In Turkiye, foreign nationals are subject to permission to work in the country legally. The main legislative text on this subject is the International Labour Code No. 6735 dated 28.07.2016. According to the provisions of the International Labour Code No. 6735, employers who will employ foreigners to work in Turkey are required to obtain a work permit on behalf of the employee before the foreigner starts working.
According to the International Labour Code No. 6735, a foreigner whose work permit application is evaluated positively is given a work permit for a maximum period of one year at the first application. However, this maximum period is applied on the condition that it does not exceed the duration of the employment or service contract, provided that you work in a specific job at a specific workplace belonging to a real or legal person or public institution or organization, or at workplaces in the same business line.
If the work permit extension application is evaluated positively, the foreigner is granted a work permit for a maximum of two years in the first extension application and up to three years in subsequent extension applications, depending on the same employer. Limitation provisions do not apply to foreigners who are granted temporary protection.
For work permit applications made domestically, the foreigner must start working by fulfilling his obligations under Turkish Social Security Law within one month from the start date of the work permit. It is mandatory for the employer of the person who has received a work permit to notify the Social Security Institution with the “Employment Declaration.” If the date of notification of the work permit document to the employer and the start date of the work permit are different, notifications made to the Social Security Institution (SSI) within one month from the date of notification of the work permit document to the employer are deemed to have been made within the period.
For applications made from abroad, the foreigner must be declared as working within one month from the date of entry into the country and, in any case, within six months from the start date of the work permit by fulfilling his obligations under the relevant legislation. The notification in question will be made through the “Employment Declaration” to be submitted to the Social Security Institution by the employer of the workplace that will employ the person.
Foreigners who are granted a work permit based on an application made from abroad must come to Turkey within six months from the date the validity of the work permit begins, and the work permit of foreigners who do not come to Turkey within this period will be cancelled.
Without prejudice to the provisions of international social security agreements; foreigners who will work in Turkey with a service contract for more than three months by any organization established in a foreign country and on behalf of that organization are required to register with the social security system within the scope of the Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510. However, persons who are sent to Turkey for a job for a period not exceeding 3 months and who document that they are subject to social insurance in a foreign country will not be considered insured.
