A foreign founder or shareholder who will work in a Turkish company generally needs a work permit. This 2025 guide explains the rules introduced through the Work Permit Evaluation Criteria. It also flags a later change that matters for applications made today. The criteria were updated under Article 22 of the Regulation implementing International Workforce Law No. 6735; the regulation appeared in Official Gazette No. 31738 on 2 February 2022, and the updated criteria took effect on 1 October 2024, with specified financial thresholds effective from 1 January 2025.
General workplace financial criteria
The general financial test depends on the type and age of the workplace. A newly established balance-sheet workplace needs at least TRY 500,000 paid-in capital. For an established balance-sheet workplace with a year-end balance sheet, any one of these may satisfy the general test: TRY 500,000 paid-in capital, TRY 8 million net sales, or USD 150,000 exports. For an ordinary partnership, at least one partner must meet one of the applicable alternatives. These general employer tests should not be confused with the separate criteria for a foreign company partner.
Foreign owner or shareholder: capital, share and employment
Under the specific balance-sheet company-partner rule, the company must have at least TRY 500,000 paid-in capital; the foreigner’s own capital amount must also be at least TRY 500,000, and the foreigner must normally own at least 20% of the shares. The workplace must generally employ at least five Turkish citizens. The first permit for the foreign owner or partner can carry an annotation: the five-citizen employment obligation applies from the beginning of month seven. The USD 100,000 capital-share exception below changes the application of these rules.
USD 100,000 capital-share exception
Where the foreign partner’s capital share is at least USD 100,000, the Ministry’s company-partner criteria expressly disapply subparagraphs C.1.1(a) and (b). Those subparagraphs include the ordinary capital and 20% share tests and the five-Turkish-citizen obligation. This is an exception from evaluation criteria, not an automatic work permit. Applicable salary, occupation and other legal requirements must still be checked.
In-country lawful-stay exception: check the current rule
Older summaries may refer to three lawful years in the previous five years. The Ministry’s current published general criteria instead refer to at least one lawful year in Türkiye during the preceding three years, subject to the stated permit or protection categories, for an in-country application. The employment and financial tests may be disapplied for up to three qualifying foreigners at a workplace; further applications are assessed under the ordinary criteria. This general exception should be reviewed against the company-partner rule and the facts of the particular file before it is relied on.
Salary and sector-specific requirements
Salary thresholds are calculated as multiples of the gross minimum wage according to the position. Special rules can apply to information technology, education, health, tourism, public projects and other sectors. Regulated professions may require a preliminary approval from the competent authority. Student status and job type can also affect an application. No single exemption overrides every sector or professional restriction.
Extensions and ongoing compliance
The Ministry states that, in extension applications, the financial eligibility criterion in force when the first application was made is used as the basis for evaluation; other requirements still need to be checked. A company-partner permit with a seventh-month employment annotation requires ongoing monitoring of Turkish employee numbers. Changes in shareholding, workplace status, role or employer should be reviewed before filing.
How IGA Law Firm assists
We assess the ownership structure and applicable exception, verify capital and employment records, coordinate trade registry and payroll documents, review salary and regulated-profession rules, prepare the electronic filing and monitor annotations and renewals. If an application is refused, we assess the reasons and the available objection or new-filing route. Contact us for a file-specific review.
Published as a 2025 guide; legal criteria reviewed on 14 October 2026. The current one-year-in-three-years rule replaces the older three-years-in-five-years summary for present applications. Always confirm the rule in force on the filing date.
Official Work Permit Evaluation Criteria — Ministry of Labour and Social Security
Ministry announcement on the revised criteria and effective dates
