As a rule, the work permit regime in Türkiye draws no distinction between foreign nationals; a separate set of rules has, however, been adopted for persons documented as being of Turkish descent, both as regards the occupational field for which a permit may be granted and as regards the way the application is assessed. Where this status is overlooked in practice, a significant advantage is left unused.
Benefiting from the facilities afforded by this status depends not on the person’s own declaration but on a determination established by official documents. Unless registration is made in the special register kept before the Directorate General of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs, being of Turkish descent produces no consequence that carries over into working life.
Below we address the legal framework of the concept of a foreign national of Turkish descent, the exemptions afforded to such persons, the conditions required by the regulation, the documents to be submitted with the application, the procedure for obtaining the identity document for foreigners, the extension of the permit period, and the legal remedies to be pursued against a refusal decision.
The Concept of a Foreign National of Turkish Descent
The legislation contains no definition of who is covered by the term “foreign national of Turkish descent”. Because of this gap there is no settled criterion in domestic law, and the administration is afforded a wide margin of discretion in determining who is to be regarded as holding this status.
Looking at the practice of the Ministry of Interior to date, it is seen that Western Thrace Turks, Bulgarian Turks, Crimean Tatars, Meskhetian Turks and Uyghur Turks are accepted as being of Turkish descent.
What is decisive at the application stage is that the person’s Turkish descent be established beyond doubt and that this be proved by documentary evidence. At this point, where the burden of proof lies with the applicant, it is important to obtain the assistance of a lawyer specialised in the field of immigration law.
The Advantages Turkish Descent Provides in Obtaining a Work Permit
The first and most conspicuous consequence of this status is exemption from the assessment criteria. The request of a foreign national who proves that they are of Turkish descent is determined by the Ministry without being examined for compliance with the criteria required in other applications.
The second facility is that persons who are abroad and who are notified as being of Turkish descent are afforded a work permit exemption of up to 3 months. This enables such persons to work in Türkiye for a certain period without holding a work permit.
The third consequence, and the one that makes the greatest difference in practice, concerns the occupational field. Work and professions which as a rule may be carried on only by Turkish citizens have also been opened to foreign nationals of Turkish descent. Unlike other foreign nationals, such persons may carry on the professional activities addressed below and may take up posts in certain public institutions and organisations.
There is a precondition to benefiting from the possibilities listed: the person concerned must be registered in the civil register of persons of Turkish descent kept by the Directorate General of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs and must obtain the identity document for foreigners.
How Is the Application Made?
A work permit for foreign nationals of Turkish descent is obtained by completing the stages of making an online application through the e-izin page, uploading the required documents to the system, and paying the fees into the relevant bank accounts. The online application is made not by the foreign national but by the employer.
The employer logs into the system using their electronic signature and registered electronic mail (KEP) address details. If the foreign national is in Türkiye, the application form is completed using the passport number or the foreign identity number beginning with the digits 99.
Where the foreign national is abroad, they must first make a work permit application to the Turkish mission in the country in which they are located. Upon that application a reference number is issued to them, and the employer enters this number into the system when making the online application.
Once the information has been entered accurately and in full, the documents are scanned and uploaded, and the application is thereby completed at this stage. There is no need for the documents to be sent to the institution in physical form as well.
After the application has been completed, the fee amounts to be paid and the bank account codes are sent to the employer’s electronic mail address registered in the system. The amounts specified must be paid separately into the relevant accounts within 30 days from the date on which that message is sent; otherwise the application is removed from processing.
The details of the types of permit available to foreign nationals and of the general application procedure are explained in the note titled “how to obtain a work permit for a foreign national”.
Documents to Be Submitted with the Application
The documents required differ according to the type of work permit sought. There is, nonetheless, a group of documents required in common for almost every type of permit, and this group divides in two: those required from the foreign national and those required from the employer.
Documents required from the foreign national: the employment contract signed between the parties, a biometric passport photograph, the passport, the diploma, and the document establishing before the official authorities that the person concerned is of Turkish descent.
Documents required from the employer: the Turkish Trade Registry Gazette reflecting the current capital and shareholding structure of the entity, the balance sheet and profit and loss statement for the most recent year certified by the tax office or by a sworn financial adviser, the tax certificate, and the certificate of business activity.
Part of this documentation must be brought from abroad. The passport, the diploma and the official document establishing Turkish descent are typical examples. Those documents must be submitted with a notarised Turkish translation and bearing an apostille; where these conditions are not satisfied, the documents are regarded as incomplete.
Where a deficiency or error is identified in the documents, the administration allows a period of 30 days. The foreign national or the employer must remedy the deficiency within that period. A deficiency not remedied by the end of the period results in the application being deemed refused.
Conditions Required in Professions Reserved to Turkish Citizens
The conditions which foreign nationals of Turkish descent must satisfy in order to work in these professions are listed in Article 3 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Act on the Free Exercise by Foreign Nationals of Turkish Descent of Their Professions and Crafts in Türkiye and on Their Employment in Public or Private Entities or Workplaces. According to that article:
- The person concerned must have been granted a residence permit of at least 6 months by the Ministry of Interior.
- It must be established, by documents to be obtained from the competent Turkish authorities, that the person holds the qualifications required by special legislation in respect of particular professions and crafts.
- The equivalence of diplomas issued by foreign schools or faculties showing the level of education attained must have been certified by the Ministry of National Education.
- There must be no objection on security grounds to the person concerned exercising that profession, and the position must accord with the principles determined by the President.
- It must be documented that a civil registry record has been established in the special registers to be opened for foreign nationals.
- Where membership of a professional body is compulsory, that membership must be documented.
- The Ministry of National Education must have taken a decision, after obtaining the opinion of the Apprenticeship Board, on the equivalence of journeyman’s, master craftsman’s or equivalent certificates obtained from foreign countries.
Foreign nationals of Turkish descent are expected to prove that they hold these qualifications by documents to be obtained from the competent Turkish authorities. Diplomas and similar documents obtained abroad may be used only where equivalence has been granted by the Ministry of National Education.
The Identity Document for Foreigners
The identity document for foreigners is a document issued only for foreign nationals of Turkish descent and which persons registered in the register of foreign nationals must obtain in order to be able to work.
The documents required upon registration in this register opened for persons of Turkish descent, and the points to be observed in respect of those documents, may be summarised as follows:
- The original, or a notarised copy, of the certificate of Turkish descent obtained from the consulate of the State of nationality must be submitted. Documents issued by associations, and documents issued by municipalities on the basis of a declaration procedure, are not accepted within this scope.
- The “Notification on the Establishment of Civil Registry Records of Foreign Nationals” form, completed for foreign nationals of Turkish descent, is required; the form is obtained from the Civil Registry Directorate to which the place of residence is attached.
- The diploma must have been certified by a notary or by the faculty. Secondary and high school certificates and provisional graduation certificates are not regarded as valid; for diplomas of foreign origin, an equivalence certificate is mandatory.
- The passport must have been translated and notarised.
- The photograph to be attached to the form must have been taken within the last 6 months, and the 2 photographs to be sent as an annex must be identical to it.
- The document showing the marital status of married foreign nationals of Turkish descent must bear a notarial certification.
- The photocopy of the residence permit document must be provided in legible and notarised form.
- 2 photographs must be added to the file.
Where an application made with these documents is determined favourably, a certificate of Turkish descent is issued to the person concerned. Obtaining the identity document is not sufficient on its own: in order to exercise professions reserved to Turkish citizens, such as medicine, nursing, law and the notarial profession, a work permit must additionally be obtained from the Ministry.
Refusal of the Application and the Legal Remedies to Be Pursued
The request of foreign nationals of Turkish descent is refused where one or more of the grounds of refusal provided for in respect of work permits arises. In addition, failure to comply with the mandatory procedural rules during the application may on its own result in refusal.
Objection to the Refusal and Action for Annulment
Against a refusal decision of the Ministry, those concerned may lodge an objection within 30 days from the date on which the decision was served on them. Objections are submitted through the e-izin automation system. A petition setting out the subject of the objection in detail, together with supporting documents, must also be uploaded to the system bearing an electronic signature.
Where an objection addressed to the Ministry is refused, those concerned acquire the right to apply to the administrative courts and bring an action for annulment. The details of the legal remedies to be pursued against a refusal decision are addressed in the note titled “refusal of a work permit application”.
Extension of the Permit Period
Requests for an extension of the period are likewise submitted to the Ministry through the e-çalışma system.
An extension application may be made from the point at which 60 days remain before the expiry of the work permit period, and must in any event be completed before the permit period comes to an end. Requests submitted after the expiry of the period are not taken into processing.
A transitional facility is provided for foreign nationals of Turkish descent who request an extension: provided that the nature of the work has not changed, the permit may continue, limited to that period, for no more than 90 days from the date on which the work permit period expired.
Refusal of the Extension Request
An extension application is refused where the procedural rules to be observed in making the application have been breached. Likewise, the request being incompatible with international labour force policy may constitute a ground for refusal.
Where the Ministry refuses the extension request, those concerned may object to that decision and may equally bring an action for annulment directly. The objection and litigation process is conducted in the same way as the procedure applied to the refusal of the initial application.
How Long Does the Application Take to Be Determined?
A work permit request by a foreign national of Turkish descent takes approximately 30 days. The workload of the authority to which the application is made, or deficiencies in the file, may cause this period to lengthen.
Fees and Costs
The amounts applicable for 2023 are taken as the basis for the fees and costs relating to work permits for foreign nationals of Turkish descent; the amounts stated are, however, redetermined each year.
Making payment in good time is of critical importance in procedural terms. Where the fee required and the valuable paper charge are not paid within 30 days from the date of notification, the application is removed from processing. For that reason, once the payment notification has been received, care must be taken to ensure that the fee and the valuable paper charge have been paid separately within the thirty-day period.
Independent Legal Assessment
Turkish descent status confers a considerable privilege in the work permit process compared with other foreign nationals; that privilege does not, however, operate of its own accord. For the status to produce legal effect, the chain running from the consular certificate to registration in the civil register and from there to the identity document for foreigners must be completed in full. A significant proportion of the adverse outcomes encountered in practice stem from a link in this chain having been skipped.
Since most of the processes are subject to short and strict time limits, setting out the timetable from the outset is of particular importance. In a specific file we recommend that the following headings be observed:
- Establishing Turkish descent by an official document of consular origin, without resorting to the categories of document that are not accepted
- Completing registration in the civil register and obtaining the identity document for foreigners before the work permit request
- Carrying out equivalence procedures in advance for diplomas and professional qualification certificates of foreign origin
- Checking the apostille and notarised translation requirements separately in respect of each document
- Paying the fee and the valuable paper charge separately within the thirty-day period from notification
- Starting the extension timetable sixty days before the permit expires, and not missing the thirty-day objection period in the event of refusal
Independent Legal provides advisory services and litigation representation in the field of immigration law, from the determination of the status of foreign nationals of Turkish descent through to work permit applications and the objection and annulment proceedings pursued against refusal decisions.