Refusal of a Work Permit: Grounds and Remedies

Article 9 of the International Labour Force Act sets out subparagraph by subparagraph the circumstances in which a work permit request is to be refused. We examine the grounds of refusal, the assessment criteria applied by the Ministry, the foreign nationals exempt from those criteria, and the objection and annulment proceedings to be pursued against a refusal.

An unfavourable outcome to a work permit request generally has one of two sources: a failure to satisfy the conditions required by Article 9 of the International Labour Force Act, or a procedural error made at the application stage. The subparagraphs of that article set out one by one the situations that may form the basis of a refusal; when the administration gives an unfavourable decision, it relies on one or more of them.

A refusal is not the end of the process. Those concerned may both lodge an objection with the Ministry and bring an action for annulment before the administrative courts. Below we examine the grounds of refusal subparagraph by subparagraph, the assessment criteria laid down by the Ministry in detail, and the legal avenues to be pursued against an unfavourable decision together with their time limits.

When a Work Permit Request Is Refused

The grounds of refusal are listed in Article 9 of the International Labour Force Act. Under that provision, applications bearing the following characteristics are determined unfavourably:

Applications incompatible with international labour force policy
Applications based on information or documents that are untrue or misleading
Applications in which the justification submitted for employing the foreign national is found insufficient
Applications made in respect of work and professions reserved by other statutes exclusively to Turkish citizens
Applications made for foreign nationals found not to hold the required qualifications and expertise
Applications that do not meet the assessment criteria laid down by the Ministry
Applications relating to foreign nationals notified by the Ministry of the Interior as falling within Articles 7, 15 and 54 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458 (that is, persons notified by that Ministry as not to be permitted entry into the country, not to be granted a visa, or in respect of whom a deportation decision has been taken)
Applications relating to foreign nationals whose employment in Türkiye is considered objectionable on grounds of public order, public security or public health
Applications made on behalf of citizens of countries that the Republic of Türkiye does not recognise or with which it has no diplomatic relations; cases in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has given a favourable opinion fall outside this
Applications not made within the statutory time limit or whose identified deficiencies have not been made good
Applications made, under subparagraph 8(1)(ö) of the Regulation on the Implementation of the International Labour Force Act, by foreign nationals working under a work permit exemption with a view to working from within the country for an employer not holding the same status
Applications in which the work permit fee and the official document charge have not been paid within thirty days of the date on which notification of those payments was given

Where any of the situations listed arises, the refusal is issued by the Ministry. In addition, a work permit request or an extension request is also determined unfavourably where the following circumstances are established:

That six months have not elapsed since the date on which the international protection application was made
That, at the moment the application is completed by transmission of the required documents to the Ministry, the remaining period of validity of the identity document has fallen below thirty days
The existence of a final deportation decision under Law No. 6458
That the Ministry of the Interior has given an unfavourable opinion on applications made by an applicant or conditional refugee under an obligation to reside in a particular province with a view to obtaining a work permit outside the boundaries of that province

Lack of Compliance with International Labour Force Policy

Subparagraph (a) of Article 9 of the Act provides that requests which do not accord with international labour force policy are to be refused. The fundamental principles on which that policy rests are as follows:

That, while policies are developed to meet the country’s labour force needs primarily from domestic sources, a balance is struck between the domestic and the foreign labour force without impairing the sustainability of national employment policies, and that qualified foreign labour is also drawn upon
That foreign labour regarded as highly qualified by reason of educational level, professional experience, contribution to science and technology, or distinction in any field of strategic importance is attracted to the country
That highly qualified foreign investors are attracted to the country, having regard to matters such as the size of the investment, its contribution to employment and to the economy, the level of employment, the volume of exports, and the benefit brought to the region, province or sector of operation
That, so that the policy may be applied effectively and in a coordinated manner both within and outside the country in line with these principles, activities in the nature of projects, plans and programmes are carried out by the Directorate General, and that coordination is secured where necessary with the relevant institutions and organisations

Since the policy is shaped by reference to these principles, requests assessed as incompatible with that framework will have to be refused.

Use of False or Misleading Information and Documents

Under subparagraph (b) of the article, applications founded on false or misleading information and documents are not accepted.

The Justification for Employment Being Found Insufficient

Under subparagraph (c), if the reason for engaging the foreign national to be employed is not found sufficient, the request is determined unfavourably. Care should therefore be taken to set out in the application file a detailed justification demonstrating concretely why the person concerned has been chosen and what expertise they hold.

Requests Relating to Work and Professions Reserved to Turkish Citizens

Subparagraph (ç) provides that applications made for work and professions which other statutory provisions state may be carried on only by Turkish citizens are to be refused. The work and professions falling within this scope are as follows:

Service as a judge or public prosecutor, as a notary, as a lawyer, as a mediator, as a court-appointed expert, and as a composition commissioner
Service as a certified public accountant, as an assistant customs broker, and as a member of the board of directors of a cooperative
Service as a founder, manager or trainer of a private security company and as the representative authorised by a corporate shareholder of one; service as a private security officer; service as a market and neighbourhood watchman
Pharmacy, veterinary medicine, dentistry, patient care, service as a responsible manager in a private hospital, and service as a foreign assistant working otherwise than in specialist training
Founding a school opened by foreign nationals in which instruction is given in a language other than Turkish
Service as a tourist guide, as an agency officer and as a travel agency officer, and as a freight forwarding organiser
Service as an authorised officer of a shipping agency and as shipping agency personnel; service as a trainee aeronautical information management officer; service as an honorary traffic inspector
The export of fish, oysters, mussels, sponges, pearls and coral within territorial waters, and work as a diver, searcher, pilot, master, ship’s engineer, clerk or crew member and similar work
Service as a sports consultant, as a labour intermediary in agriculture, as a permanent supervisor and as technical staff

Absence of the Required Qualifications and Expertise

Subparagraph (d) provides for the refusal of requests made in respect of foreign nationals found not to hold the necessary qualifications and expertise. What follows from this is that the applicant’s competence and the description of the role to be undertaken at the workplace must correspond to one another.

Failure to Meet the Assessment Criteria Laid Down by the Ministry

Under subparagraph (e), requests that do not meet the assessment criteria laid down by the Ministry are not accepted. Those criteria must be satisfied both by the foreign national requesting the permit and by the employer who is to employ them. The criteria prescribed by the Ministry for applicant employers and foreign nationals are as follows:

At least five Turkish citizens must be employed at the workplace for which the permit is requested. Where the foreign national is a shareholder in the company, that requirement of five employees is required in respect of the last six months of the one-year permit to be granted by the Ministry. Where a permit is requested for more than one foreign national at the same workplace, the requirement of employing five Turkish citizens separately for each foreign national after the first to whom a permit is granted applies.
The paid-in capital of the workplace must be at least TRY 100,000, its gross sales at least TRY 800,000, or its export volume for the last year at least USD 250,000.
The criterion in item 2 does not apply to foreign nationals to be employed by associations and foundations; nor do the criteria in items 1 and 2 apply to requests concerning the Türkiye representative offices of foreign state airlines or foreign nationals to be employed in the education sector and in domestic services.
The capital share of a foreign national who is a company shareholder and who requests a permit must be at least 20 per cent and that share must not fall below TRY 40,000.
The monthly remuneration declared by the employer as payable to the foreign national must be at a level consistent with the person’s role and competence. Taking as a basis the minimum wage in force on the date of application, the remuneration to be paid must be at least 6.5 times the minimum wage for senior executives and pilots.
Four times the minimum wage for unit or branch managers and for engineers and architects,
Three times the minimum wage for those to be employed in work requiring expertise and craftsmanship and for teachers,
At least the minimum wage for foreign nationals to be employed in domestic services and 1.5 times the minimum wage for those in other professions,
Twice the minimum wage is required for those to be employed under titles such as acrobat in tourism and animation organisation companies and for those to be employed in work such as masseur, masseuse and spa therapist.
Requests to employ foreign nationals in work requiring expertise and craftsmanship such as masseur, masseuse and spa therapist are taken into assessment only in respect of the following establishments: tourism establishments of at least three stars certified by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, certified holiday villages and thermal hotels holding an operating licence from the official authorities, which document that they contain a licensed massage parlour,
Facilities that have a contract with certified tourism establishments containing a Turkish bath, sauna, spa or similar complex,
Sports centres employing at least 20 Turkish citizens and licensed by the official authorities,
Requests of the same kind made by establishments and workplaces falling outside this scope are not approved.
For foreign nationals to be employed in the work requiring expertise and craftsmanship of the entertainment sector and of tourism and animation organisation companies, where at least 10 Turkish citizens are employed, the quota requiring the employment of five Turkish citizens separately for each foreign national is not additionally applied.
The criteria in items 1 and 2 do not apply to cases provided for in bilateral or multilateral treaties to which Türkiye is a party, or to requests concerning foreign nationals to be employed in goods and services procurement work carried out by public institutions and organisations by contract or by tender.
In work requiring advanced technology, or where no Turkish expert holding the same qualifications is available, the criteria in items 1 and 2 do not apply upon the approval of the Directorate General.
In establishments satisfying the conditions of Foreign Direct Investment of Special Character, the criterion in item 1 is applied, for foreign nationals to be employed other than as key personnel, by reference to the number of Turkish citizens employed at all of the establishment’s workplaces nationwide.

A refusal must be given in respect of persons who do not satisfy these criteria. There is, however, a group of foreign nationals who, although required to obtain a work permit, are not subject to those criteria. The foreign nationals exempt from the assessment criteria are as follows:

Those who have obtained a residence permit with stateless status
Those who have been granted a humanitarian residence permit or a residence permit as a victim of human trafficking
Those granted a residence permit under the arrangements concerning Turkic or kindred communities
Citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Those who have lived in a marital union with a Turkish citizen for at least three years
Those whose mother, father or child is a Turkish citizen

When the persons listed request a work permit they encounter no obstacle in terms of the criteria, and no refusal therefore arises. The circumstance giving rise to the exemption must, however, be proved by official documents.

Existence of an Entry Ban, Visa Bar or Deportation Decision

Under subparagraph (f) of Article 9 of the Act, work permit requests relating to persons notified by the Ministry of the Interior as falling among foreign nationals who are not permitted entry into Türkiye, who are not granted a visa, or in respect of whom a deportation decision has been taken, are refused.

Being Considered Objectionable on Grounds of Public Order, Security and Health

Under subparagraph (g), the requests of foreign nationals whose employment in Türkiye is found objectionable on grounds of national security, public order, public security or public health are not accepted.

By way of example, where the foreign national requesting a permit carries a contagious disease and their employment in the country is for that reason considered objectionable, the application must be refused.

Citizens of Unrecognised States or States without Diplomatic Relations

Subparagraph (ğ) provides that requests made by citizens of countries that Türkiye does not recognise or with which it has established no diplomatic relations are to be refused. The exception is where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives a favourable opinion; in that case the request may be granted.

Applications Out of Time or with Deficiencies Not Made Good

Under subparagraph (h), the applicant’s submission of incomplete information and documents, or a failure to meet the administration’s request for additional documents within the period allowed, is a ground of refusal.

Under Article 19 of the International Labour Force Act, where information or documents are missing from an application, the assessment is deferred; documents are requested from the person concerned through the system and by way of the electronic service address in order for the deficiencies to be made good.

Assessment of the Application: Art. 21(2) of the Implementing Regulation

Under the second paragraph of Article 21 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the International Labour Force Act, provided that the information and documents are complete, the assessment process is concluded within 30 days. That period begins to run on the date the application is completed through the system or, where additional information and documents have been requested, on the date those are uploaded to the system.

At the assessment stage the administration may call the foreign national requesting the permit or the employer to an interview. Where doubt arises as to whether the Ministry’s criteria have been met, additional documents may be requested from the applicant. In such a case the person concerned is allowed a period of up to 30 days and is expected to upload the document requested to the system within that period. Otherwise the request must be refused.

Objection and Action for Annulment against a Refusal

Those faced with an unfavourable decision have two avenues open to them: lodging an objection with the Ministry, or bringing an action for annulment. If the objection route is taken first, the period for bringing an action is suspended; an action for annulment may be brought once the objection has been rejected. If, on the other hand, an action has been brought directly, the right of objection can no longer be exercised.

An objection is made through the e-permit system, addressed to the Ministry, within 30 days of the date on which the refusal is served on the foreign national. At this stage a petition setting out the legal grounds must be prepared, the information and documents supporting the assertions made in it must be annexed, and the file must be uploaded to the system bearing an electronic signature.

An action for annulment is brought before the administrative court within 60 days, running from the day following service of the decision. If an objection has been lodged first, that period is suspended. For example, if the objection was lodged on the 25th day following service of the refusal, the person concerned has 35 days in which to bring an action, running from the day following service of the decision given on the objection.

A stay of execution may also be sought in these administrative court proceedings. The administrative court may stay execution if it is satisfied that the conditions of damage that is difficult or impossible to make good and of manifest unlawfulness of the measure are met together.

In both avenues the petitions must be drafted with reasons. In particular, it is necessary to establish the subparagraph of the Act on which the refusal of the request was based. Once the ground of refusal has been identified, the petition must be constructed so as to fit within the framework of the relevant provision; otherwise the application will be rejected. In order for the process to be conducted effectively and swiftly, it is advisable to consult a lawyer practising in the field of the law on foreign nationals.

How Long the Objection and Court Process Takes

Actions for annulment brought against a refusal are concluded in approximately six months to one year.

The Cost of the Process

The costs of an objection and an action for annulment average TRY 600 to 1,400 as at 2023.

Refusal of an Extension Request and the Remedies against It

A request to extend a work permit is submitted through the e-permit automation system from the point at which 60 days remain before the permit expires and, in any event, before that period has elapsed.

Requests that do not satisfy the conditions required for an extension, or that are made after the permit has expired, are refused. The objection and action for annulment available to the foreign national upon refusal of an extension request are subject to the same procedure as that described above.

For details of how an extension application is made, how the process operates and what remedies are available in the event of a refusal, reference may be made to the note entitled "work permit extension".

A Fresh Application by a Foreign National Whose Request Was Refused

There is no obstacle to a foreign national whose application was determined unfavourably making a fresh work permit request. In the new application, however, the deficiencies identified in the previous file must have been made good; otherwise the second request will also be refused.

Details on the subject are addressed in the note entitled "how a work permit application is made".

Conclusion

A work permit request is refused where one of the grounds set out in the Act is made out. When lodging an objection or bringing an action for annulment, observing the procedural time limits is decisive. Beyond that, the petitions prepared must set out clearly the legal basis of the objections; otherwise the applications will come to nothing. It is therefore useful to obtain the assistance of a lawyer experienced in the field from the very outset of the process.

Independent Legal Assessment

In practice, a significant proportion of refusals stems not from the Act itself but from the way the file has been constructed. Dealing with the justification for employment in general terms, failing to establish the link between the foreign national’s diploma and experience certificates and the description of the role, or declaring remuneration below the minimum wage multiple prescribed for the relevant professional group, are typical shortcomings that produce an unfavourable outcome without the merits ever being reached.

Reading correctly which subparagraph the refusal rests on, meanwhile, determines the whole of the objection and litigation strategy. A refusal based on the assessment criteria and a refusal grounded in public order cannot be met with the same petition structure. In a concrete file we recommend giving priority to the following points:

Establishing at the outset which subparagraph of Art. 9 of the International Labour Force Act the ground of refusal falls under, and the burden of proof that follows from it
Verifying the employer’s position by documentary evidence, before the application, as regards the employment of five Turkish citizens and the capital and turnover thresholds
Investigating whether the foreign national falls within the scope of an exemption (such as three years of marriage to a Turkish citizen, a humanitarian residence permit or citizenship of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus)
Scheduling the suspensive relationship between the 30-day objection period and the 60-day period for bringing an action
Not missing the thirty-day period allowed when a request for additional documents arrives, and making good the deficiency in a single step
Annexing a request for a stay of execution to the statement of claim, with the assertion of damage difficult to make good set out concretely

Independent Legal provides advisory and litigation services in disputes concerning the employment of foreign nationals, from the preparation of work permit applications through to objection and annulment proceedings pursued against refusals.