Work Permit In Turkey

Since we are financial advisors in Istanbul Aksaray region, we are also interested in the issue of work permits : )

There are basically two types of applications for work permits in Turkey: dependent and independent. In independent permits, the foreigner must be a workplace official, that is, be the owner or partner of a company. In dependent leaves, he/she applies for permission to work as an insured personnel in a foreign workplace.

First of all, a valid residence permit is required in order to apply for a work permit. If the residence permit is not valid, the foreign company partner must obtain a work permit reference number together with the official company documents from the Turkish consulate abroad. There is a 10-day application period after obtaining the reference number. However, in any case, a passport with a validity period enough to meet the period for which a work permit is requested is required for foreigners who will apply as both a workplace official and an employee.

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If there is a valid residence permit, the requirements for the foreigner who wants to work as a dependent in a workplace are as follows:

  • Translated and notarized passport,
  • Translated notarized diploma,
  • Biometric photo,
  • Contract with the employer,
  • If married, spouse’s name and mother’s name-surname,
  • Electronic signature of the workplace official to whom the application is made.

Now, based on the questions we received as a financial advisor, let’s talk about some conditions. If a workplace wants to employ a foreigner, what conditions should it have? First, it must have a paid-in capital of 100,000 TL, if it does not meet this requirement, its gross sales must be at least 800,000 TL or its export figures for the last year must be at least 250,000 USD. (The above conditions are not sought for applications within the scope of temporary protection.) However, 5 Turkish citizens must already be working in that workplace for each foreigner for whom permission is obtained. For example, let’s assume that we have a company employing 10 Turkish citizens. We can apply for work permits for 2 foreigners, but not for 3 foreigners.

Another issue is the gross wage amount that we will specify in the employment contract to be prepared for the foreign personnel to be employed in the workplace. The wage scale determined by the Ministry for this is reported as multiples of the minimum wage (5004 TL gross wage), as can be seen below:

– 6.5 times the minimum wage for senior managers and also for pilots,

– 4 times the minimum wage for unit or branch managers as well as engineers and architects,
– 3 times the minimum wage for teachers and people who will work in professions that require expertise-mastery,
– At least the minimum wage for foreigners in domestic services, 1.5 times the minimum wage for foreigners who will work in other professions,
– Acrobat etc. in tourism-animation organization companies. For foreigners who will work in titles and for foreigners who will work as masseurs, masseuses, therapists in SPA jobs and similar jobs, the minimum wage must be 2 times.

*This fee and its multiples rule do not apply to applications within the scope of temporary protection.

Now let’s talk about the independent permits of foreign business partners. If there is a valid residence permit, the requirements for the foreign business partner who wants to obtain a work permit independently are as follows:

  • Translated and notarized passport,
  • Translated notarized diploma,
  • Biometric photo,
  • If married, spouse’s name and mother’s name-surname,
  • Electronic signature,
  • If the applicant’s foreign partner is not an e-declaration authority, e-declaration authorization assignment,
  • Tax office certified corporate tax return (if the first application is made, that is, if there is no corporate tax return for the previous year, a Certified Public Accountant certified report showing that the partner has paid the committed capital)

The conditions regarding the employment of personnel above are also valid in the process of obtaining permission of the foreign partner independently. In other words, there must be a paid-in capital of 100.000 TL, if this condition is not met, the gross sales must be at least 800.000 TL or the export figures for the last year must be at least 250,000 USD. (The above conditions are not required for applications within the scope of temporary protection) In addition, the foreign company partner must have at least 20% shareholding and must not have a capital of less than 40,000 TL. Likewise, the condition of employing 5 Turkish citizens is also valid here, but if the first application is in question, this condition is sought for the last 6 months of the application.

In general, these are the documents that must be submitted to the Immigration Administration after the application. If you have an additional question or a detailed subject you want to consult, you can come to my financial advisory office in Fatih, you can reach me by texting or calling at any time without hesitation about the contact information.