Pehlivan & Güven Law FirmPublished:
If you are planning to employ a foreign national in Türkiye, or if you are a foreign national who wants to work in Türkiye, a work permit must be obtained before starting work. In this guide you will find the current fees for 2026, the application process, the Ministry's assessment criteria and the legal consequences of employment without a permit.
Short answer
For a foreign national to work in Türkiye, a work permit must be obtained from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security before starting work. Except for the independent work permit, the application is made by the employer through the e-İzin system using their e-signature. Applications with complete documents are decided within 30 days. In 2026 the fee for a permit of up to 1 year is TL 12,574.90; in addition, a valuable paper fee of TL 964 is paid. A valid work permit also replaces a residence permit.
A work permit is a document issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (ÇSGB) that gives a foreign national the right to work legally in Türkiye. The subject is governed by International Labour Force Law No. 6735 and its Implementing Regulation. A valid work permit also replaces a residence permit (Article 27 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458 (YUKK)); therefore the foreign national does not need to obtain a separate residence permit. Applicants for international protection, conditional refugees and persons under temporary protection are excluded from this rule.
This article explains the general framework. Domestic services, foreign nationals without a residence permit, refusals and objections, and foreign nationals of Turkish descent are covered in detail in separate articles of this series.
The Law recognises three basic types of permit. Which one is obtained depends on whether the foreign national is tied to an employer and how long they have been in Türkiye.
Fixed-term work permit: Granted to a foreign national who will work for a specific employer. It is granted for a maximum of 1 year on the first application; a maximum of 2 years on the first extension with the same employer; and a maximum of 3 years on subsequent extensions.
Indefinite work permit: Granted to a foreign national who holds a long-term residence permit or has held a legal work permit for at least 8 years. The holder of an indefinite permit enjoys the rights granted to Turkish citizens, with the exception of the right to vote and stand for election, the right to enter public service, and military service. Meeting the conditions does not confer an absolute right to be granted the permit.
Independent work permit: Granted to a professional who will work in their own name and on their own account.
Different employer: An application made upon a change of employer is not treated as an extension but is assessed as a new application.
Exemption: For certain short-term work such as scientific and cultural activities, installation, and maintenance and repair, a "work permit exemption" is obtained instead of a permit.
All applications are made through the ÇSGB's e-İzin system using the employer's e-signature. There are two routes depending on where the foreign national is:
From within Türkiye: The foreign national must hold a residence permit in Türkiye valid for at least 6 months and valid on the date of application. Certain groups specified by the Ministry may also apply from within Türkiye without a residence permit, provided they are legally present in Türkiye; the most important example of this is domestic services.
From abroad: The foreign national applies to the Turkish consulate in the country of which they are a citizen or where they are legally present, and receives a 16-digit reference number. The employer completes the e-İzin application with this number within 30 days.
How long does it take? Under the law, applications with complete and duly prepared documents are decided within 30 days. A request for missing documents extends this period.
| Permit Duration | Fee (TL) |
|---|---|
| Up to 1 year | 12,574.90 |
| 1-2 years | 25,149.80 |
| 2-3 years | 37,724.70 |
| Indefinite or independent | 125,802.20 |
In addition to the fee, a valuable paper fee of TL 964 is paid for each permit. The amounts increase every year by the revaluation rate; you can make the payment through the Digital Tax Office or through partner banks (Ziraat, Halkbank, VakıfBank). The application cannot be finalised if less or more than the exact amount is paid.
The Ministry decides according to the "Work Permit Assessment Criteria" it has set under Article 22 of the Implementing Regulation and has wide discretion. There are three general criteria:
Employment: At least five Turkish citizens must be employed at the workplace for each foreign national.
Financial adequacy: The workplace must have paid-in capital of at least TL 500,000, or net sales of at least TL 8,000,000, or exports of at least USD 150,000.
Wage: Depending on the job, the wage paid to the foreign national may not be lower than a certain multiple of the minimum wage (5 times for senior managers and pilots, 4 times for engineers and architects, the minimum wage for domestic services).
From 03.08.2026, for foreign nationals who have been legally present in Türkiye for at least one year within the last three years, the employment and financial adequacy criteria are not applied, subject to a limit of three persons per workplace.
Falling within the exemption does not mean that a permit will be granted; it only means that these three criteria are not applied. Blue Card holders, on the other hand, are outside the scope of the Law and may work without obtaining a permit (Article 28 of Law No. 5901).
What the employer must do after the permit has been obtained:
Extension: The extension application is made starting 60 days before the permit expires and in any event before it expires.
Notification: Circumstances requiring the termination or cancellation of the permit must be notified to the Ministry within 15 days. Where the start or end of employment has been notified to the Social Security Institution (SGK), no separate notification is required.
Wage: Paying less than the wage declared in the application is a ground for cancellation of the permit.
The permit is cancelled in the following cases: the foreign national does not come to Türkiye within 6 months of the start of the permit, stays abroad continuously for more than 6 months (1 year for indefinite and independent permits), or it later emerges that the application was made with a forged document.
| Violation | Administrative Fine |
|---|---|
| Employer employing a foreign national without a permit (per foreign national) | TL 102,503 |
| Foreign national working independently without a permit | TL 82,010 |
| Foreign national working as an employee without a permit | TL 40,977 |
| Failure to comply with the notification obligation (per foreign national) | TL 6,805 |
If the same violation is repeated, the fine is doubled. A deportation order may also be issued against a foreign national found to be working without a permit (YUKK Art. 54/1-ğ).
No. Except for the independent work permit, the application is made by the employer. In an application from abroad, the foreign national goes to the consulate, but the e-İzin application is still completed by the employer.
As a rule, no; an application from within Türkiye requires a residence permit valid for 6 months. Domestic services are an important exception to this rule.
No. A valid work permit replaces a residence permit (YUKK Art. 27).
Starting 60 days before the current permit expires, and in any event before it expires.
No. Blue Card holders are outside the scope of the Law.
The work permit process for foreign nationals in Türkiye begins with the application made by the employer through the e-İzin system and is concluded according to the Ministry's assessment criteria. As of 2026, the official cost of a 1-year permit is TL 13,538.90. Employing someone without a permit has serious consequences, such as administrative fines and deportation. You are advised to consult a lawyer about your particular situation.
