Turkey becomes more and more a country where citizens of other countries live, work, or reside. The increase in the number of foreigners means that the legal problems related to foreigners also increase. For foreigners, it is a matter of concern how they can exercise their rights in a country of which they are not a citizen. Laws in Turkey aim to protect the rights of foreigners and prevent them from being victims. It is important for foreigners to learn rights they have by getting support from experts in order to benefit from the rights provided by the law.

One of the most common legal procedures foreigners encounter is residence permit and work permit.

Residence permit; It is the legal document foreigner should obtain from the Immigration authority determines the period of stay in Turkey for foreigner who will stay in Turkey longer than the visa period determined by the country. Legal regulations regarding residence permit are included in the Law on Foreigners and International Protection and Law No. 5683 on Residence and Travel of Foreigners in Turkey.

Except for foreign nationals who are exempt from a residence permit; foreign nationals are required to obtain a residence permit in order to be in Turkey for periods that do not include visa periods.

Types of residence permits according to the requirements of being in Turkey are as follows:

• Short term
• Long term
• Family
• Student
• Victim of human trafficking
• Humanitarian residence permit

After determining which of these types is suitable for a foreign national, a residence permit application can be made.

A work permit is a type of permit that every foreigner who is in the Republic of Turkey and wants to work must obtain from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, giving the person the right to work and reside. It is not legal for a foreigner who does not have a work permit to work in a workplace in any sector in Turkey. This situation has been linked to some sanctions.

A work permit can be obtained from within the country or abroad. However, the procedures for obtaining a work permit from home or abroad differ.

Not every foreigner who wants to work in Turkey will have a work permit. Work permit for foreigners is subject to certain criteria and conditions. Foreign nationals who meet these conditions and criteria and get approval as a result of the application made legally have the title of a worker in Turkey.

The conditions for a work permit for foreigners can be listed as follows:

• The paid-in capital of the workplace for which the permit application is made must be at least 100,000 TL. In addition, the gross sales amount of this workplace should be 800.000 TL or the export amount of the company in the previous year should be 250,000 USD.
• At least 5 (five) of the employees in the workplace where the foreign worker wants to work must be citizens of the Republic of Turkey. In case the foreign worker is a company partner, it is required that at least 5 workers from the Republic of Turkey work at the workplace within the last 6 months of the work permit period. In general, there should be 1 foreign employee for every 5 Turkish citizen employees.
• If the work permit is to be obtained on behalf of the company partner, the foreigner, who is the partner of the company, who wishes to obtain it, must have at least 20% of the capital share. This figure should be over 40.000 TL.
• The salary to be paid to the foreigner by the workplace should be at a level proportional to the duty and work of the foreign employee and should definitely be more than the minimum wage. Minimum wage amounts are determined by the ministry and must be checked before applying.
• The first two conditions are not sought for applications made to work in housework (patient-elderly-childcare).
• If the company is a tourism and travel company, condition 2 is not required.

As stated above, in order to obtain a residence permit and work permit, foreigners are required by law to fulfil certain conditions.

Our firm, with its expert staff working in the field of foreign law provides consultancy services to companies and individuals for the right applications, expert support and file preparation and follow-up processes are carried out especially in the following fields;

Obtaining residence permit for foreigners,

Extension of existing residence permits periods,

Obtaining work permit documents for foreign citizens,

Extension of existing work permits periods.