It has been stated in the announcement which is made by Ministry of Labor and Social Security – International Head Office of Labor Power in October 1^st, 2024; that the “Evaluation Criteria of work permit” that’s been applied by the power of annex article of International Labor Power Regulation has been updated based on the 22^nd article of the same regulation.

Within the new regulation that came into force beginning with October 1^st 2024, revisions has been made in the important fields such as employment, financial sufficiency and wage. Further, new regulations has been made in the sector, profession and work basis.

On the other hand, an announcement about the Türkiye TECH VISA Program which has a special invitation program about the tech-based initiatives and innovator work models with skills with critical expertise on technology field.

1. A) General Evaluation Criteria

Employment:

In a workplace where the sale rate is at least 50.000.000 Turkish Liras in the last year, employment criterion exception will be applied, up to 5 foreigners.

With another expression, up to 5 foreigners, condition of employing Turkish people will not be applied.

There will not be any exceptions to workplaces which doesn’t follow this criterion; at the same time in the workplace where the foreigner works with the work permit, the employment rule of 5 Turkish citizen for each foreigner who expects to be employed will remain

*Exception: As a rule, it was mandatory to employ 5 Turkish Citizen for each foreigner. In this new practice, there is a refer to the exception that have been brought to the firms under some conditions, as it is stated above.

Financial Sufficiency:

For newly established businesses subject to the balance sheet method (for which the year-end balance sheet and annual income statement have not yet been prepared), the paid-in capital of the business must be at least TRY 500,000.

The following revisions have been made for workplaces that are subject to the balance sheet method and are in operation (at least one year-end balance sheet and annual income statement have been prepared) and for ordinary partnerships established by workplaces subject to the balance sheet method.

Paid-up Capital(Old): At least 100.000,00  TRY

Paid-up Capital(New): At least 500.000,00  TRY

OR

Net Sale Amount (Old): At least 800.000,00 TRY

Net Sale Amount (New): At least 8.000.000,00 TRY

OR

Export (Old): At least 250.000,00 USD

Export (New): At least 150.000,00 USD

According to the new regulation, the thresholds for paid-in capital and net sales amount have been raised, while the threshold for exports has been reduced.

PS: The financial sufficiency regulation will enter into force on 01.01.2025.

Applications to be made until this date will be based on the lower limit of all criteria, i.e:

For work permit applications until 01.01.2025, the paid-up capital must be at least TRY 100,000.00 or the net sales amount must be at least TRY 800,000.00 or the export amount must be at least USD 150,000.00 (the limit of USD 250,000.00 in the old legislation will not be applied; the limit has been reduced without waiting for January 2025.

Wage

The following revisions have been made regarding the wage to be paid to the foreigner, based on the minimum gross wage in force as of the date of the work permit application:

Exception to employment and financial qualification criteria:

Persons who have been in Turkey for 3 years in the last five years as of the application date with a residence permit, work permit and international protection, except for students, will be exempted from the employment and financial qualification criteria.

– The exemption is limited to 3 foreign employees.

– The number of foreign employees cannot exceed the number of Turkish employees. In a workplace where 3 foreigners are employed, at least 3 Turks must be employed.

If more than 3 foreigners will be employed, employment and financial qualification criteria will be sought for the 4th and each subsequent foreign employment.

Employment Criteria by Sector, Profession or Job:

1. IT Sector: employment and financial qualification criteria will not be applied in the evaluation of work permit applications for jobs, professions or tasks requiring expertise such as software development expertise, database expertise, mobile software expertise. The exception is limited to a maximum of 2 foreigners.
2. Domestic Services Sector: Under the new regulation, a foreign domestic worker who applies for a work permit from abroad and is employed in Turkey cannot transfer to another employer in Turkey for 6 months.
3. Sectors Requiring Advanced Technology: The general evaluation criteria may not be applied partially or completely in qualified investments that are committed to make a high contribution to the country’s economy or create a high number of jobs, or in jobs requiring advanced technology, or in cases where there are no Turkish citizen experts with the same qualifications due to the nature of the work.

The positive opinion of the Ministry of Industry and Technology is sought in the evaluation of work permit applications made on behalf of foreigners who will work as R&D, innovation and design personnel in companies with R&D Center certificate or design center certificate and foreigners who will work within the scope of the Technology Development Zones Law, and the employment and financial qualification criteria are not applied in the evaluation of their applications.

4. Public Projects: Employment and financial qualification criteria shall not be applied in the work permit applications of foreigners who will work under bilateral or multilateral agreements to which Turkey is a party and who will work in workplaces that will operate through public contracts and tenders

Evaluation Criteria for Foreign Company Shareholders:

In the evaluation of the work permit application made on behalf of a foreigner who opens a new workplace or becomes a partner in a workplace:

– Financial criterion: Provided that the paid-in capital is at least 500.000 TL, the foreigner’s capital amount must be at least 500.000 TL (it was 40.000 TL according to the old practice) and the share of partnership must be at least 20%.

– Employment criterion: No change applied; 5 Turkish employment criteria will only be required for the last 6 months of the work permit.

If the capital share of the foreign partner is 100.000 USD, the financial and employment criteria will not apply.

PS: Until 01.01.2025, it will be sufficient for the foreigner’s capital amount to be at least 40,000 TL. The capital requirement of TRY 500,000, which is the amount specified in the new practice, will enter into force as of 01.01.2025.

There is no change in general for foreigners who are exempt from work permit criteria.

1. B) TÜRKİYE TECHNOLOGY VISA

1) 3 Year Work Permit

Within the scope of the Tech Visa, it is aimed that foreigners who will invest in Turkey can easily bring their employees with them. The exemptions apply to both foreign shareholders and foreign employees.

2) Office Opportunities in Technoparks

Within the scope of Tech Visa, it is stated that the necessary convenience will be provided in order to take place in the most suitable one of approximately 100 technoparks in Turkey.

3) Türkiye Tech Visa Fund

It is stated that the financing of startups included in the Turkey Tech Visa Program will be facilitated.

4) Benefiting from Government Supports

It has been reported that grant-based supports such as project financing, branding support, promotion support to foreign markets will be provided. Techno startups coming to Turkey under Tech Visa will be able to easily apply for these funds when they need them.

5) Tax Exemptions

Various incentives are envisaged in value added tax, corporate tax, customs duty and income tax legislation. Employers and employees will be able to benefit from the relevant incentives.

6) Free Access to the Health System

The social security insurance premiums of employees of technology companies will be covered by the state. In this way, employees will be in a position to benefit from public hospitals free of charge.