Work Permits in Manufacturing, Livestock and Recycling

1. Manufacturing: the 5+1 concession (until 31.12.2027)

Applications in manufacturing are assessed against the general 1:5 employment criterion, counting the Turkish citizens the business employs nationwide. Where additional foreign staff is needed, until 31.12.2027, for every 5 Turkish citizens employed at the manufacturing workplace (branch-level), applications for one additional foreigner are assessed with an exemption from the 1:5 employment criterion (Work Permit Evaluation Criteria 10.A.1, effective 03.08.2026).

2. Poultry farming: 5+1 and two foreigners for small workplaces

For additional foreign staff in animal care, poultry house maintenance and similar jobs, until 31.12.2027, the 1:5 employment criterion is not applied for one foreigner per 5 Turkish citizens at the workplace (branch-level) (10.B.1, effective 03.08.2026).

For workplaces with fewer than five Turkish employees, domestic applications are, as a rule, exempt from the employment and financial adequacy criteria for up to two foreigners provided that the number of foreign workers under this provision does not exceed the number of Turkish citizens (10.B.2, effective 03.08.2026).

3. Recycling: waste collection, recovery and disposal

For collectors, recycling workers and similar jobs, until 31.12.2027, the 1:5 employment criterion is not applied for one foreigner per 5 Turkish citizens at the workplace (branch-level) (10.C.1, effective 03.08.2026).

As in poultry farming, workplaces with fewer than five Turkish employees hiring domestically are exempt from the employment and financial adequacy criteria for up to two foreigners as long as foreigners do not outnumber Turkish citizens (10.C.2, effective 03.08.2026).

4. Livestock: shepherds and animal carers

Livestock holdings registered with the Animal Information System must meet minimum herd sizes to employ shepherds and animal carers (10.1):

• Small ruminant holding: at least 200 head of small ruminants;
• Cattle fattening holding: at least 100 head of cattle;
• Dairy holding: at least 50 head of cattle;
• Mixed (fattening and dairy) holding: at least 75 head of cattle.
• For each threshold unit one shepherd/animal carer may be employed, and up to three foreigners per holding are employed without the employment criterion (10.2); these holdings are also exempt from the financial adequacy criterion (10.5, effective 11.03.2026).
• Applications require the opinion of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (10.3); employees entering on permits issued abroad changing employers within six months are refused except in force majeure (10.4).

5. The wage criterion

Shepherds and animal carers may be employed under "domestic service and other jobs" at not less than the gross minimum wage; technical and production staff are subject to job-group floors of up to 2×. The 2026 gross minimum wage is 33,030.00 TRY (criteria effective 01.10.2024).

6. The six-month rule and general criteria

Where this section is silent, the general evaluation criteria apply (B.11.1). A foreigner whose permit is granted under a sector exemption who applies domestically within six months of the permit start date for a different employer or sector is refused except in force majeure (B.12.1).