30 July 2026
This guide explains the current legal status of the five Turkish employee requirement in Turkish work permit law, the exceptions that have been introduced through regulatory changes, and what employers and foreign workers need to understand before filing a work permit application in Turkey.
One of the questions we receive most often from foreign companies and individual applicants is whether the five Turkish employee rule has been abolished. The short answer is no, it has not. The longer answer is that the framework has become more nuanced, with specific exceptions that apply in defined circumstances, and that assuming the rule no longer applies is one of the most common reasons work permit applications are refused in Turkey.
At Bayraktar Attorneys, we advise foreign nationals, employers, and international companies on work permit applications and employment structuring under Turkish law. This guide reflects our current understanding of the applicable regulatory framework, the exceptions in force, and the practical risks that arise from a misreading of the current rules.
The requirement that an employer maintain a minimum ratio of five Turkish employees per foreign employee was introduced to serve two connected policy objectives. The first is the protection of the domestic labour market: by requiring that foreign hires be accompanied by a proportionate level of Turkish employment, the rule ensures that work permits are not used to systematically displace local workers in positions where Turkish candidates are available. The second is the maintenance of employment balance: the rule is designed to ensure that the foreign labour force remains a supplement to, rather than a substitute for, the domestic workforce.
The rule is administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (Calisma ve Sosyal Guvenlik Bakanligi) as part of its evaluation of work permit applications under Law No. 6735 on the International Labour Force and the implementing regulations. The Ministry reviews applications on a case-by-case basis. A firm understanding of where the general rule applies and where exceptions are available is therefore essential to any work permit strategy.
The baseline requirement under the current regulatory framework is that, for each foreign national to be employed at a workplace, that workplace must have at least five Turkish citizens registered as social security-insured employees at the time of the application. This requirement applies regardless of the size, sector, or legal form of the employer, unless a specific exception applies.
Several points about the operation of this rule deserve attention in practice.
First, the five Turkish employees must be currently employed at the same workplace, not elsewhere in the company group. A Turkish holding company's headcount at a parent level does not satisfy the requirement for a subsidiary at a different workplace address.
Second, the employees must be registered with the Social Security Institution (SGK) as insured workers. Individuals who are employed informally, who are on unpaid leave and not registered, or who are counted toward the payroll but not reflected in SGK records, do not satisfy the requirement.
Third, the rule scales proportionally. If an employer wishes to obtain work permits for two foreign nationals, it must have ten Turkish employees; for three, fifteen, and so on. Each foreign work permit application is assessed independently against the ratio at the time of filing.
The regulatory framework introduced several exceptions to the general five-to-one rule. These exceptions are specific, defined, and conditional. None of them amounts to a general abolition of the ratio requirement, and none of them removes the rule permanently. They should be understood as carefully bounded relaxations rather than a general liberalization of the framework.
Where a workplace's annual net sales figure for the preceding year equals or exceeds TRY 50 million, the five Turkish employee requirement does not apply for the first five foreign nationals employed at that workplace. From the sixth foreign employee onward, the general five-to-one rule resumes and applies in full.
Several practical points apply to this exception:
A separate exception applies where the foreign national for whom a work permit is sought has resided legally in Turkey for at least three of the preceding five years. For these applicants, the employment and financial sufficiency criteria that would normally apply under the general framework are relaxed, subject to the following conditions:
This exception is particularly relevant for foreign nationals who are on a pathway toward Turkish citizenship through five years of residence and who have accumulated a significant qualifying period. It allows such individuals to enter or remain in the Turkish labour market without placing the same structural burden on their employer as would otherwise apply.
Where a foreign national is a shareholder or partner in a newly incorporated Turkish company and wishes to obtain a work permit in connection with that company, the five Turkish employee requirement does not apply for the first six months following the company's registration. This grace period is designed to give newly established businesses a realistic window to build their local workforce before the ratio requirement is enforced at renewal.
After the six-month period has elapsed, the standard five-to-one requirement applies at renewal. An employer who has not by that point employed the required number of Turkish workers will face refusal when the permit comes up for renewal. The grace period is therefore not a permanent solution but a transitional arrangement that must be used as a window for building the required Turkish headcount.
For certain categories of foreign direct investment that are considered strategically significant or qualifying under the applicable regulatory criteria, a separate exception applies for key personnel. In these cases, the five Turkish employee requirement is not applied to the first foreign national designated as key personnel in connection with the qualifying investment. This exception is more narrowly defined than the others and is assessed by the Ministry on the basis of the investment's characteristics, the applicant's role, and the specific criteria set out in the implementing regulations.
The five Turkish employee rule is not the only criterion assessed in a work permit application. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security also reviews the financial standing of the employer. For applications made on the balance-sheet basis (bilanço esası), the employer must meet minimum thresholds for paid-in capital or gross revenue, demonstrating that the business has the economic substance to sustain the employment in question.
The applicable financial thresholds are updated periodically and reflect the Ministry's assessment of what constitutes a financially viable employer for the purposes of sponsoring a foreign work permit. An employer that meets the headcount requirement but falls below the financial thresholds will still face difficulties at the application stage.
In addition to the headcount and financial criteria, the Ministry assesses whether the wage offered to the foreign national is consistent with the role and at a level appropriate for the position. Work permit regulations set minimum wage multiples for different categories of position. A manager or specialist role typically requires a salary at a specified multiple of the statutory minimum wage, and a wage set below the applicable multiple is a common reason for rejection.
The wage criterion has two practical implications. First, the employment contract presented with the application must state a wage that meets the applicable minimum for the position. Second, the wage actually paid must be consistent with what is declared in the application, since the Ministry may conduct post-permit checks. A work permit obtained on the basis of a declared wage that is not actually paid creates compliance risk both for the employer and for the foreign national at renewal.
Beyond the general rules and the defined exceptions, certain sectors are subject to additional or modified requirements. These include regulated professions such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, law, and engineering, where practice in Turkey by foreign nationals is subject to separate statutory frameworks, professional body requirements, and, in some cases, recognition of qualifications through the relevant Turkish authority. A work permit alone is not sufficient to practice in these sectors; the additional requirements of the relevant regulatory body must also be satisfied.
For sectors that do not fall within a specific regulatory regime, the general work permit framework applies, and the five Turkish employee rule and its exceptions determine the eligibility of the application. We recommend that applicants in any sector confirm whether additional requirements apply to their specific profession before filing an application that might be refused on grounds unrelated to the headcount ratio.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Security evaluates each application on its specific facts, and the most common reasons for refusal are consistent across our caseload:
The perception that the five Turkish employee rule has been entirely removed has practical consequences that we see regularly in our practice. Employers who proceed on this assumption file applications without the required Turkish headcount, receive refusals, and then face the practical problem of having a foreign national in Turkey without valid work authorization while the reapplication is prepared. In some cases, the foreign national's residence status is also affected, since a work permit also functions as a residence permit and its refusal or non-renewal creates a gap in lawful status.
For foreign nationals who are building a five-year qualifying period for citizenship purposes, a gap in work permit coverage is particularly consequential, since it may interrupt the continuity of lawful residence that is the foundation of the citizenship pathway. A misunderstanding about the current state of the work permit rules is, in this context, not merely an administrative inconvenience; it can set back a citizenship timeline by months or longer.
| Situation | Five Employee Rule Applies? | Conditions and Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Standard employer, first foreign employee | Yes, in full | Five Turkish employees required per foreign employee |
| Employer with annual net sales of TRY 50 million or more | No, for the first five foreign employees | Rule applies from the sixth foreign employee onward |
| Foreign national with three years of legal residence in the last five | Relaxed, up to three positions | Total foreign employees must not exceed total Turkish employees at the workplace |
| Newly incorporated company, first six months | No, during the grace period | Standard rule applies at renewal after six months |
| Key personnel under qualifying foreign direct investment | No, for the first key-personnel position | Specific investment and role criteria must be met |
| Renewal of any existing permit | Yes, reassessed at renewal | Headcount and financial criteria are re-verified at each renewal |
10.1. Has the five Turkish employee rule been completely abolished?
No. The rule remains in force as the general standard for work permit applications in Turkey. Certain defined exceptions have been introduced that relax the requirement in specific circumstances, but none of these exceptions constitutes an abolition of the rule. An application that does not fall within one of the defined exceptions must satisfy the five-to-one ratio to be approved.
10.2. My company's annual turnover is above TRY 50 million. Does that mean I can hire as many foreign nationals as I want without the five-employee rule?
No. The turnover exception applies only to the first five foreign employees at the qualifying workplace. From the sixth foreign employee onward, the standard five-to-one rule resumes and applies in full. Exceeding TRY 50 million in annual net sales removes the ratio requirement for a limited number of positions, not for all positions.
10.3. The foreign national I want to hire has lived in Turkey for four years. Does this help with the work permit application?
Potentially yes, if they have resided legally in Turkey for at least three of the last five years. In that case, the employment and financial sufficiency criteria that would normally apply are relaxed, and the application can proceed without the standard five Turkish employee requirement, subject to the limit of three foreign nationals under this exception at any one workplace, and provided foreign employees in aggregate do not exceed Turkish employees at that workplace.
10.4. We incorporated a Turkish company last month and want to hire a foreign national as a director. Do we need five Turkish employees immediately?
No, not in the first six months. Newly incorporated companies are given a six-month grace period during which the five-to-one requirement does not apply. However, this is not a permanent exemption. By the time the first renewal is due, the company must have the required Turkish headcount in place or the renewal will be refused.
10.5. Can I count Turkish employees at our parent company's office toward the ratio for a subsidiary's application?
No. The five Turkish employees must be employed at the same workplace as the foreign national for whom the permit is sought. Headcount at a different legal entity, or at a different workplace address within the same group, does not satisfy the requirement for the subsidiary's application.
10.6. We had five Turkish employees when the work permit was issued but our headcount has dropped. What happens at renewal?
The five-to-one ratio is reassessed at each renewal. If the Turkish headcount has fallen below the required level since the permit was issued, the renewal application will be refused unless the employer has rectified the shortfall by the time the renewal is filed. Maintaining the required ratio throughout the permit period, not only at the time of initial application, is a continuous compliance obligation.
10.7. What is the wage criterion and how does it affect our application?
The Ministry of Labour and Social Security sets minimum wage multiples for different categories of foreign worker. A manager or specialist role generally requires a salary at a multiple of the statutory gross minimum wage, with the applicable multiple depending on the nature of the position. An employment contract that states a wage below the applicable minimum is a common reason for refusal, and the wage declared in the application must be the wage actually paid.
10.8. Our foreign national is a doctor or engineer. Are there additional requirements beyond the work permit?
Yes. Regulated professions in Turkey, including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, law, and engineering, are subject to separate statutory frameworks and professional body requirements in addition to the standard work permit process. Foreign nationals wishing to practice in these professions must also obtain recognition of their qualifications from the relevant Turkish authority. A work permit alone is not sufficient for practice in these sectors.
10.9. What happens to the foreign national's residence status if a work permit renewal is refused?
A work permit also functions as a residence permit for its duration. If a renewal is refused, the foreign national's legal basis for residing in Turkey ends when the existing permit expires. They must either obtain an alternative residence permit category or leave Turkey within the applicable period. For foreign nationals building a five-year qualifying period for citizenship purposes, a gap in lawful status at this stage can interrupt the continuity of their qualifying period, with significant consequences for the citizenship timeline.
10.10. Can the five-to-one rule be satisfied by employing Turkish nationals on short-term or part-time contracts?
The Turkish employees counted toward the ratio must be registered with the SGK as insured workers in the ordinary sense. Short-term contracts are not in themselves disqualifying, provided the employees are properly registered and the employment relationship is genuine. However, informal or unregistered arrangements, and arrangements where employees are listed on payroll records but not reflected in SGK records, will not satisfy the requirement. The Ministry and SGK can cross-reference the figures, and discrepancies between declared headcount and SGK records are a known area of administrative review.
The five Turkish employee rule has not been abolished. It remains the general standard for work permit applications in Turkey and continues to be applied by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security on a case-by-case basis. What has changed is the introduction of defined exceptions that provide relief in specific, bounded circumstances: the TRY 50 million turnover exception for the first five foreign hires, the long-term residence relaxation for qualifying foreign nationals, the six-month grace period for newly incorporated companies, and the key-personnel exception for certain foreign direct investments.
Each of these exceptions has its own conditions, its own limits, and its own expiry point. None of them constitutes a general or permanent removal of the ratio requirement, and proceeding on the assumption that the rule no longer applies is one of the most consistent causes of work permit application refusals that we see in practice. The regulatory framework rewards employers and applicants who plan carefully and file accurately, and penalizes those who act on an incomplete understanding of the current rules.
At Bayraktar Attorneys, we advise foreign nationals, employers, and international companies on work permit applications, employment structuring, and the full range of Turkish immigration and labour law obligations. Whether you are assessing eligibility for an initial application, planning for renewal, or dealing with a refusal, we can assess your specific position and set out the available options. Contact us for a confidential consultation.
