Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510
The Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510 is the framework for Turkey's social security system. For foreign nationals it decides who is enrolled, what a work accident triggers, and the routes — voluntary insurance and general health insurance — for those a foreign employer leaves outside the system.
What It Governs
Law No. 5510, the Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law (Sosyal Sigortalar ve Genel Sağlık Sigortası Kanunu), is the framework for Turkey's social security system. It defines who is insured, the obligations of employers, cover for work accidents, voluntary insurance and general health insurance.
Key Provisions for Foreign Nationals
Article 4 defines the insured categories: employees (4/a), the self-employed (4/b) and public servants (4/c). Enrolment of employees runs through an employer registered in Turkey — which is why a person employed directly by a foreign employer with no Turkish presence is typically enrolled by no one.
Article 13 defines the work accident, the event that triggers the system's short-term and long-term benefits — from temporary-incapacity payments to permanent-incapacity and survivors' pensions.
Voluntary insurance under Article 50 and following lets those outside mandatory coverage — including residents who work for a foreign employer — pay into the Turkish system by choice and build pension rights here.
Under Article 60, foreign nationals who have resided in Turkey for more than one year may opt into general health insurance, provided they are not covered by another country's scheme.
Official source: the official text of Law No. 5510 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.