Frequently asked
questions.

Foreigners covered by the International Labour Force Law generally must obtain a work permit or applicable exemption before beginning work.

Generally yes. A work permit or qualifying work-permit exemption issued under Law No. 6735 generally also counts as a residence permit during its validity, subject to statutory exceptions for certain protection statuses.

Applications can generally proceed through domestic or overseas procedures using the Ministry's e-İzin system, depending on the applicant's circumstances.

Domestic applications are available in qualifying circumstances. The Ministry states that foreigners with an eligible residence permit of at least six months that remains valid at the application date can generally be filed for domestically by the employer, subject to specified exceptions.

The overseas process generally begins at a Turkish embassy or consulate in the applicant's country of citizenship or lawful residence. The applicant receives a reference number, which the Turkish employer then uses for the Ministry application.

For a standard employer-dependent work permit, an employment relationship with the relevant employer is fundamental to the application.

In ordinary employer-sponsored applications, the employer plays a central role and submits the relevant Ministry-side application and employer documentation.

Work-permit applications are assessed against current Ministry criteria, which can include employment, financial-capacity and salary criteria as well as sector- or applicant-specific rules.

A first fixed-term work permit may be issued for up to one year, provided it does not exceed the duration of the employment or service contract.

Yes. Timely extension applications can result in permits of up to two years on the first extension and up to three years on subsequent extensions with the same employer, subject to approval and applicable conditions.

An extension application may be made from 60 days before expiry and must be filed before the existing permit expires.

Because standard fixed-term permits are linked to a specified employer/workplace and job, changing employers can require a new work-permit process rather than simply transferring the existing permit.