In order for a foreigner to obtain a work permit in Türkiye, certain basic conditions must be met by both the employer and the prospective foreign employee.
Firstly, at least five Turkish citizens must be employed at the workplace where the foreigner will be employed. If work permits are requested for more than one foreigner at the same workplace, five Turkish citizens must be employed for each foreign worker. If the foreigner is a company partner, this five-person employment requirement is only sought during the last six months of the first one-year work permit granted. The company is expected to have a paid-in capital of at least 100.000 TL, an annual turnover of 800.000 TL, or exports worth 250.000 US dollars. If the foreign national is a company partner, their capital share must be at least 20% and not less than 40.000 TL.
The salary to be paid to a foreign employee candidate must be arranged in accordance with the minimum amounts specified in the legislation. Accordingly:
When applying for a work permit, there are different types of applications: domestic applications, applications from abroad, international protection applications, temporary protection applications, and extension applications.
Domestic application is the application method for the foreign employee candidate who is within the borders of Türkiye and has a residence permit for at least 6 months.
The application from abroad is applied in cases where the foreign employee candidate does not have a residence permit in Türkiye. In this case, the prospective foreign employee must apply to the foreign representative office of the Republic of Türkiye of the country to which he/she is affiliated and request a work visa.
An international protection application is a type of application that applies to foreigners who are under international protection and therefore have a residence permit.
A temporary protection application is a type of application that applies to foreign employees who have a temporary protection residence permit.
An extension application is a type of application for the extension of an existing work permit. An application for the extension of an existing work permit is submitted to the Ministry and must be completed no more than two months before the expiry date of the permit.
In order for the application to be made, the employer must register to the Foreigner Work Permit Automation System via e-Devlet and upload the necessary documents to the system. The documents requested by the system during the registration phase are; the employer's certificate of activity, trade registry gazette and balance sheet.
Following the registration to the system by the employer, the application petition for the foreign employee candidate must be filled in the system and the passport, diploma and labour contract signed by the parties must be uploaded to the system. In addition, it is possible to submit additional documents to strengthen the application.
The application is evaluated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security within thirty days if the documents are submitted in full. In case of approval, the employer pays the work permit fee and card fee. Then, the work permit card issued on behalf of the foreigner is sent to the workplace via PTT. Within thirty days following the approval of the permit, the foreign worker must be reported to the SSI for employment.
Work permits are initially issued for one year. If the foreigner continues to work in the same workplace or in the same occupational field, the permit can be extended for a further two years. At the end of a total period of three years, the permit may be extended for a further three years, after which the foreign worker may work for different employers.