Unlimited residence permit (Istanbul)

Hi everybody,

I live in Istanbul for more than 12 years now and have some questions concerning the unlimited residence permit.

Some background: I work fulltime at the public Marmara University since Protected content before I worked 7 years at a private University in Istanbul.
As I belong to the foreign staff, my contract has to be renewed every year. My work and residence permission depend on the contract wich starts every year in the middle of september when the new academic year begins. Unfortunatly my papers didn' t arrive yet from the YÖK and so I' ll be without a work- and residence permit from tomorrow (the old one will expire tomorrow).
All foreigners at Marmara have the same problem every year because our paperwork is always on delay. Without a residence permit we can't leave the country which can be a big problem in case of an urgency back home or some other reasons.
I know that it' s possible to apply for an unlimited residence permit if one has stayed more than 8 years (or 10 ?) in Turkey and I wonder how I can manage to do this. The responsable person at my university doesn' t seem to be willing to help me with this subject, and as the university does all the paperwork for us I can' t apply for an e-ikamet and do it on my own.
Strange situation- would be so happy about some advices. I' d really love to have the unlimited permit to get rid of the stress of being "illegal" for some weeks o months every year until the new papers arrive finally.

Thanks in advance
Christine