Job Discussion Forums

[coffeespoonman]

Ok. I've got the ikamet, and I've got permission from YOK to work. Now, I know that I can change the status of my visa in Turkey since I've got a residence permit... I'm just not sure how to do it. Can anyone help? Where do I need to go? Can I do it in Istanbul, or do I have to go to Ankara? What do I need to bring?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated, and if anyone has any questions on how I got this far without returning to the US, I'd be happy to field ikamet questions for a little while (carrying my weight, as it were).

Thanks!

[molly farquharson]

your school should be doing it. why aren't they?

[FGT]

In the Ikamet, what is written on the bottom line of the page opposite your photo? where it says "profession" is it blank or does it say "ogretmen" or equivalent? If the latter, you are probably ok, if not, maybe your school is trying to pretend to do the legal stuff but actually fobbing you off with something else. When you ask

[coffeespoonman]

My school would get the visa, I'm sure, but they don't know how to, since I'm in Turkey. I've heard over and over that it's possible once you have an ikamet, and I know people who've had it sorted for them, but that's something this school has never dealt with. They got YOK approval for me, but they don't know the next step.

And nothing is written under the photo. It's not tied to a work permit. I know that I can now legally change the status of my visa inside Turkey, but I don't know where to go, or what I need to bring when I get to said destination (forms in triplicate, letters from departments, etc.).

On the other hand, nobody here is actually bothered that I don't have a work permit, as long as I have an ikamet and YOK approval, so I might not even have to change my visa status, although it would be really nice to do so...

So, again, if anyone has any information on how to change your visa status when you are a legal resident and currently inside Turkey, I would love a bit of help. Thanks!

[justme]

Honestly, you probably don't need to change your status. Since you have a residence permit, you're allowed to be here. It's not like immigration comes around rousting illegals. Does it specifically say in your ikamet that you're not allowed to work?

To get work permission, I'm pretty sure that only your school can do the applications. I think they get some paper from Y�K or the Ministry of Ed stating that you can work, then that paper goes to the Emniyet for stamping your ikamet.

You wouldn't need a visa in your passport at this point-- visas are only to enter a country, and have to be issued by consulates/embassies which are only outside of the country. If you leave Turkey and want to come back in, you just show the ikamet.

[yaramaz]

Since i made a last minute decision to stay, which made the easy ikamet renewal process kind of, well, impossible, the school where I am headed said they would get me a basic res permit upon my return to Turkey in November and then from there get the work status approved. Apparently this is possible. It may help, though, that I already have tax numbers and have been in Turkey 4 years with a work permit (until now- it expired 2 weeks ago).

[coffeespoonman]

Thanks for the tips! I'll probably just kind of tell my employers, "hey, look, you should probably call YOK or the Eminiyet and find out how to get me legal..." And then kinda forget about it. I haven't had any problems in the last year, and at least I don't have to worry about problems at the border...

[thrifty]

[molly farquharson]

my school does it

[justme]

[Mikana51]