Foreign nationals who want to work in Türkiye are required to obtain a “Work Permit” or “Work Permit Exemption Certificate”.
Work permits are issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, General Directorate of International Labor. If the foreign national will be working in Türkiye with an employment contract or a service contract, he/she should find an employer to apply for work permit on his/her behalf first.
In terms of duration, when the permit first issued, if the “employment contract or service contract period is less than one year”, the permit will be issued for the duration of the contract, and if the contract period is more than one year, then the permit is to be issued for a validity period of one year.
According to the International Labour Code No. 6735, which is the primary law for foreign nationals who want to work in Türkiye and which was published in the Turkish Official Gazette dated 13/8/2016 and numbered 29800, a foreigner whose work permit application is evaluated positively is granted a work permit for a maximum of one year on the first application, provided that the foreigner works in a specific workplace belonging to a real or legal person or a public institution or organization or in a specific job in their workplaces in the same sector, provided that the term of the work or service contract is not exceeded.
This is called “definite-term work permit” according to the Turkish legislation. The definite-term work permit gives the rights provided by a residence permit as well, during the validity.
If the work permit extension application is evaluated positively, the foreigner is granted a work permit for a maximum of two years on the first extension application and up to three years on subsequent extension applications, under the same employer. However, applications made to work for a different employer are evaluated within the scope of the first the paragraph of the Article 7 of the aforimentioned law.
As an important point, if the employee leaves the job he/she is granted a work permit for, the permit will be invalid immediately. In other words, the work permits are granted in Türkiye for working at a specific workplace not in the nature of a general permit which gives you the right to work at whichever workplace you wish.
Obtaining the Indefinite-Term Work Permit
However, an indefinite-term work permit is also defined in the Turkish legislation regarding work permits. Accordingly, foreigners who have a long-term residence permit in Türkiye or a legal work permit of at least eight years can apply for an indefinite work permit.
This has to be noted that, meeting the application requirements does not grant the foreigner absolute rights.
A foreigner with an indefinite work permit benefits from all the rights provided by a long-term residence permit. A foreigner with an indefinite work permit benefits from the rights granted to Turkish citizens, except for the regulations in special laws, provided that their acquired rights regarding social security are reserved and that they are subject to the provisions of the relevant legislation in the use of these rights.
As to note, the foreigner with an indefinite work permit does not have the right to vote, be elected, enter public office, or the obligation to perform military service.
