Short answer: foreign students enrolled in associate or bachelor degree programmes at a Turkish higher education institution may work part-time after completing their first year; postgraduate students face no such restriction. Work permit applications for students in the entertainment sector or domestic work are refused.
1. Associate and bachelor degrees: part-time work after the first year
Foreign students enrolled in formal associate or bachelor programmes at a Turkish higher education institution may work part-time after completing their first year (Work Permit Evaluation Criteria 9.1). The province where the student studies and similar factors are taken into account (9.5).
2. Postgraduate students: no restriction
Work permit applications for postgraduate students enrolled in formal programmes are not subject to the 9.1 restrictions (9.2).
3. Entertainment sector and domestic work bans
Applications filed for foreign students to work in jobs unsuitable to their status in the entertainment sector, or in the domestic work sector, are refused (9.4).
4. Scholarship students: institutional opinions
- For students studying under the Türkiye Scholarships programme, the opinion of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities is obtained (9.6).
- For students benefiting from the YÖK Scholarship Programme, the opinion of the Council of Higher Education is obtained during studies and after graduation (9.7).
5. Student status and other rules
Whether the applicant is a student is determined from Council of Higher Education records (9.3). General rules apply to document fees and durations: for 2026 the one-year permit fee is 12,574.90 TRY and the document fee is 964.00 TRY.
Source: Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Directorate General of International Labour, Work Permit Evaluation Criteria (B.9) and the fee schedule. Reviewed on 29/09/2026.