Foreign Employee Work Permit, Tax and Payroll

Coordinate work-permit eligibility, social-security start, tax residence and Turkish payroll in one onboarding file.

Scope

A foreign-employee file requires four separate tests: work permit or exemption, Turkish social-security coverage or treaty detachment, tax residence under domestic law and the relevant DTA, and taxation of salary through Turkish payroll. Residence status alone does not grant a right to work. Nor does “183 days means automatic full tax residence” account for the domestic domicile/continuous six-month rules, temporary-assignment exceptions and treaty provisions.

Classification as an in-country, overseas, extension or independent-permit application, exemption or out-of-scope status
General criteria: five Turkish employees per foreign worker plus paid-capital, sales or export tests for the employer
Role-based pay floor: 5x minimum wage for executives/pilots, 4x for engineers/architects, 3x for other managers, 2x for skilled roles and minimum wage for other jobs
Current criteria relief for qualifying software, database, mobile, network-security and enterprise-architecture roles in IT-sector workplaces
Separate capital share, ownership percentage and seventh-month employment tests for a foreign shareholder who works in the company
Fifteen-day Ministry calendar for work start/end and circumstances requiring permit cancellation
Social-security start based on permit, entry and service dates; one-month window and consistency with the declared permit salary
Country-specific detachment period and coverage certificate under an applicable social-security agreement
Domestic domicile/continuous six-month test, temporary-assignment exceptions and the relevant DTA residence/183-day provision
2026 Turkish payroll: progressive income tax, minimum-wage income/stamp-tax exemptions, social security and benefits; no minimum living allowance
Separate annual-return review for multiple employers, salary paid directly by a foreign employer and Turkish withholding
Separate conditions for the liaison-office Article 23/14 and QSC Article 23/1-20 salary exemptions
Tax equalisation/gross-up, shadow payroll and home-country adviser data calendar
Onboarding, employer/role change, permit extension and departure checklist

Process

01

Pre-eligibility

Test application route, role, sector, salary, employer financial criteria and current exemptions.
02

Permit and contract

Align the filing route, employment contract, job description and evidence; no approval guarantee is given.
03

Tax and social-security decision

Review travel days, domicile, DTA, social-security agreement and detachment evidence together.
04

Start and payroll

Track permit, entry and service dates; retain social-security, Ministry notice and payroll-start evidence.
05

Periodic control

Reconcile salary, benefits, FX, permit conditions, withholding and annual-return exposure.

Deliverables

Work-permit/exemption eligibility and document matrix
Employer, role, pay and sector-criteria check
Tax-residence and DTA position memo
Turkish social-security or treaty-detachment evidence file
Turkish payroll setup and monthly control pack
Fifteen-day Ministry and one-month start/social-security calendar
Annual salary-return and departure note where required

Pricing model

Monthly package based on headcount, application route, country/social-security agreement, DTA analysis, shadow payroll and benefits; permit filing, translation, notary, fees and home-country advice are scoped separately.

Typical timeline

Permit timing depends on a complete file, application route, profession/prior approval and additional-document requests; no fixed one-to-two-month result is guaranteed. After approval, work and social-security start are managed within the applicable one-month window using the permit, entry and service dates. The monthly payroll delivery date is set in the engagement.

Frequently asked

Does a foreign employee automatically become fully tax resident after 183 days?

No. Turkish domestic law examines domicile, continuous presence for more than six months in a calendar year and temporary-assignment exceptions. The applicable DTA may apply a separate 183-day employment test and residence tie-breakers. Travel, employer and cost-bearing facts must be reviewed together.

How do liaison-office and QSC personnel tax positions differ?

The liaison-office salary exemption depends on the employer, payment and foreign-currency conditions in Income Tax Act Art. 23/14. At a QSC, Art. 23/1-20 covers only qualified service personnel who directly perform listed services, excluding support staff. The exempt portion is generally capped at three times gross minimum wage and five times in the IFC or a qualifying Industry Zone. Stamp-tax exemption follows the income-tax-exempt portion; social-security treatment requires a separate review.

Must every foreign employee enter Turkish social security?

Not in every case. A foreign employee within Article 4/a is generally subject to Turkish social security, but an applicable bilateral agreement and valid detachment/coverage certificate may preserve home-country coverage for a limited period. The country, sending employer, assignment period and certificate must be verified.

Does the five-Turkish-employee rule apply to a foreign software engineer?

Under the current criteria, employment and financial-capacity tests are generally disapplied for qualifying software-development, database, mobile, systems/network-security and enterprise-architecture roles in an IT-sector workplace. The actual role must fit the list; this does not create an automatic right to a permit, and salary/other requirements remain subject to review.

Official sources

Last statutory source check: 8 September 2026

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