In short: Amendments to Türkiye’s Work Permit Evaluation Criteria entered into force on 3 August 2026. The changes create targeted exemptions from the employment and financial adequacy criteria for certain domestic applications, introduce temporary sector-specific exemptions, and exempt qualifying long-term residents from all three general criteria.
Why it matters: Employers and foreign nationals should identify the correct application route, sector classification, workplace figures, and lawful-stay history before filing a work permit application.
Work Permit Evaluation Criteria at a Glance
| Effective date | 3 August 2026 |
| Responsible authority | Directorate General of International Labour Force, Ministry of Labour and Social Security |
| General criteria | Employment, financial adequacy and wage criteria |
| Temporary sector exemptions | Manufacturing, poultry farming, and waste collection/recovery/disposal until 31 December 2027 |
| Audience | Foreign employees, Turkish employers, HR teams, and mobility advisers |
The Three General Evaluation Criteria
The general Work Permit Evaluation Criteria continue to assess the workplace and the proposed role through three main tests.
1. Employment criterion
For workplaces subject to the balance-sheet basis, the general rule is that at least five Turkish citizens must be employed for each foreign national for whom a work permit application is submitted. The employment criterion does not apply to applications for up to five foreign nationals at a workplace whose previous-year net sales are at least TRY 50,000,000.
2. Financial adequacy criterion
For a newly established balance-sheet workplace, paid-in capital must generally be at least TRY 500,000. For an operating workplace, at least one of the following thresholds must generally be met:
- Paid-in capital of at least TRY 500,000;
- Previous-year net sales of at least TRY 8,000,000; or
- Exports of at least USD 150,000.
For an ordinary partnership established by balance-sheet workplaces, at least one partner must meet one of these financial thresholds.
3. Wage criterion
The salary offered must be assessed against the gross minimum wage in force on the application date. The minimum multiples are:
- Five times the minimum wage for senior executives and pilots;
- Four times for engineers and architects;
- Three times for other managers;
- Two times for jobs requiring expertise and proficiency; and
- The applicable minimum wage for domestic services and other occupations.
Domestic Applications: Up to Three-Foreign-National Exemption
For domestic work permit applications, the employment and financial adequacy criteria generally do not apply to a maximum of three foreign nationals who, on the application date, have lawfully stayed in Türkiye for at least one year during the previous three years under one of the following:
- A work permit;
- A residence permit; or
- International protection.
This exemption is limited to the qualifying foreign nationals and does not eliminate the need to satisfy other applicable requirements, including the wage criterion where it remains relevant.
Sector-Specific Exemptions Until 31 December 2027
Manufacturing sector
At manufacturing workplaces assessed on a branch basis, one additional foreign national for every five Turkish citizens employed may be evaluated as exempt from the employment criterion until 31 December 2027.
Poultry farming
For poultry farming activities, the temporary exemption covers animal care, poultry-house maintenance and similar jobs. At workplaces with five or more Turkish employees, one additional foreign national for every five Turkish employees may be exempt from the employment criterion. At workplaces with fewer than five Turkish employees, domestic applications may benefit from an exemption from the employment and financial adequacy criteria for up to two foreign nationals, provided that foreign nationals do not outnumber Turkish employees.
Recycling and waste operations
The same structure applies to waste collection, recovery and disposal activities. At workplaces with five or more Turkish employees, one additional foreign national for every five Turkish employees may be exempt from the employment criterion. At workplaces with fewer than five Turkish employees, the employment and financial adequacy criteria may generally be disregarded for up to two foreign nationals in domestic applications, provided that foreign nationals do not exceed Turkish employees.
Practical point
The sector exemptions are temporary and activity-specific. Employers should verify the workplace’s branch-level activity, the employee count, the proposed occupation, and whether the application is submitted domestically before relying on an exemption.
Eight-Year Residence Exemption
The employment, financial adequacy and wage criteria do not apply to work permit applications for foreign nationals who have resided in Türkiye for at least eight years under one or more qualifying statuses:
- Work permit;
- Short-term residence permit;
- Family residence permit;
- Student residence permit;
- Long-term residence permit;
- Humanitarian residence permit; or
- Residence permit for victims of human trafficking.
The applicant’s residence history and permit categories should be documented carefully, because eligibility depends on the qualifying eight-year period and the statuses recognised by the criteria.
Employer Checklist for 2026 Applications
- Confirm whether the workplace is subject to the balance-sheet basis and identify its branch-level activity.
- Calculate Turkish and foreign employee numbers for the relevant workplace and application route.
- Collect current corporate records showing paid-in capital, net sales and exports where the financial adequacy criterion applies.
- Check the foreign national’s three-year lawful-stay history and any qualifying eight-year residence history.
- Match the proposed role to the correct wage multiple and the gross minimum wage applicable on the filing date.
- Record the legal basis for any exemption in the application file and retain supporting evidence.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
When did the updated Work Permit Evaluation Criteria take effect?
The amendments concerning the exemptions entered into force on 3 August 2026. Applications filed after that date should be assessed against the updated criteria and the relevant exemption conditions.
Does the three-foreign-national exemption apply to every work permit application?
No. It generally concerns domestic applications for foreign nationals who lawfully stayed in Türkiye for at least one year during the previous three years under a work permit, residence permit or international protection. It is capped at three qualifying foreign nationals.
What must an operating workplace show under the financial adequacy criterion?
It must generally show paid-in capital of at least TRY 500,000, net sales of at least TRY 8,000,000, or exports of at least USD 150,000.
How long do the manufacturing, poultry farming and recycling exemptions last?
The sector-specific exemptions described in the updated criteria are stated to apply until 31 December 2027.
Can a small poultry farming or recycling workplace use the exemption for two foreign nationals?
For domestic applications, generally yes, where the workplace has fewer than five Turkish employees, the number of foreign nationals does not exceed the number of Turkish employees, and the application concerns the specified sector activities.
Does the eight-year residence exemption remove the wage criterion as well?
Yes. For qualifying foreign nationals who have resided in Türkiye for at least eight years under a listed status, the employment, financial adequacy and wage criteria do not apply.
Are the exemptions automatic once the applicant appears to qualify?
No. The employer and applicant should still document the relevant stay history, workplace figures, sector activity, occupation and application route. The file should make the exemption basis clear.
