Turkish Work Permit: Foreign Documents and Apostille

A work permit for Türkiye is handled by the Directorate General of International Labour Force in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. According to the ministry, an application generally starts with the foreign national applying for a work permit and visa at the relevant Turkish mission abroad.

What the ministry asks of foreign documents

For the diploma, the ministry's document list asks for a copy of the diploma or provisional graduation certificate with a Turkish translation approved by a sworn translator or by official authorities. The document is scanned and sent online during the electronic application.

The list names the apostille explicitly in one case. For a performer applying in the entertainment sector, the reference letter showing international standing must carry an apostille under the 1961 Hague Convention or a certification by a Turkish mission, again with an approved Turkish translation.

The implementing regulation adds a reserve power. The Directorate General may ask for the paper original of a document, or for a copy certified by a Turkish mission, by the applicant's country's mission in Türkiye, by the relevant institutions or by a notary, and it may have documents translated again.

So keep the originals at hand even after the online upload. Where an apostille is needed, the office that issues it depends on where the document was issued; our country and state pages list it.

Our part

The Turkish translation is made in Ankara by translators sworn before a Turkish notary, and notarised where the receiving authority requires it. The ministry decides whether the documents are accepted.