held residence for a full year.
Choosing a low inner-district flat without thinking about winter air if someone in the household has asthma.
Trying to fill a foreign prescription as written; it is not legally valid, though a Turkish doctor's prescription is cheap.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.