Required Documents for a Work Permit for Foreigners in Turkey and Company Requirements

The documents required for a work permit for a foreign national fall into two groups: the foreign national’s own documents (passport, biometric photo, diploma and its translation, signed employment contract) and the employer’s documents (trade registry gazette, latest year’s balance sheet and income statement, and a sector permit if required). A work permit is the official permit issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security that allows a foreign national to work lawfully in Turkey for an employer, and it also substitutes for a residence permit. The application is made not by the foreign national but by the company that will employ them.

Having complete documents is not enough on its own. The Ministry also looks at the applicant company’s employment of Turkish citizens, its financial strength and the salary it offers. In this article, we explain step by step the document list, the conditions required of the company, the rules specific to foreign nationals who are company partners, and the difference between applying from within Turkey and from abroad.

What is a work permit for foreign nationals, and who applies?

A work permit is the document showing a foreign national’s right to work as an employee in Turkey and is based on International Labor Force Law No. 6735. The application is made by the employer, that is, the company that will employ the foreign national; where the foreign national is abroad, the process starts with their application to the Turkish mission abroad. The Law provides that applications may also be made through an authorized intermediary.

Under Article 12 of the Law, a valid work permit substitutes for a residence permit under Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection. The reverse is not true: a residence permit obtained for another purpose does not, as a rule, give the foreign national the right to work. The misconception we encounter most often in practice is that a foreign national with a student or short-term residence permit can start work with that permit.

Under the Law, a work permit is granted for at most one year on the first application. For continued employment with the same employer, the first extension can be granted for at most two years and subsequent extensions for at most three years. If the employer changes, the new application is assessed like a first application.

Documents required for a work permit: what is required from the foreign national

The Ministry’s General Directorate of International Labor Force publishes the documents to be uploaded with the application on its official website. You can access the current list on the Ministry of Labor and Social Security work permit documents page. The basic documents belonging to the foreign national are:

• Copy of passport: If the passport is issued in an alphabet other than the Latin alphabet, a translation certified by a sworn translator or an official authority is attached.
• Biometric photo: A color photo taken within the last six months, from the front, against a white background.
• Diploma or temporary graduation certificate: Together with its Turkish translation; the translation is certified by a sworn translator or official authorities.
• Signed employment contract: Signed by the employer and the foreign national, scanned and uploaded to the system.

Why does the passport’s validity period matter?

According to the Ministry’s document list, if the passport’s remaining validity on the application date is less than 60 days, the application is not processed. The duration of the work permit to be granted also cannot extend beyond 60 days before the passport’s expiry date. For an employee whose passport will expire within a few months, renewing the passport first is more efficient than dealing with a short-term permit.

Diploma, translation and recognition

A diploma translation is mandatory for professional services and for occupations determined by the Ministry. For engineers and architects who obtained their diplomas abroad, a recognition (equivalence) certificate is also required. For persons applying as specialist staff, a service certificate (a work certificate obtained from the previous employer) and documents showing their area of expertise are also added to the file.

For documents issued abroad to be usable in Turkey, the chain of certification also matters in practice. Documents from countries party to the 1961 Hague Convention bear an apostille, while for countries that are not party to it, the certification of the Turkish mission abroad is used. The Ministry’s list explicitly requires this certification for service certificates in the entertainment sector in particular; for other documents, paying attention to translation certification is the quickest way to avoid receiving a missing-document letter.

Work permit documents required from the employer

The workplace’s work permit documents show both the company’s legal existence and its financial strength. According to the Ministry’s list, the main documents required from the employer are:

• The Turkish Trade Registry Gazette showing the entity’s latest capital and shareholding structure
• The balance sheet and income statement for the latest year, certified by the tax office or a Sworn Financial Advisor (YMM)
• When employing an engineer or architect, a payroll showing that Turkish citizens are employed in the same profession
• For roles such as company partner, board member or general manager, the signature circular and a resolution of the board of directors or partners’ board
• For staff assigned by a parent company abroad, the parent company’s assignment letter

A newly established company does not yet have a balance sheet. In this case, financial adequacy is assessed based on the paid-in capital shown in the trade registry gazette. If you have not yet established the company, we explained the choice of company type, capital and registration steps in detail in our how to set up a company guide.

Additional documents by sector

In some sectors, a permit from the relevant ministry is added to the general list. For private education institutions, a document from the Ministry of National Education showing the foreign national’s professional competence is required, and for healthcare staff, a preliminary permit from the Provincial Health Directorate. For tourism businesses, a Ministry of Culture and Tourism certificate or a chamber of commerce activity certificate is required, and for pilots, a validation certificate from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Work permit document checklist

The table below lists the documents for the most common type of work permit application, for employed work, according to who prepares them. Additional documents specific to your sector are added to this list.

Documents are uploaded to the e-İzin system in PDF format, at most 2 MB per file. Until the application is completed with the employer’s secure electronic signature, it waits in the system among “incomplete applications.”

What conditions must the company meet?

There are three basic conditions required of the company: employment of Turkish citizens, financial adequacy and a minimum salary for the foreign national. The Ministry sets these criteria; the current text entered into force on October 1, 2024, and the financial thresholds on January 1, 2025. Meeting the criteria does not automatically bring the permit, but failing to meet a criterion is sufficient grounds for rejecting the application.

Employment criterion: five Turkish citizens for each foreign national

According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security’s work permit evaluation criteria, at workplaces subject to the balance sheet basis, the employment of at least five Turkish citizens for each foreign national for whom a work permit is requested is the rule. At workplaces with net sales of 50,000,000 TL or more in the latest year, this criterion is not applied for up to five foreign nationals. There are also separate exceptions in certain sectors such as IT, tourism, healthcare and high technology.

Update (October 2026): A new exception entering into force on August 3, 2026 was added to the Ministry’s criteria. For applications made from within Turkey for foreign nationals who have been lawfully present in Turkey for at least one year within the last three years before the application date under a work permit, residence permit or international protection, the employment and financial adequacy criteria do not apply for up to three foreign nationals. The number of foreign nationals employed under this provision cannot exceed the number of Turkish citizens at the workplace; for the fourth and each subsequent foreign national, the requirement of five Turkish citizens and financial adequacy applies again. From the same date, foreign nationals who have been in Turkey for at least eight years with a work permit or the listed types of residence permit were also added to those exempt from the employment, financial adequacy and salary criteria.

Update (October 2026): From August 3, 2026, a sector-specific rule was also introduced for manufacturing, poultry farming and recycling (waste collection, recovery and disposal) workplaces. At these workplaces, until December 31, 2027, applications for one foreign national for every five Turkish citizens employed at the branch level are exempt from the employment criterion. At poultry and recycling workplaces employing fewer than five Turkish citizens, the employment and financial adequacy criteria are not applied for up to two foreign nationals in applications made from within Turkey; the number of foreign nationals still cannot exceed the number of Turkish citizens.

Financial adequacy: capital, net sales or exports

At newly established workplaces, paid-in capital must be at least 500,000 TL. At operating workplaces, meeting one of three criteria is sufficient: paid-in capital of at least 500,000 TL, net sales of at least 8,000,000 TL or exports of at least USD 150,000. Although the statutory minimum capital of a newly established limited liability company is 50,000 TL, the bar is therefore much higher for a company that wants to employ foreign nationals.

Before January 1, 2025, these thresholds were 100,000 TL paid-in capital, 800,000 TL gross sales or USD 150,000 in exports. The old figures still circulate online; you need to base your application plan on the current threshold. For extension applications, the financial criterion in force on the date of the first application is taken into account.

Salary criterion: multiples of the minimum wage

The salary to be paid to the foreign national, taking into account the gross minimum wage on the application date, cannot fall below a floor that depends on the role:

• Senior executives and pilots: 5 times the minimum wage
• Engineers and architects: 4 times the minimum wage
• Other managers: 3 times the minimum wage
• Jobs requiring expertise and mastery: 2 times the minimum wage
• Domestic services and other jobs: minimum wage level

Writing this floor into the contract is not enough; the same salary must also be reflected in payroll and in the SGK notification.

Work permit conditions for foreign nationals who are company partners

Additional conditions apply to a foreign national who is a partner in the company and will actually work in it. Under the evaluation criteria, at a workplace subject to the balance sheet basis, the foreign national’s capital amount must be at least 500,000 TL and their shareholding at least 20%; the company’s paid-in capital must also be at least 500,000 TL. The first permit is granted with an annotation conditional on the employment of at least five Turkish citizens at the workplace, and this condition is checked every month from the seventh month onward.

A foreign partner whose capital share is USD 100,000 or more is exempt from these capital and employment conditions. This distinction is an important planning point for an investor determining the capital structure when setting up a company.

Does every foreign partner have to obtain a work permit?

No. According to the Ministry’s frequently asked questions, board members of joint stock companies who do not reside in Turkey and partners of other companies who do not hold a managerial position are considered within the scope of the work permit exemption. Managers who are partners in a limited liability company, board members who are shareholders in a joint stock company and managing partners of limited partnerships, on the other hand, can work by obtaining a work permit.

Work permit application for foreign nationals: applying from within Turkey vs. from abroad

A work permit application for a foreign national follows one of two routes depending on where the foreign national is. In both routes, the employer’s side is handled in the e-İzin system accessed via e-Government (e-Devlet), and documents are uploaded electronically.

Application from within Turkey

If the foreign national is in Turkey and holds a residence permit valid on the application date and issued for a period of at least six months, the employer can apply directly. Under the Implementing Regulation, in applications made from within Turkey, the foreign national must start work within one month from the start of the permit.

Application from abroad

If the foreign national is abroad, they first apply for a work visa to the Turkish embassy or consulate general in their country and obtain a reference number. They pass this number on to the employer, and the employer completes the application through the system. Under the Implementing Regulation, the employer must approve this application through the system within thirty days of the work visa application.

Once the permit is approved, the foreign national enters Turkey with the visa. According to the Ministry’s explanations, address registration must be completed within 20 days at the latest after entry, and work must start within one month of entry and in any case within six months of the start of the permit.

How long does the application take, and what happens after approval?

Under the Law, applications with complete information and documents are concluded within thirty days. If documents are missing, the assessment is postponed; the period for completing the missing items cannot exceed thirty days, except in the case of documented force majeure. What prolongs the process most is therefore not the Ministry’s workload but missing or incorrectly uploaded documents.

Obligations after approval are also time-bound:

1. Fee and valuable paper charge: If not paid within thirty days of the notification date, the application is rejected; because the amounts are updated every year, check the current charge on the Ministry’s website.
2. SGK employment start notification: A foreign employee is reported as insured just like a Turkish employee.
3. Departure notification: The start and end of employment are notified to the Ministry within 15 days. For permits tied to an employer, the employment start and termination notifications made to SGK satisfy this obligation.

Common mistakes in work permit applications for foreign nationals

The mistakes that delay work permit applications for foreign nationals in our clients’ files are mostly the same:

• Having the employee start work before the permit is issued, relying on a short-term residence permit
• The trade registry gazette not showing the latest capital change
• Uploading the diploma translation without certification, or forgetting the recognition certificate for engineers
• The salary in the contract falling below the floor in the criteria
• Not recalculating the five-Turkish-citizen ratio when a new foreign national is added
• The passport being due to expire shortly after the application

All of these mistakes can be prevented with a check before the application. Updating the company’s employment and capital figures while preparing the documents takes less time than dealing with a “missing document” letter later.

Work permits for foreign staff and employment cost

When planning work permits for foreign staff, we recommend considering the permit conditions together with the employment cost. The five Turkish citizens required for each foreign national directly affect the company’s payroll structure. The premium burden of this new employment can, where the conditions are met, be reduced through SGK incentives ; however, the incentive conditions need to be assessed separately before applying.

For example, consider an investor setting up a new software company in Turkey who wants to bring in two specialists from abroad (hypothetical example). This investor should first check whether the company can benefit from the IT sector exceptions, and then look at the capital and salary floors. Getting the order right avoids having to make a capital increase after the company has been established.

You can find our other articles on company types, branches and foreign-owned companies in Turkey in the Company Formation in Turkey category.

Last updated: 17.10.2026