Obtaining work permit in Republic of Turkey
Documents will be given by the employer for the first application;
- Work permit application form sent to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
- A balance sheet and a gain/loss chart of last year, approved by Tax Office.
- Turkish Trade Registry Gazette to show the latest fund and corporation structure.
- A noterized letter of attorney for the authorized person, and the labor contract between the applicant and the company.
- A rate schedule of Turkish employees for the institutions which consider employing a foreign specialist in fields of engineering, construction, building contractor and consultancy, and the contract between the foreign specialist and employer.
Documents will sent by the foreign applicants who are applying for the first time;
In addition to the documents listed above, foreigners who wants to apply for the work permit with specific fields of specialism needs to submit the documents listed below:
- In accordance with the law no. 2547 article 3 and 7/p, and in accordance with the regulation of abroad acquired degrees and their equivalence, an equivalency certificate for the applicants who received their higher education somewhere except Turkey.
- If the Ministry considers it necessary, a notarized and translated example of the graduation degree or of the provisional certificate; For pilots, pilot license obtained from country of where the piloting training is given.
- For certified tourism establishments, a copy of the labor contract both in Turkish and the native tongue of the applicant, recommendation decree also needs to be translated to Turkish.
- In order to be employed in a education service which comes under the authority of the Ministry of National Education, a certificate of competence is needed from the same Ministry.
If the application abides to laws and regulations, and all the documents are complete, the application is concluded by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security within 30 days.
If the application of work permit is made from abroad, the application is sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform the concerned commission. Direct foreign investments are considered as highly important investments, and for the “key personnel” work permit in these investments, are concluded within 15 days if all the documents are complete.
Work permits can be given for 1 year at most if the permit has no incompatible article for one or two-sided agreements. Work permit can be extended for 2 more years if the employee continues to work in the same workplace or profession. After 3 full years of service, the work permit can be extended 3 years more with the benefit of working anywhere the employee wants to.
After 8 years of legal and continuous service, a foreign individual can get a work permit without a time limitation.
DOCUMENTS NEEDED IN DOMESTIC APPLICATIONS
Needed documents from foreign personnel in applications are as follows:
- Labor contract (signed by applicant and the employer)
- A copy of applicants passport (translated by a certified translator)
- A copy of applicants diploma (translated by a certified translator)
- If convenient, a letter of reference (translated by a certified translator)
- A copy of applicants residence permit, needs to be valid for at least 6 months
- Original version of applicants current work permit (necessary for work permit extension application)
As of the date of 1 January 2015, individuals without the passport validity of at least 60 days more than their work permit validity won’t be allowed to enter Turkey.
- A work permit application petition addressed to Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
- A work permit application form addressed to Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
- A balance sheet and a gain/loss chart of last year which belongs to the concerned institution.
- A Turkish Trade Registry Gazette which includes the current monetary fund and the participation quality of the concerned organization.
- Certificate of activity, needed for a sample document.
- A notarized letter of attorney from the qualified user of online application system.
- A tax clearance certificate.
It should not be forgotten that the documents listed above are absolute and necessary. Ministry of Labor and Social Security is entitled to demand other essential documents through the evaluation process. Supporting documents can vary according to employers business sector or as a matter of course.
DOCUMENTS NEEDED IN ABROAD APPLICATIONS
Needed documents from foreign personnel are as follows:
- Work permit document.
- Labor contract or an official job offer.
- A photo.
According to the foreign representative judicial discretion or bilateral agreements, Turkey can demand additional supportive documents through the work permit application.
Documents demanded from the employer:
- A work permit application petition addressed to Ministry of Labor and Social Security (translated by a certified translator)
- A work permit application addressed to Ministry of Labor and Social Security (Translated by a certified translator)
- A copy of the foreign applicants diploma (Translated by a certified translator)
- If needed, a letter of recommendation for the foreign applicant (Translated by a certified translator)