Turkiye's immigration procedures, like most countries, are very impacted by local social security requirements. Issues related to social security law, employment law and tax must be considered by the Turkish employer sponsoring the work permit.
When a Turkish company sponsors a work permit, they must fully consider all options for complying with employment, tax and social security requirements; in this article we will focus on social security related matters.
As in many European countries, Turkiye has many bilateral social security treaties ("Treaty") and is also a party to European Convention on Social Security ("European Convention") whereby social security registration and payment of premiums in the home country (which is a party to the Treaty or European Convention) for the work permit holder may satisfy the Turkish employer's social security obligations to that work permit holder. So for instance, if a Spanish national is registered and their social security payments paid in Spain by their employer there, and is then transferred to a Turkiye based branch of that entity, continued registration and payment of the premiums in Spain during the assignment in Turkiye may satisfy the Turkish sponsors social security obligations to that foreigner (subject to limitations under the applicable Treaty/European Convention).
For this to be possible, it requires:
- A Treaty between Turkiye and the home country (or such country to be a party to the European Convention) where social security registration will continue and the premiums will continue to be paid;
- Must abide by all restrictions within that Treaty/European Convention (ex. not exceed the maximum number of years this coverage may be used);
- Timely file and have approved a Certificate of Coverage (CoC) within the home country where the premiums are paid;
- Notify the Turkish Social Security Institute of the above;
- (if requested) Notify the Turkish Work Permit Directorate of the above.
If there is no Treaty between Turkiye and the home country where the premiums are being paid (nor such country is a party to European Convention), offsetting the sponsors obligations in this manner will not be possible. Therefore, if the work within Turkiye will last more than 3 months, the Turkish sponsor of the work permit must register and pay Turkish social security premiums on behalf of the foreigner, regardless of if the salary will be paid in Turkiye or the home country.
Additionally, as the work permit is adjudicated by a directorate under the Ministry of Labor ("MoL"), any non compliance perceived in the work permit filing/renewal or observed in an MoL inspection, can and will be forwarded to the appropriate directorate within the MoL including: Social Security Institute, Employee Health and Safety, National Health Care, etc. Therefore, a violation of social security requirements is a major reason for compliance penalties (such as monetary fines, increased risk of audit, prohibition to benefit from social security incentives, etc.) for employers of work permit holders.
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.
