Liaison Office Permit, Setup & Compliance

A permit, opening and recurring-compliance file for a foreign company establishing a non-commercial presence in Türkiye.

Scope

A company incorporated abroad may open a liaison office with Ministry of Industry and Technology permission only if it does not conduct commercial activity in Türkiye. The initial permit is for a maximum of three years for the stated activities; extension is not automatic, and permits for market research or promotion of the foreign company’s products or services are not extended. The page does not market a “zero-tax office”: the non-revenue condition, funding, payroll, social security, work permits and evidence duties are managed together.

Decision matrix covering liaison office, branch and Turkish company across activities, invoicing, liability, people and tax
Map the intended purpose to a Ministry activity category and control prohibited sales, collections and contracting
Application form, non-commercial undertaking, parent activity certificate and financial statements
Apostille or consular certification, sworn translation and representation/power-of-attorney checks
Permit application to the Ministry’s General Directorate of Incentive Implementation and Foreign Investment
Post-permit tax registration, lease notification, banking and operational-opening checklist
One-month reporting control for representative, company-name and address changes
Employee onboarding, payroll, social security, foreign-employee work permits and wage-tax eligibility
Evidence chain linking parent funding to expenses, payroll and bank movements
Annual Activity Information Form, supporting bank evidence and permit-expiry calendar
Extension file covering past activity, business plan, expenditure and headcount, including non-extendable-purpose check
Separate closure and A.Ş./Ltd. or branch plan before commercial activity starts

Process

01

Activity and structure test

Turn each Turkish activity into a liaison-office, branch or company decision with commercial, PE and income risks.
02

Documents and authority file

Check parent documents, financials, business plan, representation powers, apostille/certification and translations.
03

Ministry application

Track the application without promising approval; record missing documents, regulated-sector consultation and authority requests.
04

Post-permit compliance

Set up tax/lease notifications, banking and payroll, funding evidence, annual forms, changes, extension and closure calendar.

Deliverables

Liaison-office, branch and company eligibility/prohibited-activity matrix
Ministry application file and document, translation and authority checklist
Post-permit first-month and operational-opening task plan
Employee wage-exemption conditions test, payroll/social-security and funding evidence file
Annual activity, change, extension, closure and conversion calendar

Pricing model

Fixed project quote based on activity, document jurisdiction, apostille/certification, people, regulated-sector and extension scope. Recurring compliance is separate; translation, notary, consular and third-party costs are itemised.

Typical timeline

The Ministry’s published target is to conclude an establishment or extension filing within 15 working days when all requested information and documents are complete and accurate; this is not an approval guarantee. Home-country documents, apostille/certification, translation, regulated-sector consultation, banking and tax steps add separate time.

Frequently asked

Can a liaison office make sales or issue invoices?

No. A liaison office must not conduct commercial or income-generating activity; sales, customer collections and revenue invoices are incompatible with the structure. A breach can create permit-cancellation and, depending on the facts, PE, corporate tax, VAT, withholding, penalty and interest exposure. The tax result follows the actual conduct and contracts rather than one automatic formula.

Is a liaison office really “zero tax”?

That description is inaccurate. The absence of a corporate-income-tax registration for a genuinely non-commercial office does not eliminate every financial duty. Payroll, social security, work permits, wage income/stamp tax, rent payments, reverse-charge or withholding duties, banking and Ministry filings require separate tests.

Is employee salary exempt from income tax?

Payment in foreign currency alone is not enough. Article 23/14 requires, among other conditions, a foreign employer without a Turkish legal or business centre, no income-generating activity in Türkiye, genuine employment income, payment from foreign earnings in foreign currency and no charge to Turkish accounts. Social security, work permits, payroll evidence and possible stamp-tax consequences are analysed separately.

Is a five-year extension automatic after the first three years?

No. The first permit is for a maximum of three years for the stated purpose. The Ministry assesses the prior activity, business plan, Türkiye objectives, expenditure and headcount. Permits for market research or promotion of the foreign company’s products or services are not extended.

How do you transition from a liaison office to a company?

Before commercial activity starts, a Turkish A.Ş./Ltd. or foreign branch is established separately; contracts, employees, assets, banking and closing balances are transferred under a controlled plan. The liaison-office permit does not convert into a company, and there is no single fixed transition duration.

Official sources

Last statutory source check: 8 September 2026

Let's schedule a conversation.

A short, complimentary intro call — let's design the right solution for your situation.

Request a call

or WhatsApp or share the details in the short form

Written reply within one business day