Turning tourist stay into business in Türkiye

Analysis: If an individual with tourist residency intends to be hired as a "Sales Manager" (Satış Müdürü), the employer cannot list their salary at the minimum wage level. The e-İzin system automatically detects this contradiction and either rejects the application or compels the salary to be corrected, which creates a heavy financial burden (in terms of taxes and insurance premiums) for the employer. This is one of the common reasons why small employers are reluctant to hire foreigners.

Occupations Prohibited for Foreign Nationals

Some occupations in Turkey are exclusively reserved for Turkish citizens according to specific laws (such as the Cabotage Law or medical and legal regulations). Applying for a work permit for these occupations will lead to an outright rejection (Red) of the application. The list of prohibited occupations in 2026 includes the following:

• Health Sector: Dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, midwifery (an exception exists for doctors who can work by completing equivalency procedures and obtaining a license from the Ministry of Health).

• Legal Sector: Lawyering, notary public (Noter), judging.

• Security Sector: Guarding and security (private and public).

• Maritime Sector: Captaining and crew on ships within Turkish territorial waters (Cabotage Law).

• Other Cases: Customs consultant, tourist guide, responsible manager in private hospitals.

Important Note on Refugees and Turkish-Origin Nationals: New laws have provided exceptions for refugees and foreign nationals of Turkish descent (such as citizens of Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, etc.) who, under special conditions and with the acquisition of special permits, may be able to work in some of these prohibited occupations (excluding sovereign functions like judging).

Step-by-Step Guide to Registering a Work Permit Application in the e-İzin System

The process of converting tourist residency to work residency has been fully digitized and is carried out through the integrated e-Government system (e-Devlet) and the Ministry of Labor's e-İzin platform. Below, this process is detailed step-by-step.

Step One: Agreement and Document Preparation (Offline Stage)

Prior to any systemic action, the employer and employee must sign an employment contract (İş Sözleşmesi). This contract must comply with Labor Law No. 4857 and explicitly state the contract duration, job description, and gross salary (in accordance with the multipliers in Section 4.1). Also, the occupation code (Meslek Kodu) must be selected from the standard ISCO-08 list. Choosing the wrong code (for example, selecting the code for "office worker" for a "programmer") can lead to the rejection of the application due to "incompatibility of specialization and occupation."

Step Two: Registering the Application in the System (by the Employer)

The application must necessarily be submitted by the employer (or the company's legal representative who has an electronic signature). The foreign individual with tourist residency does not have direct access to the employer's panel.

1. System Login: The employer logs into the system ecalismaizni.csgb.gov.tr using their e-Devlet username and password and electronic signature (E-İmza).

2. Selecting Application Type: The option "Yurt İçi İlk Başvuru" (First Domestic Application) is selected.

3. Applicant Verification: By entering the applicant's Kimlik number (starting with 99), the system automatically connects to the Migration Directorate database and checks the tourist residency validity. If the validity is less than 6 months, the system does not allow continuation.

4. Completing Information: Information related to the company (financial balance sheet, number of Turkish employees) and the applicant (education, marital status) is entered.

5. Uploading Documents (Scan):

   • Signed employment contract (by both parties).

   • Passport copy (official and notarized translation if needed).

   • One biometric photo (which must comply with system standards).

   • Educational certificate (official and notarized translation). For specific occupations such as engineering and teaching, an Equivalency Certificate (Denklik Belgesi) is mandatory.

Step Three: Final Signature and Submission

After completing the forms and uploading the documents, the employer must digitally sign and finally submit the application using the electronic signature token (E-İmza). After this step, a tracking code is issued.

Step Four: Evaluation and Fee Payment

The Ministry of Labor usually reviews the application within 30 days. If initially approved, an email is sent to the employer requesting payment of government fees.

• Work Permit Fee (Çalışma İzni Harcı): An amount determined annually (increased for 2026).

• Valuable Paper Fee (Değerli Kağıt Bedeli): The cost of issuing the physical card.

• Crucial Tip: Payments must be made precisely to the payment identification codes mentioned in the system and through approved banks. Failure to pay within the specified deadline (usually 15 to 30 days) is considered a withdrawal of the application.

Step Five: Post-Issuance Procedures

After the work permit is issued and the card is received:

1. Insurance (SGK): The employer is obligated to activate the individual's insurance records in the social security system within a maximum of 30 days from the permit start date. Failure to do so incurs a heavy fine.

2. Address Registration: The foreign individual must check their address status at the Civil Registry Directorate (Nüfus Müdürlüğü) and, if their address has been removed from the system due to the change in residency type, they must re-register their address within 20 working days.

Special Conditions and Exemptions: Computer Engineers and 3-Year Residency

Despite the general tightening of immigration laws, Turkish regulations have left special pathways open to facilitate the recruitment of high-caliber individuals and investors. Awareness of these exceptions can significantly increase the chances of application success.

Information Technology (IT) Sector Exemptions

In line with strengthening the startup and technology ecosystem, Turkey has introduced special facilitations for IT specialists, which have been expanded in 2026.

• Technology-Based Companies and Technoparks: Companies located in Technology Development Zones (Teknoloji Geliştirme Bölgeleri) are exempt from the 5-to-1 rule for hiring R&D personnel.

• General IT Exemption: Even for companies outside technoparks, if the applicant has specializations such as "Software Developer," "Database Administrator," or "System Architect," the Ministry of Labor may disregard the capital requirement and the 5-to-1 rule for a maximum of two foreign specialized workers. This is a golden opportunity for programmers and network specialists intending to convert their tourist residency to work residency.

3-Year Residency Exemption (Long-Term Resident Exception)

This frequently overlooked legal clause can be the key to solving the problems of many applicants. According to the executive regulation of the International Labor Force Law, foreign nationals who have legally resided in Turkey for at least 3 years in the last 5 years (with any type of residency, including tourist) are subject to special facilitations.

• Facilitations: For these individuals, the condition of hiring 5 Turkish employees and the strict financial criteria are not applied for a maximum of 3 individuals per workplace.

• Requirements: The applicant must prove this 3-year history by providing a residency history document (obtainable from the Directorate General of Migration Management). This exemption allows smaller companies to hire these individuals without worrying about the 5-to-1 rule.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Liaison Offices

Companies classified as "Specific Foreign Direct Investment" (Özellikli Doğrudan Yabancı Yatırım) (based on the amount of capital inflow or high export volume) benefit from greater flexibility.

• Liaison Offices: Representative offices of foreign companies that do not have direct commercial activity (sales) in Turkey can obtain a work permit for their main representative. If this office annually imports at least $200,000 USD in capital from abroad into Turkey, it is exempt from many restrictive conditions.

Work Residency Rejection Reasons and Prevention Strategies

Understanding the common reasons for application rejection (Red Reasons) helps applicants avoid costly mistakes. Reviews indicate that the main rejection reasons in 2025 and 2026 are as follows:

1. Lack of Justification (Insufficient Justification): The most common reason for rejection is the clause "Inadequate justification for employing a foreigner." If the employer cannot convince the reviewers in their explanation why this foreign individual has a unique characteristic that a Turk does not, the application is rejected.

   • Solution: Avoid generic job titles. Instead of "Sales Employee," titles such as "Sales Specialist focused on the Middle Eastern market with proficiency in Farsi and Arabic languages" should be used, and language certificates or relevant records should be attached.

2. Company Capital Issues: If the company's capital is nominally 500,000 Lira but the company is practically operating at a loss and its capital has been depleted by debts (technical bankruptcy phenomenon), the Ministry of Labor rejects the application.

3. Information Contradiction: Any discrepancy between the address registered in the UETS system, the company address, and the information entered in the application form leads to the halting of the process.

4. Inappropriate Occupation Code: Applications for low-level occupations (such as cleaner, waiter, unskilled worker) for ordinary companies (non-domestic) are almost always met with a negative response, as it is assumed that Turkish labor is abundant for these jobs.

Illegal Work (Black Work) Fines and Deportation Costs in 2026

The Turkish government has adopted a "Zero Tolerance" policy towards illegal work in 2026. Many individuals expose themselves to heavy risks with the misconception that "I'll work with tourist residency and no one will notice."

Structure of Administrative Fines

With the application of the Revaluation Rate (Yeniden Değerleme Oranı) of 43.93%, fine amounts in 2026 have reached deterrent figures: