People & Permits
Work permits for your foreign senior hires under International Labour Force Law No. 6735. End-to-end through the Ministry of Labour, residence card through Migration Management, fast-track route for R&D and tech-park personnel where it applies.
What it is
Foreign senior engineers, designers, art leads, producers, and managers all need a work permit before they can be on the Turkish payroll. The regime sits under International Labour Force Law No. 6735, administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, with the residence card issued separately by the Migration Management Presidency (PMM) under Foreigners Law No. 6458. The application turns on three gating tests: a salary floor expressed as a multiple of the gross minimum wage, a foreign-to-Turkish employee ratio (1 to 5 in general), and a credible role-and-candidate match. R&D Centre and tech-park personnel sit on a fast-track route that bypasses some of the standard requirements. We run the application end-to-end: company-side documents, candidate-side documents, e-Devlet submission, Ministry review, and residence-card and tax-number coordination on approval. Family permits coordinated where dependants are coming with the principal.
Three eligibility gates
Most refusals trace back to one of these three tests. We check them before filing and fix what needs fixing in the role definition, the salary level, the ratio position, or the document pack.
Roles are paid at defined multiples of the gross monthly minimum wage. Senior and manager roles typically 6.5×, engineering 4× to 6.5×, IT and R&D 6.5×. Domestic roles 1.5×. Multipliers revised periodically.
Evidence
Employment contract showing the floor met, plus the role-and-salary structuring memo where the candidate's compensation needs tuning.
General rule: maximum 1 foreign employee for every 5 Turkish employees at the entity. R&D Centre and tech-park employees are not counted against this ratio. Small entities under 5 employees can apply for a special exception.
Evidence
Last three SGK premium service declarations confirm the Turkish headcount. The ratio is checked at submission, not at the start of employment.
Passport with at least 60 days of validity beyond the permit duration. Apostilled and translated degree. Biometric photograph. Position certificate matching the role title and salary on the application.
Evidence
Country-specific apostille instructions provided; translation network engaged where required; document validity checked before filing.
Fast-track routes
R&D Centre and tech-park personnel sit outside the foreign-to-Turkish ratio rule and run on expedited Ministry handling. The Turquoise Card is a separate premium track for top talent, granted by Presidential decree and indefinite after a 3-year probation. Where one of the three applies, we run it.
R&D Centre personnel
Law No. 5746 fast-track. Simplified documentation, ratio rule bypassed, expedited Ministry review.
Tech-park personnel
Law No. 4691 fast-track. Same simplified handling for staff working on approved zone projects.
Turquoise Card
Law No. 6735 Article 11. Indefinite permit after a 3-year probation. Granted by Presidential decree to top talent and strategic investors.
How we do it
4 to 8 weeks end-to-end. R&D and tech-park fast-track files run a few weeks faster.
Eligibility check
Role title, salary level, candidate qualifications (degree, work experience), passport validity, and the Turkish entity's foreign-to-Turkish employee ratio reviewed against current rules. If anything will trip the file, we flag it before submission and adjust the role definition, the salary level, or the timing.
Company-side document pack
Application form, Trade Registry Gazette, tax registration certificate, activity certificate, signature circular, last 3 SGK premium service declarations (for ratio confirmation), job description, and signed employment contract. Assembled in one PDF that matches the Ministry's filing format.
Candidate-side document checklist
Passport copy (minimum 60-day validity beyond the permit duration), biometric photograph, apostilled and translated degree, CV in the Ministry format, signed application form. We provide a checklist with country-specific apostille instructions and a translation network.
Submission via e-Devlet
Application filed through the Ministry of Labour's e-government portal. Within 10 working days the candidate's passport is registered with the Turkish consulate in their country (if applying from abroad) so the work-permit visa can issue at the same time.
Ministry review
Standard Ministry review window is 30 calendar days. Document requests answered, supplementary evidence supplied. R&D and tech-park personnel benefit from expedited handling under Law 5746.
Residence card and tax number
On approval, candidate enters Türkiye on the work-permit visa. Residence card (ikamet kartı) issued through Migration Management. Tax number issued by the local tax office. SGK enrolment processed by payroll. Family residence permits coordinated for dependants travelling with the principal.
What's included
Key facts
Bundled in
Pricing
USD 2,400 per principal applicant. Family residence permits USD 800 per dependant. Apostille, translation, and Ministry fees passed through at cost. Turquoise Card track scoped separately.
Related services
A Ministry-certified R&D Center under Law No. 5746. A stack of incentives that drops the effective cost of R&D and design personnel sharply, once the file is approved.
Bilingual full-time, contractor, and NDA templates that comply with the Turkish Labour Code, survive a Turkish court, and lock down IP assignment for every line of code, frame of art, and asset your team produces.
Monthly gross-to-net under Income Tax Law No. 193 and Social Insurance Law No. 5510. Every exemption applied, every declaration filed, every payslip bilingual. R&D and tech-park stack handled where it applies.
Free 30-minute discovery call. We'll match the right services to your stage and come back with a fixed-fee proposal.
