Work Residence in Turkey

Work residence is the only official type of residence permit in Turkey that allows you to work legally without running into legal issues regarding the employment of foreigners in Turkey.

The most important questions residents of Turkey have about work residence (work permit):

Question: What is the difference between work residence and a work permit?

Answer: In theory, there is no substantive difference. Work residence is one that originally started as a work visa or a tourist residence permit and was then converted into a work residence permit. A work permit, on the other hand, is one whose holder originally has a Kimlik (temporary protection/refugee ID) — whether Syrian or of any other nationality holding a refugee Kimlik within Turkish territory — and a work permit holder is treated like a Kimlik holder in terms of movement and travel within Turkey only, without leaving the country's borders.

Question: Some general information about work residence — where can you apply for it, what are the requirements, and what are the differences from other types of residence permits?

Answer: First, to avoid repetition and confusion between "work permit" and "work residence," we will use the term "work residence" to mean both interchangeably — wherever "residence" or "permit" appears, there is no difference between them.

Question: Where do you apply for work residence or a work permit in Turkey?

Answer: The application for work residence or a work permit is made through the company you work for, handled by the company's accountant or financial advisor. All procedures are done online, without paper submission, and once the work residence permit or work permit is issued, it is sent to the company's address, not the home address, as is the case with other types of residence permits.

Question: How does the online application for work residence work?

Answer: The application for work residence is made through two main sections. The first is preparing the company's data using the electronic signature (E-İmza), in terms of registering the workplace or company — what is known as workplace registration. It's important to make sure all the information is 100% accurate and correct — any error can lead to the work residence application being rejected later.

Question: What documents are required to apply for a work residence permit or work permit?

Answer: The required documents are divided into two main sections:

Section One — From the Applicant (the Employee):

1. A biometric photo, soft electronic copy (jpg).

2. The passport, soft electronic copy (pdf).

3. The Turkish residence permit, the Kimlik, or the reference number — which can be obtained from the Turkish embassy in the country from which you wish to apply — of course as a soft electronic copy (pdf).

4. The latest educational certificate/diploma, translated into Turkish and certified by the notary, soft electronic copy (pdf).

5. If the employee is married, the spouse's information is required, matching the passport.

6. Copies of the employment contract, signed by both parties — the employee and the company.

7. Note: the tourist residence permit, or whatever type of residence you wish to convert to work residence, must be valid for at least 6 months (in a few rare cases, this condition may be overlooked).

8. The length of time the employee has been in Turkey is required, in years or months.

9. Details of the employee's education — which university, their field of specialization, and what profession they were practicing before working at the company.

10. Contact information in Turkey — an email address and a Turkish phone number.

Section Two — From the Company Submitting the Work Residence (Work Permit) Application:

1. The electronic signature, known as e-imza.

2. The tax plate, soft copy (pdf).

3. The commercial registration record and the commercial registry gazette, soft copy (pdf).

4. The balance sheet (Bilanço), which must be obtained from the company's accountant or financial advisor.

5. The company's social security registration number (SGK Sicil Numarası).

Note: work residence permits or work permits cannot be issued for a company's employees if the company's foreign manager/owner does not themselves hold a work residence permit — this is worth emphasizing.

6. Additional documents may be requested during the work residence application process, so the application must be followed up on daily. If any additional documents are requested and not submitted within a specified period, the application will be rejected.

The Most Important Notes from Hallak Services Company:

After the work residence permit is approved, a message appears requesting payment of the work residence fees. After taking a screenshot or a printed copy, you can pay the fees at government banks, such as Ziraat Bank, or at tax offices, and then wait for the residence permit to arrive at the company's address.

It must be confirmed with the accountant or financial advisor that the company's address is consistent across the commercial registry, the tax office, and social security records — if it is not consistent, the work permit procedures cannot proceed.

When applying for a work permit (for Kimlik/temporary protection holders), having 5 Turkish citizen employees is not required in most cases.

A business owner or company owner obtains a work permit for the first time without being required to have Turkish employees. However, if the foreign company owner holds a short-term residence permit and then applies for work residence, upon renewal they will be required to have 5 Turkish citizen employees. To avoid application mistakes, you can contact Hallak Company to get your application submitted properly.