International Labour Force Law No. 6735 (Uluslararası İşgücü Kanunu)
The International Labour Force Law No. 6735 is the framework statute for the employment of foreign nationals in Turkey — who needs a work permit, the permit types and their durations, the exemptions, and the consequences of unauthorised work for employee and employer alike.
What It Governs
The International Labour Force Law No. 6735, in force since 2016, is the framework statute for the employment of foreign nationals in Turkey. It replaced the earlier work permit legislation and governs who needs a work permit, the permit types and their durations, the exemptions, and the consequences of unauthorised work — for the employee and the employer alike. Applications are decided by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security against evaluation criteria published in administrative practice.
Key Provisions for Foreign Nationals
The law's basic rule is that a foreign national may not work in Turkey, dependently or independently, without a work permit or a documented exemption. Permits are term-limited by design: a first permit is issued for up to one year with a specific employer, with extensions of up to two and then three years, while long-term permits become available after eight years of lawful work. Article 10 also establishes the Turquoise Card, the law's flagship status for highly qualified professionals and investors, granting indefinite work rights with a three-year transition period. Independent work permits are available to foreigners who will work on their own account, assessed against the contribution their activity offers. The law treats a valid work permit as a residence permit for its duration — the interaction that shapes most foreign employees' status planning. On the employer side, the statute imposes notification duties and administrative fines for unauthorised employment, escalating with repetition; in practice the ministry's evaluation criteria — including capital and employment thresholds for the sponsoring company — decide more applications than the statutory text itself. Article 22 sets out the sanctions regime for working without a permit, which reaches both parties to the employment.
Official source: the official text of Law No. 6735 on mevzuat.gov.tr.
This is a concise summary for general information only and is not an official translation. For the binding legal text, consult the official source above. This page is not legal advice.