Job Discussion Forums

[MBee]

Is there a difference between a work permit and a work visa in Turkey?

[happyman]

I have been told they are the same, but I can't be 100%

[coffeespoonman]

Yes, in that there is no such thing as a work permit.

Work Visa - special visa in your passport that allows you (your company) to apply for a residence permit with working privilages once you're in the country. And totally unnecessary, despite what anyone tells you.

Work Permit - stamp in your residence permit that allows you to work. Necessary.

[Moonshadow_51]

The work permit is issued from within Turkey. In other words, you can be hired from within Turkey and be processed while you await its approval. You cannot begin work until the permit is approved, though, not even if your university allows you to, or encourages you to do so. I know from experience that money can be lost working and then being told later that the contract is not valid until that work permit is issued through YOK.

The work visa is applied from your own home country, OR may be applied for in a different country, JUST so long as you have a residence permit in that country.

The work visa must be done through an Embassy, though, so if you are in some remote area of the world without easy access to a Turkish Consulate, and if you don't have a residence permit for the country where you reside, then flying home for the work visa application process is most reliable, if you have the time and money to follow through properly.

Added remark: I wish to add to what Coffeespoonman has posted. The Work visa requires that once you arrive here, you must register with the police to obtain your residence permit. Once you have the work visa, you use it with your passport and contract to obtain the residence permit, which you will definitely get, since you have been legally contracted and are sponsored.

The second option is to come to Turkey WITHOUT THE WORK VISA AND TO FIND WORK THROUGH A WORK PERMIT. This is trickier and more time consuming.

You would first need to apply for a residence permit within a few months' stay, and do so independently, without an employer's endorsement. This means that you must verify that you have funds of no less than 300 USD per month to support you while you are looking for a job. That is to say, if you apply for a three-month residence permit, you must show a receipt (belge) that is stamped by a currency exchange, verifying that you have 900 USD in cash for that three-month period. Many employers require a minimum of a six month residence permit to apply for the work permit through YOK, which means that you would need 1800 USD cash up front proving that you can afford to support yourself during your stay.

The first way - obtaining the work visa from your home country - is the best route to go, but not the only way.

If you enter Turkey with the work permit, your employer will help you process the simple residence permit and will sponsor it. I have gone through these steps recently, and know for certain I've given you most accurate info.

We've corresponded before, MBee, and I'd like to know how you are doing.

[Moonshadow_51]

[coffeespoonman]

Very informative post for those unfamiliar with the whole process, Moonshadow. I'm not at all contradicting what you're saying because you're totally correct, but I'd also like to add that all of this is the "offical" way that things are to be done, but that in Turkey, the "official" way is seldom the only, or even the simplest way.

I have, for example, picked up a work visa in Sofia, although I had no residence permit for Bulgaria. Others have, while on a tourist visa, just gone to the yabanci subesi (immigration office), had tea with the guy in charge, smiled a lot and looked friendly, and gotten their work permit with no problem (they had all the proper documents from the university and YOK - the ministry of education).

So, those who are not familiar with the way things work in Turkey and are used to inflexible systems should be aware that there is usually an alternate way to get things done if you find yourself in need.

[Moonshadow_51]

You are absolutely correct, Coffeespoonman.

But you know as well as I that it takes awhile to get one's feet wet in Turkey, and for some newcomers who want to know the diff between the permit and visa (work), some clarity might be helpful.

I wasn't disagreeing with you, but wished to steer people away from all the madness of contradictory information Turkey posts about itself on the Internet.

[delal]

How odd that you only need to show $300 a month in Istanbul while in Antalya we have to show $500, especially as Istanbul is more expensive.