Employing foreign workers is subject to the permission of the Ministry of Labor, provided that certain criteria are met. In any case, a work permit must be obtained by the employer or consultancy firm before starting foreign employment. Foreigners cannot obtain a work permit on their own behalf without an employer.
Employing foreign workers and conditions
Work permit applications for foreigners are made to the Embassies of the Republic of Turkey abroad and directly to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in Turkey. Work permit applications must be made electronically and the official application must be submitted to the Ministry by signing on paper.
The authority to issue the work permit is the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. The Ministry concludes the applications duly made within 30 days at the latest, provided that the documents are complete and complete. The Ministry issues the work permit as a document. If the work permit application is not made in accordance with the procedures and principles set out in the International Labor Law and Regulation No. 6735, the application file is removed from the process.
How to get a work permit for a foreigner who has a residence permit?
The work permit application to be made from within the country is made online to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security by the employer or the consultant firm of the foreigner who has received a residence permit for at least six months and has not expired. As we mentioned above, in order to be able to apply for a domestic work permit, the foreigner must have a residence permit valid for at least 6 months and the residence permit period has not expired.
How to apply for a work permit for foreigners who do not have a residence permit?
The application for a work permit from abroad is made to the Consulate of the Republic of Turkey in the country where the foreigner is a citizen or permanent residence. The Consulate transmits this application directly to the Ministry. The Ministry, taking the opinions of the relevant authorities, evaluates the application according to Article 14 of the Law and gives a work permit to the foreigner whose situation is deemed appropriate. Transactions regarding the application made from abroad are carried out electronically by the consulate and the Ministry.
Within 10 working days following the application date of the foreigner to the representative office, the employer must also make an electronic application and submit the documents required for the application to the Ministry. Foreigners will be able to stay and work in Turkey for the period specified in the work permit. Accordingly, the work permit gives the foreigner the right to both reside and work in Turkey. As a matter of fact, in Article 27 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, it is clearly stipulated that a work permit will be considered a residence permit. Therefore, a foreigner who enters Turkey by obtaining a work permit from abroad does not need to obtain a residence permit separately in order to obtain the right to reside in Turkey.
Businesses that want to employ foreign workers must meet certain conditions in order to obtain a work permit. Foreign work permit applications made from the research may result in frustration. Therefore, before applying for a work permit, you should thoroughly research the subject and examine the required documents and the conditions for employing foreign workers in detail.
Conditions for employing foreign workers
- It is compulsory for five Turkish citizens to work in workplaces that will employ foreign workers. This number is valid only for those who want to employ a foreign worker. If there is a situation of employing more than one foreign worker, 5 Turkish citizens must be employed for each foreigner. For example, a company that requests 5 foreign employment permits should employ a total of 25 Turkish citizens.
- The paid-up capital of the workplace, which requests permission to employ foreign workers, must be at least 100,000 TL. If you meet any of these conditions, you can get a foreign work permit.
- The foreigner, who is a partner of the company who wants to get permission, must have at least 20% of the capital share. This figure should be above 40,000 TL.
- The salary to be paid to the foreigner by the workplace must be proportional to the duty and work of the foreign employee and must be more than the minimum wage. For detailed information about the fees to be paid to Foreigners in 2023, you can check here: https://atakurumsal.com/en/minimum-wages-paid-to-foreigners-in-turkey/
- For the entertainment, tourism and travel agencies sector, if a company employs 10 Turkish citizens, the condition of 5 Turkish citizens for each foreigner is not valid.
