Didim Today

I have just read that there is a significant increase in the number of EU citizens, lead by Germans, applying for work permits in Turkey. I think this is ironic 40 years after the first arrival of Turkish workers in Germany. Certainly the qualifications are not comparable, but still. I would say most of the German citizens applying for Turkish work permits are officers and executives positioned in German companies operating in Turkey.

I wrote about work permits on Oct. 27, 2010 (http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist-225495-turkishwork-permit.html ). I then indicated regarding exceptional work permits that there is a long list of those eligible and details and if you want to learn more about this, you can send in your questions.

Here is one of the questions I received following this article. “I have a couple of questions after reading your article of Oct. 27, 2010 in Today’s Zaman.

I am an İstanbul resident, Dutch citizen, spouse of a Dutch citizen working for a multinational company in İstanbul. I have been asked by a Dutch company to help them carry out some projects in İstanbul and I am looking for a legal basis to do so. I have two options in mind -- I am going to be an employee of the Dutch company.

Does this company have to apply for a work permit for me and is it possible for me to get one (under the ‘exceptional’ work permit), or can I work in İstanbul (being a Dutch employee) without a work permit?” The general rule for work permits As a foreigner, you are required to obtain work permit before you start working. You may apply for a work permit either in or outside of Turkey.

In case you would like to apply for a work permit while you are in Turkey, you can apply directly to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security with a valid residence permit (valid for a minimum of six months, except for residence permits for educational purposes).

In other words, for applications to be made from within Turkey you need to have a residence permit as a pre-condition. Otherwise, you must apply to the relevant Turkish consulate in your country of residence (if you reside in a country other than your country of origin/citizenship) or country of citizenship.

Conditions for exceptional work permit Unless the contrary is mentioned in bilateral and multilateral agreements to which Turkey is party to, foreigners referred to in Article 8 of Law No. 4817 may be given work permits under more flexible conditions. This kind of work permit is granted to those who meet certain requirements, mentioned below.

The first group is foreigners who are married to a Turkish citizen and live in Turkey with his/her spouse and are staying in Turkey legally without being subject to any limitations on period of residence.

They can apply to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security for an exceptional work permit. The second group of foreigners consists of those who are regarded as having settled in Turkey after a marital union with a Turkish citizen has ended following a period of at least three years of family union (the family union concept would take a few paragraphs to explain and I can write more about this if somebody is really interested in reading about it). This group may obtain an exceptional work permit in case they reside in Turkey legally without any limitations.

There is a sub-group which includes children of those in the second group. In other words, children of foreigners considered as having settled in Turkey after marriage to a Turkish citizen which has ended after a period of at least three years may also be granted an exceptional work permit under the condition that they are in Turkey legally. I will write on the same topic in the second part of this article.

Berk Cektir http://www.berkcektir.av.tr/ The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner. http://www.todayszaman.com/ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it