After the Work Permit is issued by the GDFI, the prospective employee must obtain a Work Visa personally from a Turkish Consulate abroad. Once this visa is issued the foreign national must apply for their Residence Permit from a local police department in Turkey within 30 days of arrival. The local police will then forward the application to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Residence Permit applications are generally approved without delay once the Work Permit and Work Visa are presented. The employee is technically not permitted to work until residency has been established.

Documents required to obtain a Residence Permit from local police officials:

1) Passport

2) Photocopy of passport

3) Photocopy of Work Permit provided by the Undersecretary of Treasury

4) A petition written on Company letterhead

5) 4 typed and signed originals of the Declaration of Intent

6) 7 passport-type photographs of the applicant

An exception to the above is a Work Permit issued to a foreign national already resident in Turkey. An example of this would be an employee of a company with a valid Work Permit for that particular company who then accepts a position with a different company in Turkey. These permits are issued by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security rather than by the GDFI.

For further information contact the Turkish Embassy:

United States: http://www.turkishembassy.org/
United Kingdom: http://www.turkishembassylondon.org/

For a complete list of Turkish Embassies and Consulates:

http://www.embassyworld.com/cgi-local/search.cgi?guest=Turkey&host=&count=0&menu=1

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