Work Permit Consultancy in Turkey

An extension application is filed from 60 days before the work permit expires, and in any case before it expires.

Analysis of the employment, financial capacity and partnership conditions for companies that will employ foreigners, and choosing the right application strategy. Criteria are assessed under the rules in force on the application date.

• Basic Employment Criterion

  At least 5 Turkish citizens must be employed for each foreigner. At workplaces with net sales of 50,000,000 TRY or more in the last year, the criterion is not applied for up to five foreigners.

• 03.08.2026 Exception (Domestic Applications)

  For domestic applications on behalf of foreigners who stayed in Turkey lawfully for at least one year in the three years before the application (under a work permit, residence permit or international protection), the employment and financial criteria are not applied for up to three foreigners; the number of foreigners at the workplace must not exceed the number of Turkish employees. For the fourth and later foreigners, 5 Turkish citizens per foreigner and financial capacity are required.

• Financial Capacity

  Paid-in capital of at least 500,000 TRY, or net sales of at least 8,000,000 TRY, or exports of at least 150,000 USD in the last year (since 01.01.2025). For newly established workplaces (with no balance sheet yet), paid-in capital of at least 500,000 TRY is required.

• Foreign Company Partners

  For a partner-foreigner, the workplace’s paid-in capital must be at least 500,000 TRY, the foreigner’s capital at least 500,000 TRY and the share at least 20%. The first permit is issued with a condition; from the start of the seventh month of the permit, at least 5 Turkish citizens must be employed at the workplace every month. These criteria are not applied to foreign partners with a capital share of 100,000 USD or more.

• Sector-Specific Rules

  Separate exceptions and conditions apply to IT, tourism, education, health, domestic services and livestock. For example, at workplaces outside the IT sector, the employment and financial criteria are not applied for up to two foreigners in expertise jobs such as software development, database, mobile software, system network and security, and enterprise architecture; in certified tourism businesses the employment criterion is not applied where at least 10 Turkish employees are employed, under certain conditions. Temporary facilitations of the employment criterion, valid until 31.12.2027, exist for manufacturing, poultry farming and recycling; for example, at poultry farms with fewer than five employees, up to two foreigners are exempt from the employment and financial criteria in domestic applications, provided the number of foreigners does not exceed the number of Turkish employees.

• Foreigners Exempt from the Criteria

  The evaluation criteria are not applied to parents or children of Turkish citizens, people married to a Turkish citizen for at least three years, holders of long-term or humanitarian residence permits, holders of human trafficking victim residence permits, holders of a stateless person identity document, persons of Turkish origin and citizens of the TRNC. From 03.08.2026, foreigners who have lawfully stayed in Turkey for at least eight years on a work permit or various residence permits (short-term, family, student, long-term, humanitarian, human trafficking victim) fall into this group too.

• Time-Limited (Dependent) Work Permit

  Granted on condition of working for a specific employer and at a specific workplace. Up to one year for the first application; up to two years for the first extension with the same employer and up to three years for later extensions.

• Independent Work Permit

  A time-limited permit that allows the foreigner to work on their own account without being tied to an employer; factors such as education level, professional experience, contribution to science and technology, and the activity’s effect on the economy and employment are assessed.

• Indefinite Work Permit

  Foreigners with a long-term residence permit or at least eight years of lawful work permit may apply; meeting the conditions does not create an absolute right. The document is renewed every five years.

• Turquoise Card

  Granted to qualified foreigners on criteria such as education level, professional experience and contribution to science and technology. The first three years are a transition period; after that, on application, an indefinite Turquoise Card is issued with the rights of an indefinite work permit.

Amounts were reviewed on 29/09/2026. Fees are updated every year; the bracket that applies depends on the period granted and is determined on the outcome of the application. The fee and valuable paper charge must be paid through the Digital Tax Office within 30 days of the payment notification; otherwise the application is refused. Wage multipliers are applied to the gross minimum wage on the application date.