Foreign Work Permit Application:
process and what to know.

What Is the Work Permit, Who Needs It?

For every foreign-national person who will earn income within the borders of the Republic of Türkiye, obtaining a work permit under International Labour Law No. 6735 is a statutory requirement. Employment without obtaining a permit creates serious sanctions for both the employer and the employee: administrative fines, deportation of the employee, and the employer being placed in a disadvantageous position in subsequent applications — these are among the possible outcomes.

The work permit is divided into four main types:

• Fixed-term work permit — initially 1 year, with 2-3 year extensions on renewal
• Indefinite work permit — a permanent permit granted after certain conditions are met
• Independent work permit — for foreigners setting up their own business
• Exceptional work permit — for special categories such as investment, art, high-level technical

Application Process — A 4-Step Overview

A work permit application consists of four stages at a high level. Each stage has its own details and file-based differences:

1. Preparation stage. The employer company and the employee gather the documents required for the application completely. Validity periods and formats of the documents are critical — an out-of-date or wrongly formatted document can return the process to the very beginning.
2. Online application. Filed by the employer through the electronic portal of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. The foreign employee does not have the authority to file the application personally — this is an important principle.
3. Ministry evaluation. An average review period of 30-35 business days based on documents and employer-employee suitability. If additional documents are requested, the period extends.
4. Decision. The application is accepted, additional documents are requested, or it is rejected. In a positive outcome, after the fee payment the permit is served.

Employer Company Suitability Criteria

For the work permit to be obtained, the employer company must meet certain basic criteria. These criteria examine the situation of the company that will employ, not of the foreign employee:

• The company must employ at least 5 Turkish citizens (per foreign employee)
• The company’s paid-in capital must be at least 100.000 TL (or the previous year’s turnover/export amount must meet defined thresholds)
• It must be an active tax payer and have SGK registration
• It must not have any tax or SGK debt
• The gross wage to be paid to the foreign employee must not be less than a certain multiple of the minimum wage (varies by position)

How Long Does the Process Take?

After documents have been submitted completely, the Ministry’s evaluation period is on average 30-35 business days. However, the actual time varies depending on the type of application, the completeness of the file and the current workload at the Ministry.

Main factors that extend the period:

• Request for additional documents or clarification from the Ministry (adds 2-6 weeks to the process)
• Application in the wrong category — reapplication for correction is required
• Past noncompliance of the employer or the employee (tax, SGK, residence violation)
• Out-of-date or wrongly formatted documents — a renewal process begins

If the application is rejected, there is a defined waiting period before reapplication. During this period the foreign employee cannot be lawfully employed — a serious financial and operational burden for both the employer and the employee.

Common Mistakes

From our 22 years of sector experience, the typical situations that negatively affect applications:

1. Wrong category choice

Determining the type without evaluating the foreign employee’s position, education and the company’s structure together is risky. An application made in the wrong category is often rejected; time and cost come as an additional burden for the reapplication.

2. Document missing or date problem

Every document has a validity period (generally 3-6 months). A document valid at the time of application can become out-of-date during the Ministry’s evaluation. Additional procedures such as apostille, translation and notary certification also make planning difficult.

3. Previous violations of the employer company

SGK, tax or problems experienced in previous applications of the company automatically place the new application in a disadvantageous position. These situations can be identified and remedied, but require proactive analysis.

4. Employee’s past residence situation

The foreigner’s prior tourist visa violation, residence permit rejection or deportation decisions in Türkiye directly affect the application. This past must be clarified before the application.

Professional Support for the Process

Work permit regulations are dynamic: certain arrangements change about 3-4 times a year on average. The document list, the application portal interface, the category boundaries and even the application fees are updated. An application made with last year’s information can fall short this year.

A wrong application is not only lost time: the inability of the employee to be lawfully employed during this period disrupts the employer’s operation; in case of rejection, the waiting period before reapplication and the fees to be paid again bring additional cost. Correct category determination, preparation of the current document list and submission in a format suitable to the Ministry significantly increase the probability of the process resulting positively on the first attempt.

At JS Vural Danışmanlık, with our 22 years of sector experience, we handle the entire process from file preparation to Ministry follow-up on behalf of the employer and the employee in work permit applications. Every file is unique — our free initial consultation is available for the analysis of your situation.