Turkish Work Permits And Red Flags In Employment Law (2025 Update)

Turkey's work permit process is deeply interlinked with its local employment law, social security, and tax regulations. Regardless of a foreign employee's country of origin, any Turkish employer sponsoring a work permit must comply with these legal obligations.

Employer Responsibilities in Turkish Work Permit Applications

By default, the Turkish company sponsoring the work permit is legally recognized as the foreign employee's employer. This remains true even if the foreign national is paid abroad—i.e., they are "posted" to Turkey from a foreign company while staying on that foreign payroll.

Since Turkish law views the corporate sponsor as the employer during the entire validity period of the work permit, a fully executed Turkish employment agreement is mandatory. This contract must be signed and sealed with wet signatures by both parties and must be submitted at two stages: