Turkey Work Permit (Çalışma İzni) Guide: Types, 2026 Fees, Employer Criteria and Turkish Vocabulary

A job offer in Istanbul or Izmir is exciting, but before your first day you need a work permit (çalışma izni). Türkiye’s system is strict: working without one can mean a fine for both you and your employer and a referral for deportation. The good news is that the rules are published in detail by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (Çalışma ve Sosyal Güvenlik Bakanlığı, ÇSGB). This guide summarises them, gives the official 2026 fees, and teaches the Turkish you will need when you talk to your company’s HR department.

Disclaimer: This is a language-learning guide, not legal advice. Work permit rules and fees change, often every January. Check the current rules on the ÇSGB work permit pages or call the ministry’s ALO 170 line before you act. Facts below were checked on 14 October 2026.

First, the key rule: residence ≠ right to work

Many newcomers assume a residence permit (ikamet izni) lets them take a job. ÇSGB says the opposite: having a residence permit does not give you the right to work, unless you are a refugee or have secondary protection status. It works the other way round, though: a valid work permit replaces your residence permit under Law No. 6458. If you are still on a visa exemption, read our e-Visa and tourist visa guide first.

The four main types of work permit

All of these are defined in the International Labour Force Law (Law No. 6735).

If you plan to freelance or run your own business, the independent permit is the one to read about. Our guide to freelancing and working legally covers the tax side.

How the application works, step by step

1. Get a signed job contract. The employer and you sign an employment contract (iş sözleşmesi). ÇSGB publishes model contracts.
2. Decide where to apply from.
   • From abroad: you go in person to the Turkish embassy or consulate in the country where you are a citizen or legal resident. You receive a 16-digit reference number, which you send to your employer.
   • From inside Türkiye: possible if you hold a residence permit that was issued for at least six months and is still valid.
3. The employer applies online through the e-İzin system (via e-Devlet). You do not apply on your own.
4. Upload the documents. These include the signed contract, a copy of your passport, and a diploma with a sworn Turkish translation. Engineers and architects with foreign degrees also need an equivalence certificate, and health or teaching jobs need a pre-approval from the relevant ministry. If you need translations, see our guide to the notary and sworn translation.
5. Wait for the decision. ÇSGB says a complete application is decided within 30 days. The result is sent to the email address in the application and shown in e-İzin.
6. Pay the fees within 30 days. If you don’t pay within 30 days of being notified, the application is rejected.

Passport validity

ÇSGB will not issue a permit that runs past the date 60 days before your passport expires. It does not process applications if your passport has less than 60 days left. Renew your passport early.

What the ministry looks at: employer criteria

ÇSGB publishes its general evaluation criteria (değerlendirme kriterleri). The headline points for 2026:

• 5 Turkish employees per foreigner. The workplace should employ at least five Turkish citizens for each foreign employee. Companies with net sales of 50,000,000 TL or more in the last year are exempt for up to five foreigners.
• Financial strength. The employer needs paid-in capital of at least 500,000 TL, or net sales of at least 8,000,000 TL, or exports of at least US$150,000. New companies need the 500,000 TL capital.
• Minimum salary, as a multiple of the gross minimum wage on the application date:

• New in 2026: since 3 August 2026, ÇSGB does not apply the employment and financial criteria to domestic applications for foreigners who have lived legally in Türkiye for at least one year in the last three years. This is capped at three such foreigners per workplace, and the number of foreigners must not exceed the number of Turkish staff.

There are sector exceptions. For example, the employment and financial criteria are not applied to software and IT specialists at IT-sector companies, and teaching and health jobs follow their own rules.

Some professions are reserved for Turkish citizens by law. ÇSGB’s list includes dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, tourist guiding, judges and prosecutors, mediators, and certified public accountants (mali müşavir).

Official 2026 fees

ÇSGB’s fee table applies from 1 January 2026 (Fees Law General Communiqué No. 98, Resmî Gazete 31 December 2025):

You can pay by card on the Revenue Administration’s Dijital Vergi Dairesi (dijital.gib.gov.tr), using your foreign identity number (yabancı kimlik numarası) and the reference ID emailed to you. If you lose the card, you pay half the original fee plus the full card fee again.

After approval

• From abroad: you pay the work permit, residence and visa fees at the mission, get a work visa in your passport, and enter Türkiye. ÇSGB says you must register your address within 20 days of entry; see our address registration guide. You must start work, with your social security registration done, within one month of entering. If you don’t come to Türkiye within six months of the permit’s start date, the permit is cancelled.
• From inside Türkiye: you must start work within one month of the permit’s start date.
• Social security: your employer registers you with SGK. This also gives you health cover; see our health insurance guide.
• Extensions: apply from 60 days before expiry, and always before it expires. While an extension is pending you may keep working for up to 90 days past the expiry date, as long as your job and workplace stay the same.

What to say to HR

Notice how the necessitative mood (-meli/-malı, “must”) and the ability suffix (-ebil-, “can”) do most of the work here.

Siz:      Merhaba, çalışma iznim için hangi belgeleri hazırlamalıyım?
          (Hi, which documents should I prepare for my work permit?)

İK:       Pasaportunuzun fotokopisi ve diplomanızın yeminli tercümesi gerekiyor.
          (We need a copy of your passport and a sworn translation of your diploma.)

Siz:      Diplomamın Türkçe tercümesinin onaylı olması gerekiyor mu?
          (Does the Turkish translation of my diploma need to be certified?)

İK:       Evet, yeminli tercüman tarafından onaylanmış olması lazım. Başvuruyu biz e-İzin üzerinden yapacağız.
          (Yes, it has to be certified by a sworn translator. We will submit the application through e-İzin.)

Siz:      Başvuru ne kadar sürer?
          (How long does the application take?)

İK:       Belgeler eksiksizse genelde otuz gün içinde sonuçlanır.
          (If the documents are complete, it is usually decided within thirty days.)

Siz:      Sonuç çıkmadan çalışmaya başlayabilir miyim?
          (Can I start working before the result comes out?)

İK:       Hayır, maalesef. İzin onaylanmadan başlayamazsınız.
          (No, unfortunately. You can't start before the permit is approved.)

Work permit vocabulary

The passive forms you see on official pages, such as düzenlenir (“is issued”) and reddedilir (“is rejected”), are explained in our guide to the Turkish passive voice.

Common mistakes

• Starting work “while the paperwork comes through”. Work before approval is illegal work, with fines for you and your employer.
• Changing jobs without a new application. A fixed-term permit is tied to one employer; a new employer means a new first application.
• Forgetting the passport rule. A passport with less than 60 days of validity left blocks the application.
• Missing the payment deadline. Unpaid fees after 30 days mean rejection, and you start again.
• Letting the permit lapse. File the extension from 60 days before expiry; after expiry it is too late.
• Assuming a degree is enough. Some professions are closed to foreigners, and others need a pre-approval or a diploma equivalence certificate.

Next steps

Once your permit is approved, set up your bank account for salary payments and check your SGK registration on e-Devlet. If you want to follow workplace conversations in Turkish, take our free level test to see where to start.