For a foreign employee whose work permit has been approved, the SGK notification must be filed within 30 days of the permit start date (or the date the permit is served to the employer). Failure to notify results in an administrative fine for the employer; employing without a permit at all carries a separate and heavier sanction regime. Premiums are calculated the same way as for other employees — based on the declared wage. Confirming current figures against the official source is essential.
After Permit Approval: The General SGK Process Framework
When a work permit for a foreign employee is approved, most employers assume the process is over. In fact, permit approval is the start of a new set of obligations for the employer: notification of insured status, premium payments, and — for the duration of the permit — keeping that record up to date. This article summarizes the SGK process between permit approval and actually starting work, from the employer’s perspective.
In a work permit, the applying party is legally the employer — and this principle continues on the SGK side too. The responsibility for registering the foreign employee’s insured status in the system, notifying their premium, and tracking this throughout the permit period rests with the employer, exactly as it would for a Turkish citizen employee; the only difference is that a few additional rules and deadlines come into play for a foreign employee. (For the full general application process: Foreign Work Permit Application: Process and What to Know.)
A common misconception employers fall into at this point is thinking “the permit document is in hand, the process is complete.” In fact, the permit document is not a finish line for the employer but a waystation: from the moment it reaches you, a separate clock starts running on the SGK side, and there are steps that must be taken during that period. It is far safer for the HR or accounting team handling the work permit file to start the SGK calendar on the same day the permit is approved, rather than filing a rushed, error-prone notification later.
Another important point is that these obligations are not limited to the initial start-of-employment moment alone. If the employee’s wage, job description, or workplace changes during the permit period, that change must also be reported to SGK and, where relevant, to the Ministry. In other words, the SGK process is not a short formality that starts with permit approval and ends when work actually begins — it is a continuous set of obligations spanning the entire permit period.
In broad terms, the SGK process consists of the following steps:
- Permit approval: The work permit document being approved by the Ministry and served to the employer.
- Insurance notification: Registering the foreign employee with SGK through the entry declaration (see the 30-day rule below).
- Premium accrual: Monthly premium calculation and payment based on the declared wage.
- Ongoing tracking: If the employee’s information changes during the permit period (wage, title, termination), reporting that change to SGK on time as well.
Each of these steps has its own deadline, and a missed date directly creates a risk of administrative fines. That’s why employers managing the work permit process need to see the SGK calendar as part of the same file — not a separate task to be remembered later.
The 30-Day Rule: When Must the Insurance Notification Be Filed?
Under the Social Insurance Transactions Regulation, the entry declaration to SGK for foreign employees considered insured under Law No. 5510 must be filed within 30 days of whichever of the following two dates applies:
- The permit start date shown on the work permit document, or
- The date the permit document is served to the employer — if this date differs from the permit start date.
Which of these two dates applies is a technical detail that can vary from file to file; calculating from the wrong date can make a notification that was actually filed on time appear “late” in the system. That’s why determining the correct notification date is one of the process’s most error-prone points.
Important The 30-day period starts running not from the moment the permit approval reaches the employer, but from whichever of the two dates above applies. If there is a gap between the service date and the date you actually become aware of it, how that gap should be calculated must be confirmed with the official source.
A late notification carries a direct risk of an administrative fine for the employer — current amounts on this are addressed below in the “The SGK Dimension of Employing Without a Permit” section. Official source: Ministry of Labour and Social Security — Social Security of Foreign Workers.
Although the 30-day period may look short in practice, it contains several interlinked internal preparation steps on the employer’s side, and that preparation has its own timeline. A delay in any of these steps — for example, a file or system-related hiccup — can push the notification to the last day. That’s why, rather than leaving the 30-day period to the last week, starting work the day the permit document reaches you is a practical approach that minimizes the risk of delay.
The Premium Obligation Framework
The SGK premium for a foreign employee does not work any differently, in basic logic, than for a Turkish citizen employee: the employer’s and employee’s shares are calculated together, based on the declared gross wage, and accrued monthly to SGK. Premium rates and the calculation method are part of general SGK legislation.
The difference to note for a foreign employee is that the wage to be declared cannot be set arbitrarily:
- The declared SGK wage must be consistent with the wage stated in the work permit application.
- This wage cannot fall below a minimum floor that varies by permit type (see the “The Minimum Wage Link” section).
- The occupation code and position information must be declared in line with the description on the permit document — this preserves the file’s consistency with both SGK and the Ministry.
In practice, this requires the HR/accounting side to coordinate with whoever prepared the work permit file (a consultancy firm, if one was used, or the employer itself) — otherwise a mismatch can arise between the wage declared in the permit application and the wage reported to SGK, which can raise a red flag in later renewal or audit processes.
The SGK Dimension of Employing Without a Permit
Employing a foreigner without a work permit carries a distinct risk not only under migration law but also under SGK rules. Two sanction regimes operate independently of one another:
- SGK notification delay: An administrative fine applies for an employee who has a permit but was not notified on time.
- Unlicensed employment: Employing a foreigner without ever obtaining a work permit is subject to a separate and broader sanction regime (under Law No. 6735 on International Labour Force); an administrative fine may apply to both employer and employee, and it is increased on repetition.
We deliberately do not give an exact figure here — administrative fines are updated every year by the revaluation rate and vary depending on the nature of the case (first detection or repeat). For the current, case-specific figure, we recommend confirming it on the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s official administrative fines page: Ministry of Labour and Social Security — Administrative Fines.
The cost of unlicensed employment is not limited to the fine alone: if a permit application is made later, the earlier unregistered period can negatively affect how the file is assessed; and the employee being left uninsured means uncertainty and risk for both sides. An incomplete or late notification can cost the employer time and effort, and in some cases require a fresh application.
The Minimum Wage Link: A Floor That Changes by Permit Type
It is a general rule that the wage to be declared in the work permit application and the SGK notification for a foreign employee cannot fall below a minimum floor that varies by permit type. Different permit types (for example, standard work permit, independent work permit, categories such as the Turquoise Card) can be subject to different minimum wage multipliers — these floors are updated from time to time and differ by permit type.
We deliberately do not give a complete table in this article, because these floors are both frequently updated and dependent on the file’s permit type, sector, and position. The basic principle to know is this: the declared wage must meet the minimum floor applicable to that permit type — a notification made with a wage below this floor can create problems for both the permit application and the SGK process. For the general framework of work permit types: Work Permit Types.
What the applicable minimum wage floor is for your sector and position is a detail that must be confirmed against current official criteria — the exact figure specific to your company’s file is clarified during the consultancy process.
This floor has two practical consequences. First, when planning budget on the employer side, it’s not just the gross salary that needs to be factored in but also the SGK employer share added on top — meaning the permit-type-linked minimum wage effectively sets the floor for the employer’s total employment cost. Second, the same minimum floor rule also applies to renewal applications; a floor that was met at the initial application can automatically shift as the minimum wage is updated over the years, which means the renewal file also needs to be reassessed against current criteria.
Commonly Confused Points
1. “Once I have the permit document in hand, the SGK process starts by itself”
No. SGK notification is not automatic; the employer must actively enter the entry declaration into the system. The existence of the permit document does not remove the notification obligation — it only determines the start date.
2. “The 30 days run from the day the employee actually starts work”
This is not always correct. The period starts running from the permit start date or the date the permit document is served to the employer; the actual day the employee starts work does not change this calculation. This distinction can cause confusion especially in files where the employee’s arrival date from abroad differs from the permit date.
3. “The SGK premium can be set independently of the wage declared in the permit application”
No. The SGK wage to be declared must be consistent both with the declaration in the permit application and with the minimum floor tied to the permit type. A mismatch between these two figures can be questioned at a later audit or renewal stage.
Why Setting Up the File Correctly from the Start Matters
The SGK process after work permit approval may look like a technical formality at first glance, but it actually consists of several interlinked, date-bound obligations: the notification deadline, premium consistency, the minimum wage floor. Missing any one of these creates both an administrative burden for the employer and the risk that an otherwise successfully concluded process gets questioned later.
As an employer, your real job is running your company; tracking the dates and consistency of the work permit and SGK process is a separate area of expertise. Since legislation is updated frequently, it’s healthier to check the current situation on every file rather than rely on a single past experience. By taking on the process coordination — from your company’s work permit application to the SGK notification calendar — we take this tracking burden off your shoulders. For details: Foreign Staff Work Permit.