Workforce Mobility & Immigration in Turkey
Work permit coordination for foreign partners, managers and key staff relocating to Turkey, filed jointly by employer and employee.
TurkeyCurrency
TRY (Turkish lira)
Free movement
Not applicable — work permit generally required for all nationalities
Main non-EU route
Work permit (çalışma izni) filed jointly by employer and employee
Registration deadline
Typically within 1–2 weeks of arrival
Housing — single employee
~$600–1,300/month (1-bed, central/expat-friendly districts; outer districts and the Asian side roughly $350–650/month)
Housing — family of four
~TRY 45,000–80,000/month (roughly $1,000–1,800) for a 2–3 bed in family-oriented neighborhoods
Moving workforce into Turkey
Turkey's standard corporate tax rate is 25% (30% for financial institutions), applied after deductions and exemptions — but since 1 January 2025 a parallel domestic minimum tax regime requires every corporate taxpayer to also compute liability at 10% of taxable income before most exemptions and deductions, paying whichever of the two results is larger. Unlike the OECD Pillar Two minimum tax it echoes, Turkey's version is not restricted to large multinational groups above a consolidated-revenue threshold: it applies broadly, which caps the practical effect of investment incentives, R&D deductions and other reliefs that would otherwise reduce a company's effective rate below 10%.
Discuss your Turkey relocation planTurkey is not an EU/EEA member
Work permit (çalışma izni) filed jointly by employer and employee, typically alongside a Turkish Consulate work-visa application abroad prior to entry; no EU Blue Card equivalent applies, as Turkey is outside the EU
Confirm the right route for a hireWhat sits with the company
Once the right to work is confirmed, payroll registration follows — see our Payroll & Workforce Management in Turkey guide for the employer registration steps that come next.
Set up a relocation processWhat it costs to house a relocating employee
Figures below are indicative for Istanbul, Turkey's primary market for relocating employees — a company relocating multiple staff should budget by destination city, not a single national number.
| Item | Single employee | Family of four |
|---|---|---|
| Typical apartment | 1-bedroom | 3-bedroom |
| Rent (Istanbul) | ~$600–1,300/month (1-bed, central/expat-friendly districts; outer districts and the Asian side roughly $350–650/month) | ~TRY 45,000–80,000/month (roughly $1,000–1,800) for a 2–3 bed in family-oriented neighborhoods |
| Security deposit | Commonly 2 months' rent for furnished apartments; no universal statutory cap equivalent to Ireland's or the UK's | Commonly 2 months' rent for furnished apartments; no universal statutory cap equivalent to Ireland's or the UK's |
Frequently asked questions
Talk to a Turkey mobility expert
The domestic minimum tax and the inflation-accounting suspension both point to the same planning discipline: Turkish tax positions that look settled under current decrees rest on statutory triggers that remain in force and can reactivate. Companies should treat both as live variables to monitor annually, not settled facts to file away.