Under Turkish system, a work permit shall be issued for a definite period of time at most one year in order for the foreign national to work in a certain workplace or enterprise and in a certain job.
Applications for extension of the work permit must be filed by the foreigner or the employer directly with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security,by submitting the original copy of the previous work permit, along with the application form and the documents specified in theappendix of the implementation regulation.
Following expiry of the legally valid working period of one year, the Work Permit may be extended up to two years, provided that the foreign national works in the same workplace or enterprise and in the same job. At the end of the working period of three years(1+2), the term of the Work Permit may be extended further for a maximum period of three years in order for the foreign national to work in the same job and with any employer. Foreigners who have resided in Turkey for at least eight uninterrupted years on a legal basis, or foreigners who have a total of six years of employment with a work permit, may file applications for indefinite work permits.
Term extension applications must be filed within a maximum of two months in advance of the expiration date of the permit. Extension applications filed within a maximum of fifteen days following the expiration of the work permit will also be processed. The termextension applications filed thereafter are subject to the principles applicable to foreigners who file an application for the first time.
According to article 21 of Law no. 4817; the foreigner that works without a working permission is subjected to an administrative penalty of 3.350,00 TL. in 2015.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
