Work Permits
Students:
Your residence permit does not automatically give you the right to work in Türkiye. You need an official work permit to work in Türkiye. The work permit is not something individuals can apply for individually. The company that wants to hire you should apply for your work permit. In other words, inTürkiye, you first need to find a job, and then the company should apply for a work permit for you.
- Students at the undergraduate level can only get a work permit after they complete their first year at the university.
- Students at the undergraduate level can only get a work permit for part-time jobs.
- Students at the undergraduate level can only get a work permit for jobs outside of the university/campus.
- Students at the graduate level can get a work permit starting from their first year at the university.
- Students at the graduate level can get a work permit for both full-time and part-time jobs.
- Students at the graduate level can only get a work permit for jobs outside of the university/campus.
Once you get a work permit in Türkiye, that permit is counted as a residence permit, and you do not need to apply for a residence permit until the expiry date of your work permit.
If it is found out that you work in Türkiye without an official work permit, your residence permit could be canceled by the Migration Office.
After you graduate:
Turkish laws allow students who graduate from Turkish higher education institutions to get a one-year-long residence permit, which could be used as an opportunity to seek for a job in Türkiye. To get this type of residence permit, you need to apply for a short-term residence permit within six months after your graduation under the "those who graduated from a Turkish university" category.
Work Permit Exemptions:
Researchers who will be employed within research projects are exempted (up to two years) from the work permit. These individuals (students or post-doc researchers) can apply for the work permit exemption by themselves without waiting for their residence permit to be issued.
For your questions regarding work permits, you need to contact the General Directorate For the International Labour Force, operating under the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
+90 312 296 6000