FOREIGN INVESTMENT GUIDE

• BUILDING A BUSINESS
• WORK PERMIT
• RESIDENCE PERMIT
• REAL ESTATE AND CITIZENSHIP ACQUISITION
• COST OF DOING BUSINESS
• INVESTMENT AREAS
• TAX GUIDE
• LEGAL GUIDE

2.WORK PERMIT

1. First Application

The application for a work permit in Turkey can be made from Turkey or from abroad.

For applications from abroad, foreigners are required to apply for a work permit to the Republic of Turkey representatives in their country of citizenship or permanent residence, with the submission of the employment contract, assignment letter or company partnership document. The employer in Turkey is obliged to make the electronic application within ten working days following the application date to the representative offices and to deliver the necessary information and documents to the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services in person or by mail. The representatives of the Republic of Turkey and the ministry carry out the procedures regarding the work permit applications to be made from abroad in electronic environment.

Foreigners whose application has been approved by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services and whose work permit is issued must enter Turkey within one hundred and eighty days. Except for residence permits issued for education in Turkey, foreigners or their employers who have a valid residence permit valid for at least six months at the time of application can apply for a work permit. Foreigners in this situation are not obliged to apply to the foreign representative offices of the Republic of Turkey. The documents required for the application must be submitted to the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services in person or by mail within six working days following the electronic application.

The Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services finalizes the work permit applications by taking the opinions of the relevant ministries and authorities when necessary. Work permit applications made duly, are finalized by the ministry within thirty days at the latest, provided that the documents are complete and complete. If the ministry determines that the application has been made with missing documents, the applicant is informed with a request to complete the missing documents. In this case, the thirty-day period starts from the date the missing documents are submitted to the ministry. The Ministry also notifies its positive or negative decision regarding the work permit application to the relevant foreign representative of the Republic of Turkey (through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) in order to inform the foreigner who made the application from abroad. In the applications made within the country, it is notified to the foreigner or the employer. Foreigners who enter Turkey by obtaining work and residence permits from the consulates are required to register with the Address Registration System in Turkey within twenty working days following their entry into the country.

The procedures and principles regarding the work permit of foreigners to be employed in Turkey differ for the education sector, home services sector, health sector, tourism sector, aviation sector, entertainment sector and other sectors as well as foreign direct investments, Special foreign direct investments, professional services and liaison offices. The following information includes the procedures and principles for the work permit process in foreign direct investments.

• Documents Required from the Employer Institution in the First Application

• Work permit application petition (The petition will be scanned during the electronic application and will also be sent by the employer on paper with a wet signature.)
• Foreign personnel application form (The form to be filled in electronic environment will be signed by the employer and the foreigner after it is printed and sent to the ministry as a copy in paper form. In the absence of a signed form, the employment contract between the parties will be submitted. If the form is unsigned and there is no employment contract, the application will not be processed.)
• Turkey Trade Registry Gazette showing the latest capital and shareholding structure of the organization (This document will be scanned and sent online during electronic application.)
• Balance sheet and profit / loss statement for the last year, approved by the tax office or certified public accountant (This document will be scanned and sent online during the electronic application.)
• Information and documents proving that the workplace is within the scope of Special Foreign Direct Investments * (These documents will be sent over the internet by scanning during electronic application.)
• The document certifying that the organizations (including consortiums) that have been awarded the right to carry out international tender by public institutions and organizations have undertaken the work to be received from the relevant institution and organization (This document will be scanned during the electronic application and sent over the internet.)
• Payroll to prove that Turkish engineers / architects / urban planners are employed in the same profession in legal entities that will employ foreign experts within the scope of engineering, architecture, contracting and consultancy services (This document will be scanned and sent online during electronic application.
• The notarized power of attorney of the person authorized to make the electronic application as a user on behalf of the institution and organization that will employ foreign personnel, or a document showing that the person who is the user works in the institution and organization that made the application (This document will be scanned and sent online during the electronic application.)

1.2. Documents Required From Foreigners In First Application

• For applications to be made within the country, except for the residence permits issued for education in Turkey, a sample of a residence permit valid for at least six months at the time of application (This document will be scanned and sent online during the electronic application.)
• If the foreigner requesting a work permit does not have a valid residence permit, it is obligatory to submit a work permit application to the representatives of the Republic of Turkey in the country of foreign nationality or permanent residence by submitting a document showing the employment contract or company partnership. However, if it is proven (By submitting a certified copy of the part of the letter or passport showing the visa and entry date from the Police Department) that the foreigner with the status of key personnel to be employed in companies that meet at least one of the Special Foreign Direct Investments * criteria is legally present in Turkey, the work permit application can be made directly to the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services. In this context, foreigners with key personnel status who have been granted work permits are required to enter Turkey by obtaining a work visa from the foreign representative offices of the Republic of Turkey.
• If the foreigner has the status of key personnel, the information and documents stipulated in Article 10 / b of the Regulation on the Employment of Foreign Personnel in Foreign Direct Investments (These documents will be scanned and sent online during the electronic application.)
• Copy of the passport (In cases where the passport is not written in Latin letters, a sworn translator or officially approved translation will also be attached to the application. This document will be scanned and sent online during the electronic application.)
• Copy of diploma or temporary graduation certificate with Turkish translation approved by a certified translator or official authorities (This document will be scanned during the electronic application and sent over the internet and also in paper form.)
• In addition to the above documents, in addition to the above documents, the "Diploma or Temporary Graduation Equivalency Certificate" to be received in accordance with the "Foreign Higher Education Diplomas Equivalency Regulation" (This document will be scanned and sent online during the electronic application).

2. Application for Extension

The request for extension of the work permit is made directly to the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services by the foreigner or the employer, by adding the original of the previous work permit document to the documents specified in the application form and the application regulation.

Work permit and time extension applications must first be made electronically. In this context, in order for work permit or time extension applications made electronically and approved and approved by the system to be valid, the printout of the barcoded application form taken in the internet environment must be signed by the foreigner and the employer on paper and delivered to the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services within six working days following the approval of the application made over the internet along with other documents specified in the annex of the regulation.

The request for the extension of the work permit must be made within a maximum of two months back from the expiry date. Extension applications made within fifteen days at the latest from the end of the work permit are also taken into consideration. Extension applications made after this period are subject to the principles applicable to foreigners who apply for the first time. In the work permit extension applications made with a valid residence permit (as in the first applications made within the country), the required documents must be submitted to the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services within six working days following the electronic application.

After the one-year legal work permit period, an extension request for two years can be made for the current work permit to work in the same workplace or enterprise and in the same profession. At the end of a total of three years of legal employment, the current work permit can be extended for an additional three years in order to work in the same profession and with any employer. Foreigners who have legally and uninterruptedly resided in Turkey for at least eight years or who have a total of eight years of legal work can apply for an indefinite work permit.

• Documents Required from the Employer Institution in the Application for Extension

• Work permit extension application petition (The petition will be scanned during the electronic application and will also be sent by the employer on paper with a wet signature.)
• Foreign personnel application form (The form to be filled in electronic environment will be signed by the employer and the foreigner after it is printed and sent to the ministry as a copy in paper form. In the absence of a signed form, the employment contract between the parties will be submitted. If the form is unsigned and there is no employment contract, the application will not be processed.)
• In case of change, the Turkey Trade Registry Gazette showing the latest capital and shareholding structure of the organization (This document will be sent over the internet by scanning during the electronic application.)
• Document indicating that the workplace does not have tax debt (This information will be accessed online by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services from the records of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.
• The Social Security Institution insured registration number of the foreigner specified in the application form and the Social Security Institution registration number of the workplace, whether the social security obligations of the workplace and the foreigner are fulfilled (This information will be checked by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services from the Social Security Institution records.)
• The notarized power of attorney of the person authorized to make the electronic application as a user on behalf of the institution and organization that will employ foreign personnel, or a document showing that the person in the capacity of user works in the institution and organization that made the application (This document will be scanned and sent online during the electronic application.)

• Documents Required From Foreigner For Extension Application

• Copy of the passport (In cases where the passport is not written in Latin letters, a sworn translator or officially approved translation will also be attached to the application. This document will be scanned and sent online during the electronic application.)
• Previous work permit and cover letter (These documents will be sent online by scanning during electronic application.)
• Work permit for work permit issued by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services (This document will be scanned during the electronic application and sent over the internet.)
• The temporary membership document required by foreigners, who have been granted work permits as engineers, architects and urban planners, pursuant to Article 36 of the Law No. 6235 of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (This document will be scanned and sent online during the electronic application.)

* Special Foreign Direct Investments

Within the scope of the "Regulation on Foreign Employment in Foreign Direct Investments", work permits are subject to special provisions and it is aimed to give work permits more easily. Work permit applications requested for personnel to be employed in foreign direct investments outside this scope are subject to the above-mentioned general provisions.

 The scope of the Regulation on Foreign Employment in Foreign Direct Investments is determined by two basic conditions:

3. Special Foreign Direct Investments (including liaison offices)

Within the scope of the "Regulation on Foreign Employment in Foreign Direct Investments", work permits are subject to special provisions and it is aimed to give work permits more easily. Work permit applications requested for personnel to be employed in foreign direct investments outside this scope are subject to the above-mentioned general provisions.

 The scope of the Regulation on Foreign Employment in Foreign Direct Investments is determined by two basic conditions:

• Special Foreign Direct Investments (including liaison offices)
• Foreign national key personnel

The term “Special Foreign Direct Investment” refers to a company or branch subject to Foreign Direct Investments Law no. 4875, and meeting at least one of the following criteria (figures applicable for year 2019):

• Provided that the total capital share of the foreign shareholders is at least TL 1,888,190, the turnover of the company or branch in the last year must be at least TL 141.9 million.
• Provided that the total capital share of the foreign shareholders is at least TL 1,888,190, the company or branch exported at least 1 million USD in the last year.
• Provided that the foreign shareholders hold at least TL 1,888,190 of the capital, the company or branch employs at least 250 personnel registered with the Social Security Institution in the last year.
• If the company or branch will make an investment, the minimum fixed investment amount envisaged is at least 47.1 million Turkish Liras
• Having foreign direct investment in at least one more country other than the country where the parent company is headquartered

Key personnel are personnel of a legal entity company established in Turkey who meet at least one of the following conditions:

1. a) A company partner, chairman of the board of directors, member of the board of directors, general manager, deputy general manager, company manager, deputy director of the company and similar positions who are authorized or authorized in at least one of the following areas

• Working in senior management or an executive position of the company
• Managing all or part of the company
• Auditing or controlling the work of the company's auditors, administrative or technical staff
• Recruiting new staff for the company or dismissing existing staff or making offers on these matters

1. b) Person with knowledge deemed essential to the company's services, research equipment, techniques, or management
2. c) At most one person whose authorization certificate is issued by the parent company abroad

Fee on Work Permit of Foreigners: Work permit documents to be issued to foreigners in accordance with the Law on Fees No. 492 are subject to a fee. If the work permit request is approved by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services, a fee must be paid according to the duration of the leave.

Valuable paper fee is collected from the work permits issued to foreigners in accordance with the provisions of the Valuable Papers Law No. 210. Work permit fees and valuable paper amount are determined each year on the basis of the revaluation rate and published in the Official Gazette.

Detailed information on work permits:

www.ailevecalisma.gov.tr/uigm