Pay Attention to These Things During the Foreign Work Permit Application Process!

In order for an individual who does not have Turkish citizenship to work in our country, they must first apply for a foreign work permit and obtain a work permit. At this point, it should be emphasized that it is not legal for a business to employ foreign workers without obtaining a foreign work permit from the Ministry of Labor. So how do you apply for a foreign work permit? It is possible to say that there are actually 2 different ways to do this. The first of these is for the person to start the foreign work permit application process before entering the country. The other is to apply for a foreign work permit after entering the country. The operation of the two methods and the required documents may differ from each other.

 

What are the Required Documents for a Foreign Work Permit?

When it comes to the foreign work permit application process, employers and employees have different responsibilities. For this reason, we have discussed the two separately below.

Documents Required by the Employer – How to Apply for a Foreign Work Permit?

Let’s start by looking at the question of how to obtain a foreign work permit from the employer’s perspective. The employer must provide the following documents for the foreign employee:

• Activity Certificate,
• Tourism Operation Certificate for touristic businesses and facilities,
• Trade Registry Gazette,
• Last year’s financials certified by the Tax Office or a certified public accountant,
• E-signature authorization.

For work permit applications for home services, nannies, babysitters or caretakers, the employer needs to provide much fewer documents:

• E-signature,
• Certified population registration copy,
• If an employee is being hired to care for a sick or elderly person doctor’s report.

Documents Required by the Employee – Foreign Work Permit Application Process

• 6-month residence permit for applications made domestically,
• Consulate reference number for applications from abroad,
• Passport copy,
• Diploma or temporary graduation certificate copy,
• 1 biometric photograph.

The employee’s diploma is not requested within the scope of home services. However, other documents must be provided.

What Conditions Should a Company Obtaining a Foreign Work Permit Meet? – How to Apply for a Foreign Work Permit?

For a foreign work permit application, not only the employee but also the business must meet certain conditions. The conditions that the business must meet can be listed as follows:

• The paid-in capital of the company must be at least 100 thousand TL,
• At least 5 Turks must be employed for each foreigner who will work in the business,
• In cases where the employee is a partner in the company, his/her share must be at least 20% and worth 40 thousand TL.

However, those who have been married to a citizen of the Republic of Turkey for at least 3 years, foreigners whose parents or children are Turkish citizens, TRNC citizens, those with humanitarian residence permits and Ahıska Turks are exempt from these conditions.

What to Do During the Foreign Work Permit Application Process

Those who apply for a foreign work permit from abroad must obtain an invitation and employment contract from the company they will work for in Turkey and submit their first application with these documents to the Turkish Consulate in their country. After this, a reference number is assigned to the person through the e-work permit system and with this number, the person must complete the procedures within 10 business days and send the file to the General Directorate of International Labor via the internet. For those who have a residence permit of at least 6 months in Turkey, their employer or legal representative must apply using the e-work system. After the first application, the application form is submitted to the Ministry of Labor online within 6 business days with an e-signature. All documents must also be scanned and uploaded to the system in the same way.