Turkish Labor Law
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Q: Can we file a work permit application inside Turkey for a foreigner staying in the country with tourist visa.
A: No, it is not possible to apply for a work permit inside Turkey concerning a foreigner who is staying in the country with a tourist visa. Only holders of valid residence permission (valid for a minimum of 6 months, except for residence permits for educational purposes) in Turkey or their employers may apply directly to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
Q: Can I apply for a general working permission, and choose my workplace?
A: No, foreigners may be granted a work permit for only a specific workplace. The permit terminates when they quit working in this workplace. There is no system that will allow foreigners to apply for and get a work permit and then choose their work or workplace. Application for permit should be filed by the employer who wants to employ foreigner.
Q: Could we employ a foreigner who has a work permit granted for working in another company?
A: Foreigners are granted work permits to work in a specific workplace or dwelling, the permit loses its validity when they quit this specific workplace. The company who wish to employ the foreigner should apply for a new work permit. In case a new permission issued the old one will be cancelled.
Q: As an employer, how can we cancel the work permit of a foreigner who has not started work or left after started?
A: The employers that employ foreigners are obliged to inform the situation to the Ministry within at most fifteen days when they have started to work, in case they do not start working within thirty days from the date when the working permission was issued, from the end of this date and from the date when the service contract was terminated for any reason.
Cancellation of work permit can be done online by uploading a petition in pdf. format on Ministry’s website. The cancellation petition should be signed by employer or employer representative and must include the date and reason of leaving. No hardcopy will be submitted to Ministry.
Q: Is it compulsory to employ at least five Turkish citizens for employing a foreign employee?
A: Yes, at the workplace for which work permit is requested, at least five persons who are citizens of the Republic of Turkey must be employed for each foreign employee.
Q: Foreign partners of companies who will reside in Turkey and will only use their authority to sign; do they have to get work permit?
A: Foreign partners of limited liability corporations and board members of joint-stock companies who are residing or going to reside in Turkey are required to get work permit. Also foreign national managers of limited liability corporations should have work permit, regardless of whether they are residing in Turkey or not.
Q: Can foreign student be employed in Turkey?
A: Pursuant to Article 41 of Law No. 6458, foreign students attending an associate, undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate programme in Turkey may work, provided that they obtain a work permit. However the right of work for associate or undergraduate students starts after the first year of their study and the weekly working hours shall not exceed maximum twenty-four hours.
Q: If the title or address of workplace in which work permit holder is working changes, should the work permit be cancelled?
A: In this case, necessary modifications can be done by the Ministry provided that the evidencing document (i.e. chamber of commerce document) verifying the situation is obtained from official authorities.
Q: Is notification of residential address obligatory for work permit holders, and how can it be done?
A: As per Article 26 of Law No. 6458, foreigners arriving Turkey with a residence or a work permit issued by the consulates should register with the address based registration system no later than twenty working days as of the date of arrival. This can be done by applying to relevant district register office.
Q: In case our application for work permit has been refused, can we reapply for it?
A: No, it is not possible to reapply for foreigners whose work permit application is refused.
