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Work

Work permit

As a foreigner, you will need a Work Permit to work and live in Turkey.

Exceptions

According to Article 8e of Law No. 4817 about work permit for foreigners: "[...] working permission may be given [...] to citizens of the countries that are a member of the European Union [...]".

Note: apparently this does not apply in practice.

Reference: YABANCILARIN ÇALIŞMA İZİNLERİ HAKKINDA KANUN.

Evaluation criteria

  • Employment of at least five Turkish citizens is compulsory in the workplace for which work permit is requested.
  • The paid-in capital of the workplace must be at least 100,000 TL or the gross sales must be at least 800,000 TL or the last year's export amount must be at least 250,000 USD.
  • The monthly wage declared to be paid to the foreigner by the employer must be:
    • 4 times the minimum wage for engineers.
    • 1.5 times the minimum wage for foreigners who will work in professions other than domestic.
  • In cases requiring advanced technology or in the absence of a Turkish expert with the same qualifications, the criteria determined by the 1st and 2nd articles will not be applied upon the approval of the General Directorate.

Reference: Uluslararası İşgücü Genel Müdürlüğü | Çalışma İzni Değerlendirme Kriterleri

Process summary

Step by step work permit application

Reference: Uluslararası İşgücü Genel Müdürlüğü

The Ministry will take up to 30 days process the request, given that all of the required documents are provided.

Reference: YABANCILARIN ÇALIŞMA İZİNLERİ HAKKINDA KANUN.

Within a maximum of 180 days after the date the work permit is issued the foreigner must enter into Turkey.

Reference: Turkey Work Permit - Turkish Consulates.

Grants

Traineeships

They cover the travel and subsistence costs. The application must be done through the university and have a Learning Agreement.

R&D grants