Transitions to adulthood from residential care are widely recognized as periods of heightened vulnerability for youth. However, the experiences of care leavers with mild intellectual disabilities remain largely invisible in Türkiye. Drawing on a constructivist grounded theory study, this article analyzes the transition experiences of seventeen young adults (thirteen men, four women) who exited residential care in Türkiye. The findings show that transition is not a linear movement toward independence, but a negotiated process shaped by structural constraints, limited support, and fragile relational networks. The analysis generated the core category of negotiating unsupported independence after care, supported by four interrelated categories and subcategories: (1) being released into independence without relational scaffolding, including post-care disorientation, daily living and financial management difficulties, and housing vulnerability; (2) quota-based employment as stability and precarious adjustment, including workplace routine difficulties, expectation–capacity mismatches, dismissal risks, and insecurity after job loss; (3) social isolation and relational vulnerability, including fragile family ties, mistrust, protective withdrawal, and difficulties sustaining intimate relationships; and (4) navigating services without guidance, including limited rights awareness, bureaucratic complexity, institutional distance, and association-based guidance. The study reveals a misalignment between independence-oriented transition models and lived realities, underscoring adulthood as a supported interdependence.