What you can import
The days when if you imported a valuable item it had to listed in your passport are long gone and these days Turkey makes few problems about what is brought into the country unless it is a motor vehicle or mobile phone. Restrictions on the import of these two items are aimed at protecting Turkish industry by reducing the price benefits of bringing in cheaper models from outside the country.
You might want to know that you can only legally import 200 cigarettes and two bottles of wine or spirits.
What you can export
When it comes to leaving the country your main concern is likely to be the retrictions on what you can import to your home country. However, there is one important thing to be aware of and that is that you may not export any antiquities from Turkey. This restriction is a legacy of the days when foreigners removed whatever they wanted from the country’s archaeological sites, as evidenced by the inventories of museums worldwide. The government is now working hard to try and recover many of the items that have been lost.
Importing mobile phones
If you do bring your mobile phone with you from abroad you need to be aware that the signal will be blocked after two or three months. If you want to import it for a longer period of time you will have to register it either at the airport or at a phone office inside Turkey. The fee for this registration is TL100 and some people have still experienced problems even after paying it. You may find it easier to buy a very basic phone in Turkey instead.
Importing a vehicle
Parcels
If you have something sent to you from abroad you need to be aware that if the customs declaration records it as worth 100 euros or more it will be subject to customs duty regardless of what it is. Customs sometimes check parcels to ensure that multiple items are not being imported for resale inside Turkey.
