As a rule, the participation of a foreign national in the labour market in Türkiye is conditional upon a work permit. The legislation, however, identifies a group that falls outside this general rule by reason of the nature or duration of the work to be carried out or of the foreign national’s status. The work permit exemption is the document that affords those persons the possibility of working and residing in Türkiye and of entering and leaving the country more than once. It should be emphasised at the outset that the exemption is a narrow and exhaustively enumerated field; a foreign national who does not fall within one of the groups listed in the Regulation must follow the ordinary work permit procedure.
In this briefing note we assess the groups of foreign nationals who may benefit from the exemption, the application process conducted through the e-exemption system, the documents required, the periods granted, the charges payable, the grounds for refusal and cancellation, and the legal routes available against such decisions.
The Concept of the Work Permit Exemption
The work permit exemption is a document that enables a foreign national who holds no work permit to work in Türkiye, to reside in the country and to make multiple entries and exits. The power to issue the document belongs to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and that power may be exercised only in respect of persons to whom the legislation grants an exemption.
Groups of Foreign Nationals Within the Exemption
The foreign nationals who may benefit from the exemption are listed in Article 48 of the Implementing Regulation of the International Labour Force Act. The groups set out in that article, together with the maximum periods prescribed for each, are collected below.
There are two groups to whom an exemption may be granted for up to one month: foreign nationals who will carry out activities in the fields of science, culture and the arts, and cross-border service providers.
The groups for whom an exemption of up to three months is prescribed are as follows:
- Foreign nationals who will provide training in relation to goods and services exported from Türkiye or imported into Türkiye; likewise, those who will provide training on the use, maintenance or repair of machinery and systems brought into the country
- Foreign nationals who live abroad but who are determined by the ministries to be of Turkish descent
- Foreign nationals who will carry out sporting activities
- Foreign nationals who are not resident in Türkiye and who serve as members of the board of directors of joint stock companies
- Foreign shareholders in company types other than joint stock companies who do not hold managerial capacity
An exemption of up to four months applies to foreign nationals who will undertake an internship within the framework of inter-university international exchange programmes such as Erasmus, AIESEC and Farabi. Where the programme in question is approved by the Directorate General of International Labour Force, that period may be extended to 12 months.
The cases in which an exemption of up to six months is prescribed fall under three headings: those to be employed in seasonal agricultural and livestock work as determined by the Directorate General of International Labour Force; those notified by the relevant public institutions and organisations as making a significant contribution to the country in the economic, technological, educational or socio-cultural fields; and those who will work at fairs and circuses held outside the premises of certified tourism establishments. For foreign nationals who will act as tour operator representatives, the period is eight months.
For a number of foreign nationals, instead of a fixed upper limit, the period during which the activity or the status continues is taken as the basis:
- For athletes, coaches, physiotherapists, masseurs and similar personnel who come to the country on a sports-annotated visa upon the favourable opinion of the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), the term of the contract signed with the sports clubs in Türkiye
- For those working within the framework of the financial cooperation agreements concluded between Türkiye and the European Union, their working periods
- For foreign seafarers serving on vessels registered with the Turkish International Ship Registry but sailing outside the cabotage line, the date on which the employment contract will end
- For foreign university students enrolled on one of the formal education programmes in Türkiye who are under a compulsory internship obligation, the duration of the internship
- For those holding officer status at the diplomatic or consular missions of foreign States in our country, the term of their duties; for those employed at the same missions under an employment contract, the termination of the contract
- For foreign nationals working at schools, cultural institutions and religious institutions operating as affiliated units of those missions, the term of their duties
- For foreign nationals who come to Türkiye for the TUS or DUS examination, the duration of the training
- For foreign nationals undertaking specialisation training in medicine or dentistry, the duration of the training
- For foreign personnel, researchers and managers who will work within the Turkish-Japanese University of Science and Technology, the term of their employment contracts
- For those working at factories and shipyards attached to the Ministry of National Defence (MSB) or within the Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE), the term of their employment contracts
A frequent misconception should be mentioned here: being listed in the article does not mean that the exemption arises automatically. The foreign national concerned must make an application in due form; the conditions and the route to be followed are explained below. For those who fall within none of the groups listed, the only option is the general work permit route; that subject is addressed in the note entitled “foreign work permit”.
The Procedure for Making the Application
The exemption request is submitted electronically through the e-exemption system. As to the method of logging in, what is decisive is where the foreign national is located at the time of the application.
If the applicant is in Türkiye, he or she accesses the system through e-Government where a foreign identification number beginning with 99 is held; a foreign national who has no such number logs in with passport details. If the applicant is abroad, he or she first applies to the Turkish foreign mission in the country of residence to obtain a reference number and logs in to the system with that number.
Once the steps in the system have been completed and the required documents uploaded, the application record is finalised and the file passes to the Ministry for assessment. Three elements must be present together for the request to be received favourably: the applicant must be among the foreign nationals for whom an exemption is prescribed in the Act and the Regulation, the documents must have been uploaded to the system in full, and the request must not conflict with international labour force policy.
A Work Permit Exemption Certificate is issued in the name of a foreign national whose request is accepted. The person requesting the transaction subject to a fee is obliged to meet the relevant payments; accordingly, an electronic mail message is sent to the applicant to pay the fee and the valuable paper charge. Payment must be completed within 30 days of the date of notification. Where the period is missed, the application is refused and no route of objection is available against that decision.
The scope of the payment obligation varies according to the duration of the exemption. Where the exemption is to be granted for a period of 3 months or longer, the issue of the certificate is conditional upon payment of both the fee and the valuable paper charge. Where the period is less than 3 months, no fee is sought; if the issue of a certificate is requested, payment of the valuable paper charge alone is sufficient.
A separate time limit applies to requests made from within the country: the application must be submitted within 30 days of the date on which the foreign national entered Türkiye, and exceeding that period results in refusal.
Documents to Be Submitted with the Application
The documents forming the basis of the exemption file are as follows:
- A biometric photograph of the foreign national
- A passport, or a document treated as a passport, that remains valid
- Information on educational background and, where applicable, on the workplace, together with the supporting evidence
These must be uploaded to the system through the e-exemption application. In addition, documents proving the foreign national’s situation must be added to the file according to the type of exemption requested.
Obtaining the exemption certificate depends on meeting the criteria in the legislation and on the documents being complete. Those two elements are not, however, sufficient on their own; the procedural steps must also be conducted faultlessly. Otherwise the application will be unsuccessful even where all the substantive conditions are thought to have been met. It will therefore be appropriate to obtain support from a lawyer experienced in the field of immigration law.
Duration of the Exemption and the Impossibility of Extension
The exemption is issued for the period requested, provided that the upper limit laid down in Article 48 of the Regulation for the relevant group of foreign nationals is not exceeded.
The point to be noted here is that the exemption cannot be extended. It is therefore advantageous to make the request in a manner that covers the period required — indeed, in most cases, on the basis of the maximum period.
Time Taken to Conclude the Application
Exemption requests are decided within an average of 30 days.
The Financial Burden of the Application
The financial burden of the application consists of the fee and the valuable paper charge. The fee varies according to the duration of the exemption and is calculated at TRY 3,090 for each year. The resulting position by period is as follows:
- TRY 3,090 for exemptions of one year or less
- TRY 6,180 for exemptions of between one and two years
- TRY 9,270 for exemptions of between two and three years
- TRY 12,360 for exemptions of between three and four years
- TRY 15,450 for exemptions of between four and five years
The valuable paper charge, in turn, is TRY 356 as at 2023. All the amounts given above relate to 2023.
No fee obligation arises in respect of exemptions of less than 3 months. In addition, where the issue of an exemption certificate is not requested, the valuable paper charge need not be paid either.
Refusal of the Application, Objection and Action for Annulment
Requests by persons who are not among the foreign nationals to whom an exemption may be granted, applications that are contrary to the legislation and files that do not meet the other conditions are refused. The grounds for refusal are regulated in Article 52 of the Implementing Regulation of the International Labour Force Act:
- Applications made by foreign nationals falling outside the scope of the exemption
- Requests incompatible with international labour force policy
- Applications by foreign nationals whose work in Türkiye is found objectionable in terms of national security, public order or public health
- Requests by persons in respect of whom a deportation decision has been issued
- Applications from foreign nationals who are not to be permitted entry into the country
- Applications made using forged or misleading documents
- Requests made for work that may, under the legislation, be carried out only by Turkish citizens
- Applications made by citizens of States that are not recognised by the Republic of Türkiye or with which no diplomatic relations have been established (such requests may nevertheless be accepted where the favourable opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is obtained)
- In applications made from within the country, requests not submitted within 30 days of the foreign national’s entry into the country
- Applications made contrary to Act No. 6735 or to the implementing regulation of that Act
The occurrence of one of the situations listed results in refusal of the application. The refusal decision is notified to the person concerned through the electronic mail address recorded in the system at the time of the application.
Two routes are available against the decision. The first is an objection to be made through the e-exemption system within 30 days of the date of notification; the second is an action for annulment that may be brought within 60 days beginning on the day following notification. Having taken the objection route does not extinguish the right of action; an action for annulment may also be brought where the objection is refused. The details of these routes are addressed in the note entitled “refusal of a work permit application”.
Reapplying After a Refusal
A foreign national whose request has been refused is not prevented from making a fresh exemption application; that right is, however, subject to a waiting period. As a rule, the period required is 12 months and it begins to run from the date on which the refusal decision was notified to the foreign national. For cross-border service providers, that period is prescribed as 6 months.
Cancellation of the Exemption, Objection and Action for Annulment
The work permit exemption may be cancelled at the request of the foreign national or of the employer, and is also terminated in the situations listed in Article 56 of the Implementing Regulation of the International Labour Force Act. The grounds for cancellation prescribed in the Regulation are as follows:
- The foreign national’s failure to enter Türkiye although 6 months have passed since the commencement of the exemption period
- The expiry, without extension, of the passport or of the document taking the place of a passport while the exemption is continuing (no cancellation takes place where the Ministry of the Interior or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs finds the position acceptable)
- A deportation decision being issued in respect of the foreign national, or the existence of such a decision being subsequently established
- The foreign national being among the persons who are not to be permitted entry into the country
- It emerging that the application was based on a forged or misleading document
- The work coming to an end for any reason
- It being established that the work carried out is contrary to the legislation
- An assessment that the foreign national’s work in Türkiye poses a danger in terms of national security, public order or public health
Where the exemption is cancelled, the exemption certificate must be returned to the Ministry within 15 days of the date on which the decision was issued.
A cancellation decision likewise affords the foreign national the possibility of an objection and an action for annulment; the procedure to be followed is the same as that explained above in respect of the refusal decision. A detailed assessment is again set out in the note entitled “refusal of a work permit application”.
Independent Legal Assessment
The work permit exemption is an institution regulated in detail in the legislation and drawn within narrow limits. Even a minor shortcoming in the application conditions or in the procedural steps may lead to refusal of the request. Equal care must therefore be taken both to satisfy the substantive criteria and to operate the procedure correctly.
Another point that stands out in practice is that the exemption is incapable of extension. A failure to plan the timing correctly at the moment of application may result in the legal basis disappearing in the middle of the activity. The following points should be brought to the fore in any specific file:
- Clarifying at the outset which group in Article 48 of the Regulation the foreign national falls within, and the maximum period prescribed for that group
- Planning the period to be requested according to the actual timetable of the activity, since the exemption cannot be extended
- Monitoring, in applications made from within the country, the 30-day period running from the date of entry into the country
- Not missing the 30-day period following the payment notification, and bearing in mind that a delay at that point gives rise to no right of objection
- Assessing the 30-day objection period and the 60-day litigation period together in the event of refusal or cancellation
- Not neglecting the obligation to deliver the certificate to the Ministry within 15 days of a cancellation decision
Independent Legal provides advisory services and conducts litigation in work permit and exemption processes for foreign nationals, from the preparation of the application file to the stage of administrative objection and action for annulment against refusal and cancellation decisions.