Every employer applying for a Turkish work permit encounters the same figure: five. Five Turkish citizens employed for each foreign employee. It is the criterion that shapes how foreign-owned businesses staff themselves in Türkiye, it has more exceptions than its reputation suggests, and it is applied differently to a company's foreign shareholder than to an ordinary foreign hire. This article sets out how it actually works.
The rule
Work permits are governed by Law No. 6735 on International Labour Force and assessed against evaluation criteria published by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Among them is the requirement that the workplace employ at least five Turkish citizens for each foreign national for whom a permit is sought.
Where a company seeks permits for several foreign employees, the requirement compounds: each additional foreign worker requires a further five Turkish employees. Two foreign employees therefore require ten.
Compliance is assessed on Social Security Institution records. Employees must be genuinely registered with contributions paid — the test is documentary, and payroll patterns are visible.
The exception for foreign shareholders
The most commercially important qualification concerns a foreign national who is a shareholder in the company applying for their permit.
For a shareholder-manager, the five-employee requirement is applied over the latter part of the first permit year rather than from the outset. The first months operate as a grace period during which the business can recruit.
This is not an exemption. It is a deferral, and it assumes that a business will genuinely build a workforce during its first months. A company that reaches the assessment point without the required employees faces refusal of the renewal, with consequences for the shareholder's status.
The capital criteria
Employment is assessed alongside the company's financial position, and the figures matter at formation because they are difficult to change later:
- Newly formed companies: paid-in capital of at least TRY 100,000.
- Ongoing operations: paid-in capital of TRY 500,000, or net sales of TRY 8 million, or exports of USD 150,000 — alternative criteria, one of which must be met.
- Foreign shareholder with a capital share of USD 100,000 or more: may fall outside the standard employment requirement.
These criteria were adjusted in 2026 and are revised periodically. Verify the current figures before relying on them.
The practical consequence for company formation is direct: a company incorporated at the TRY 50,000 statutory minimum for a limited company will not support a work permit for its foreign manager. Capitalise for the permit, not for the statutory floor. Increasing capital afterwards requires a general assembly resolution and registration, at the moment the business least wants a delay.
Other exceptions
The five-employee rule is not universal. Categories treated differently include:
- Workplaces employing fewer than five Turkish citizens may in defined circumstances employ up to two foreign nationals without meeting the standard employment and financial criteria.
- Household workers and certain care roles.
- Foreign nationals married to Turkish citizens and living in family union.
- Holders of long-term residence permits, indefinite work permits and Turquoise Cards, who do not require an employer-sponsored permit at all.
- Certain categories under international agreements.
- Foreign nationals in sectors and regions covered by specific programmes, including some investment incentive arrangements.
Each of these has conditions, and the safe approach is to identify the specific provision rather than to rely on a general impression that an exception exists.
What the criterion is for
It helps to understand the policy, because it explains how the criterion is applied.
The rule exists to ensure that foreign employment supplements Turkish employment rather than displacing it. It is a labour market protection, not an administrative formality, and assessments reflect that purpose: a company with a genuine workforce seeking a specialist it cannot recruit locally is in a different position from one whose payroll exists to support a permit application.
That is also why artificial compliance is a poor strategy. Registering five people who do not work is a social security fraud with its own serious consequences, and it is detectable from contribution patterns.
Practical strategies
Capitalise properly at formation. The single most effective step, and the cheapest.
Consider the USD 100,000 shareholding. Where the foreign national is investing anyway, structuring the shareholding to meet this threshold may change the assessment.
Build the Turkish workforce first. Where a business genuinely needs staff, recruiting before applying is simpler than applying and recruiting against a deadline.
Consider the joint stock board structure. An investor who does not need to work in Türkiye can sit on the board of a joint stock company while resident abroad and avoid the permit question entirely.
Sequence multiple permits. Where several foreign employees are needed, the compounding requirement means they cannot all be applied for at once. Plan the order.
Check exceptions before assuming the rule. Marriage to a Turkish citizen, long-term residence and Turquoise Card status each change the analysis completely.
What happens on refusal
A work permit refusal is an administrative act. An objection may be made to the Ministry within the period specified in the decision, and an annulment action may be brought before the administrative court within sixty days of notification.
Where the refusal reflects a genuine failure to meet the criteria, litigation is unlikely to assist — the better course is to meet the criteria and reapply. Where it rests on a factual error, or on a failure to consider an exception that applies, that is a case worth bringing.
Frequently asked questions
Must the five employees work in the same workplace? The assessment is at workplace level on social security records.
Do part-time employees count? Treatment depends on the registration; check before relying on it.
Does the rule apply from day one for a shareholder? No — for a shareholder-manager it is applied over the latter part of the first permit year.
What if my company has only two employees? In defined circumstances a workplace with fewer than five Turkish employees may employ up to two foreign nationals outside the standard criteria. Take advice on whether your case fits.
Does marriage to a Turkish citizen help? Yes — spouses living in family union are treated differently.
Can I count employees of a group company? The assessment is of the applying workplace. Do not assume group employment counts.
How long does an application take? Typically weeks where the file is complete; incomplete files take substantially longer.
Structure around the criterion
The five-employee rule is best treated as a design constraint rather than an obstacle. Decided at formation — capital, company type, who will work in Türkiye and who will not — it rarely causes difficulty. Discovered at the point of application, it delays a business exactly when it needs its people.
Dural Hukuk advises on structuring for work permit criteria before formation, prepares work permit applications for shareholders and employees, and challenges refusals before the administrative courts. Call +90 535 260 74 54 or use the contact form on this site.
This article is general information on Turkish law as at August 2026 and is not legal advice. Evaluation criteria are revised periodically; verify the current figures before relying on them.