Obtaining a Work Permit in Turkey

The work permit process in Turkey is unclear or confusing for many people because of the bureaucracy and inconsistent manner in which information and feedback are given. With luck, this article will shed some light on the relevant regulations and application process for most foreigners. This article does not discuss the procedures for foreigners who fall under temporary protection regime.

The International Workforce Law No.6735 (”Law”) entered into force as of August 13, 2016 and regulates the processes and interactions to be applied for work permit requests. Before the Law, the Law on Work Permits of Foreigners was applied but it was repealed by the entering of the Law.

As we all hopefully know, it is forbidden to work in Turkey without a work permit, unless other laws, bilateral and multilateral agreements or international conventions of which Turkey is a party say otherwise. For example, Turkish citizens who intentionally renounce their citizenship under Article 28 of the Turkish Citizenship Law No.5901 still retain work rights. Otherwise, administrative fines will be imposed upon both employer and foreigner working without a work permit, in addition to the deportation of the foreigner.

Additionally, there are work permits for which you can apply as part of direct investments in Turkey. Special Direct Foreign Investments are investments that fall within the scope of Labour Code No. 4857 and require at least one of the conditions determined in Article 4 of the Regulations On The Employment Of Personnel Of Foreign Nationality in Direct Foreign Investment. For example, a work permit will be granted to a qualifying person in a company of which at least TRY 1,333,150 of the total capital value is held by foreign shareholders and which had a minimum turnover of TRY 100,200,000 in the preceding year.

Also, it is important to know that there are some professions for which foreigners cannot apply for work permits, such as lawyers, notary publics, pharmacists, etc.

Who Needs a Work Permit?
The Law applies to foreigners who are currently working or have filed an application to work, foreigners who applied to be vocational trainees or are vocational trainees, foreigners who applied to be interns or are interns, foreigners who are cross-border service providers and provide temporary services, and real persons or legal entities who currently have foreign employees or have filed applications to employ foreigners.

In addition to the scope of the Law, the managing partners of limited companies, executive board members who are partners of joint-stock companies, and the managing partners of limited partnerships divided into shares should obtain work permits.

Although the Law includes most foreigners who work/will work in Turkey, many foreigners are not aware of the obligation of a work permit because of the thinking that some work does not require a work permit. However, there are some exemptions and exceptions to work permit requirements.

What Are The Exemptions?
Foreigners who are eligible for work permit exemptions can work if they are granted work permit exemptions directly by the Ministry. Exemptions are stated in Article 55 of the Application Regulations of Law On The Work Permit For Foreigners (“Regulation”). For instance; people who are exempted by bilateral and multilateral agreements of which Turkey is a party and foreign footballers, other athletes, and coaches who are under contract and whose applications are approved by the Turkish Football Federation or General Directorate of Youth and Sports. It is a long list so I am not listing all the exemptions here. Those foreigners have to inform the related Directorate General of Migration Management (Göç İdaresi Genel Müdürlüğü) about their purpose for coming to Turkey, the duration of their stay, and place in which they will reside.

How to Apply for Work Permit?
Foreigners who want to work in Turkey have to obtain their work permit before they start working. Applications have to be made through a company/business entity. It is not possible for a foreigner to apply for work permit by themselves without an employer and a specific job for which they have been accepted. It means that, contrary to popular misconception, there is no general work permit that allows a foreigner to possess and retain the right to work independent of a specific job. Unfortunately, a considerable number of companies in Turkey do not know about necessity of employers obtaining work permits, and so they assume foreigners can have their own work permit or have a work permit already.

It is possible to apply for a work permit in Turkey or outside of Turkey. With this article, I will give information about applications in Turkey:

First, applications are filed through the online system of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (“Ministry”), known as “e-devlet”, by providing a residence permit with at least six months of remaining validity (foreigners who obtained residence permits for associate degree or bachelor’s degree in Turkey are exempted). Information about both the employee and employer will be asked during online application.

Later on, several required documents have to be uploaded to the e-devlet system. After completing the online application, the application form has to be printed out and signed by both employee and employer and be sent to the Ministry with other required hard documents within 6 working days. This is very important to remember when someone is completing the e-devlet application.

What Are the Most Common Documents Required?
In the process of application, some documents have to be uploaded. However, these documents can differ according to your work and the information you provide in your application. The most common documents are the residence permit (with at least 6 months remaining), the passport (if it not written with Latin letters, it has to be translated and notarized), photo, foreigner’s ID number, a petition requesting the work permit, copy of the employer’s trade registry in the official Gazette, certificate of good standing from the trade registry, tax registration certificate and other documents relevant to the company, and a power of attorney if the application is made by someone else on behalf of the company.

Moreover, foreign applicants will probably be asked to provide their diplomas and certifications for the work. However, if you satisfy certain other conditions, such as being married for at least three years to a Turk or having a Turkish parent, it may help you to gain a work permit more easily and may put you in the category of work permit exceptions, which means that the standard work permit criteria (which the Ministry describes it as evaluation criteria) will not be applied to your application. In that case, it is possible that you will need to upload other supporting documents. Once you come to the end of your application, the system will show which documents you have to upload, so it is best to be ready for it and have these documents prepared before you begin.

Do You Need Pre-Authorization?
Under the Law, pre-authorization from the relevant ministry is mandatory for work in the fields of health and education services. However, foreigners who have to obtain pre-authorization are exempt from the typical work permit evaluation criteria, which are described below.

How Will You Follow Up the Application?
The online system gives an application ID for each application, which makes it possible to check the status of your application from the e-devlet system or from the Ministry’s website.

What Are the Evaluation Criteria for Employers And Foreigners
The ministry has determined several evaluation criteria for both employers and employees, which are:

• The employer which wants to employ a foreigner has to have a minimum of 5 Turkish employees. If the foreigner applying for the work permit is also a partner of the company, this condition shall be required in the last 6 months of the 1 year work permit. This allows half a year to build a new start-up company or to grow a small company in order to allow the foreigner to legally work there.

• The issued capital of the company shall be a minimum of TRY 100,000, or gross sales shall be a minimum of TRY 800,000, or the value of exports for the last year shall be a minimum of USD 250,000.

• However, those two criteria mentioned above will not apply for the foreigners who will work in education institutions, home service providers and in the representative offices of foreign airlines in Turkey, or for foreigners who are going to be worked in state institutions and organizations in the fields of purchasing, services with an agreement or tender, and in cases where there are provisions provided by bilateral, multilateral agreements, or international conventions to which Turkey is a part.

• If the foreigner is a partner of the company, they shall have at least 20% of the total shares, equal to a minimum of TRY 40,000.

• One of the work permit criteria is based upon salary. This criterion differs according to the profession. For example: teachers, psychologists, physiotherapists, performing artists and musicians’ salaries have to be three times that of the minimum wage. For domestic workers, it must be at least minimum wage. These are some example professions; the rest can be viewed here.

Still, the evaluation criteria differs depending on the sector, the company, and the foreigner’s private conditions, such as marriage to a Turk, having a Turkish parent or child, being a victim of human trafficking, etc. Only some criteria or no criteria will be applied in such cases.

How Will I Learn About The Result?
After the submission, the evaluation of the application by the Ministry will be completed within 30 days, provided that all application files and requests for information have been completed. However, I recommend that you do not expect them to finalize it within this time period. Expect it to require more time.

You will get an e-mail from the Ministry informing you as to the result of your application. If the application is approved, fees have to be paid and payment details will be stated in the e-mail. After you pay the relevant fees, your application will be finalized and your work permit will be sent to your address.

If your application is rejected, it is possible to object to the decision within 30 days after the date of notification. If the objection is rejected, a lawsuit against the administration can be filed.

What Will Happen After You Obtain Your Work Permit?
As you may already know, a work permit or work permit exemption provides a residence permit. Therefore, you will not need to obtain a separate residence permit. However to clarify again, the opposite is not true. After the foreigner gets the work permit, they must be registered to the social security system within 30 days of the starting date of the work permit for applications that were submitted in Turkey.

If the application is approved, a one year work permit will be granted for a particular job and for a particular company. At the first extension for the same employer, a maximum 2 year work permit shall be granted. For the next extension for the same employer, a maximum 3 year work permit shall be granted. However, applications to work with different employers shall be evaluated like the first application.

Applications for extension have to be filed within 60 days prior to the expiration of the current work permit.

What Are Other Kinds Of Work Permit?
In this article, I have discussed several aspects pertaining to temporary work permits. Besides it, there are a few other types of work permit.

1. Permanent work permit: Foreigners who have long term residence permits or who have had work permits for least 8 years can apply for permanent work permits. Foreigners who have a permanent work permit have all the rights which a long term residence permit provides and also benefit from the rights entitled to Turkish citizens, except where private laws explicitly state otherwise. However, holders of permanent work permits cannot vote, be elected, work as a government official, or export vehicles with tax exemption. They do not need to perform military service in Turkey.
2. Independent work permit: This permit gives the right to a foreigner to work in his/her name and on their own account in Turkey. A foreigner’s education, professional experience, contribution to science and technology, the effect of the foreigner’s investment or activity on the Turkey’s economy, and their employment experience are considered by the Ministry before granting an independent work permit.

Additionally, the Turquoise Card, which was established with the Law published on August 13, 2016, gives the right to work permanently to a foreigner.

• Turquoise Card: This grants permanent work rights to a foreigner in Turkey and grants a residence permit to the foreigner’s spouse and dependent children. It may be granted to foreigners whose applications are considered appropriate by the Ministry on the basis of the foreigner’s education, professional experience, contribution to science and technology, the effect of the foreigner’s investment or activity on the Turkey’s economy, and their employment experience. Turquoise Card will be granted to foreigners who are accepted as highly qualified workers, highly qualified investors, scientists and researchers who working or researching in strategic fields, internationally successful in sports, cultural and artistic activities, etc. However, the first three years of the Turquoise Card are a transition period and if it is not cancelled within this transition period, the permanent Turquoise Card will be granted upon application by the foreigner. The application shall be made in last 180 days of the expiration of the transition period. A foreigner who will apply for the Turquoise Card does not need to have residence permit if he/she is in Turkey legally and applies from Turkey. Importantly, foreigners who are under the temporary protection regime, which mainly applies to Syrians, are not eligible for the Turquoise Card.

Can Foreign Students Work in Turkey?
Students enrolled in associate degrees or bachelor’s programs (formal education programs) can also apply for work permits after they finish one year of studying but only for part time work under Turkish Employment Law. However, these restrictions will not apply to foreigner students in graduate degree programs. Applications have to be filed within the period of their residence permit.

Did we forget anything? Please let us know in the comments.