Elayis Tavşan was born on 30 April 2001 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and is of Turkish and Surinamese descent. He came through the academies of Victoria '04 and Sparta Rotterdam, made his senior debut for Sparta and spent the 2019–20 season on loan at Telstar.

In 2020 he joined NEC, where he was named Eredivisie Talent of the Month in October 2021. He moved to Hellas Verona in January 2024 and later had loan spells at Cesena and Reggiana. At youth level he won the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship with the Netherlands and went on to play for the Netherlands U21 team. On 16 January 2026 he signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with Samsunspor, and in February 2026 he became a Turkish citizen. He wears the number 7 shirt.