Directive
on the Employment of Foreign Personnel
in Foreign Direct Investments |
(From
the Ministry of Labor and Social Security:)
PART
ONE
Purpose, Scope, Justification and Definitions
Article
1. The
purpose of this Directive is to designate the procedures
and principles relating to the work permits of foreign
personnel to be employed in the companies, branch
offices and liaison offices operating within the scope
of Foreign Direct Investment Law No: 4875, in line
with the stipulations of Law No: 4817 on Work Permits
of Foreigners.
Article
2. This Directive will be
in effect for key personnel under foreign citizenship
to be employed in foreign direct investments and liaison
offices with exceptional features.
However work permits
of;
a)
Any foreign personnel except
those of key nature employed in foreign direct investments
with exceptional features, and
b) Any foreign personnel
to be employed in foreign direct investments except
those having particular features,
will be subject
to the provisions of Law No: 4817 and the Implementation
Directive on Work Permits of Foreigners.
Article
3. This Directive has been
prepared in accordance with Article 23 of Law No:
4817 on Work Permits of Foreigners and Article 3,
Paragraph (g) of Foreign Direct Investment Law No:
4875.
Article
4. For the implementation
purposes of this Directive;
“Ministry”
denotes the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
“Foreign
Direct Investment Having Particular Features”
denotes; company or branch office within the scope
of Foreign Direct Investment Law No: 4875 and fulfilling
at least one of the below specified conditions:
a)
The turnover of the previous
year of the company or the branch office is at least
TRL 30 trillion, provided that the total shares owned
by foreign shareholders is at least TRL 400 billion,
b) The amount of exports
realized by the company or the branch office during
the previous year is at least USD 1 million, provided
that the total shares owned by foreign shareholders
is at least TRL 400 billion,
c) At least 250 personnel
that are registered at the Social Security Authority
have been employed by the company or the branch office
during the previous year, provided that the total
shares owned by foreign shareholders is at least TRL
400 billion,
d) In the event that
the company or the branch office is yet to make investments,
the projected fixed investment amount is at least
TRL 10 trillion,
e) The company has at
least one foreign direct investment besides the country
its head office is located.
“Key Personnel”
denotes the employees employed by the company established
in Turkey as a legal entity having at least one of
the following features;
a)
Person who holds a position as; company shareholder,
Board chairman, Board member, general manager, assistant
general manager, company manager, assistant company
manager or a similar position, who is carrying out
at least one of the following duties:
1. Employed at top management
or executive position of the company,
2. Direct the whole or
a part of the company,
3. Audit or control the
works of company auditors, administrative or technical
staff of the company,
4. Recruit personnel
to the company or to dismiss the existing personnel
or to make proposals on these issues,
b)
Person who has expertise
of fundamental nature on the services, research equipment,
techniques or administration of the company,
c)
Regarding liaison offices, maximum one person to be
equipped with a power of attorney issued by the main
company abroad.
PART
TWO
Special Procedures and Principles in Granting Work
Permits
| Employment
of Key Personnel in Foreign Direct Investments
with Exceptional Features |
Article
5. Work Permits of key personnel
to be employed in foreign direct investments of exceptional
features will be granted by the Ministry.
| Employment
at liaison offices |
Article
6. For liaison offices operating
within the scope of Law No: 4875, work permits will
be granted by the Ministry for maximum one duly authorized
person, provided that USD 200.000.- at least have
been transferred from abroad for the activities of
the subject liaison office during the previous year.
| Application
for Work Permits Abroad |
Article
7. Foreigners carrying key
personnel status to be employed in foreign direct
investments with exceptional features, may file their
applications for work permits at the representations
of the Turkish Republic in the countries they are
citizens of or in the countries they reside.
The representations
will convey these applications directly to the Ministry,
together with their considerations if any, concerning
the work permit.
Communication between the representations and the
Ministry concerning work permit transactions will
conducted by e-mail. The documents to accompany the
application have to be submitted to the Ministry by
the employer of the foreigner, within three days following
the date of application latest.
| Application
for Work Permits within Turkey |
Article
8. Foreigners carrying key
personnel status to be employed in foreign direct
investments with exceptional features, as well as
their employers may file the work permit applications
directly to the Ministry, in case the subject foreigner
is residing in Turkey under legal status,
Article
9. Key personnel having
received work permit for being employed in foreign
direct investments with exceptional features are required
to apply to the representations of the Turkish Republic
abroad for work visa within ninety days following
the date of their receipt of the work permit and apply
to the Ministry of the Interior for a residence permit
within thirty days following their entry to Turkey.
Key personnel
who had previously received a residence permit - with
the exception of residence permits given for education
in Turkey– with minimum six months period, for
any reason, and have been granted a work permit within
this period, are not required to obtain a work visa
from the representations of the Turkish Republic abroad.
| Documents
to Accompany Application |
Article
10. The following documents
have to accompany the work permit applications of
key personnel to be employed in foreign direct investments
with exceptional features:
a)
Information and documents
certifying that the company or the branch office carries
“the features of an exceptional foreign direct
investment”:
1.
Documents certifying that
the total shares owned by foreign shareholders is
at least TRL 400 billion (documents such as company
endorsed book records, company endorsed balance sheet,
xerox copy of Trade Registry Gazette),
2. Documents certifying
that the exports realized by the company or the branch
office during the previous year has been at least
USD 1 million (documents such as bank receipt certifying
the export amount, bank letter, xerox copy of foreign
currency buying note, company endorsed income statement),
3. Documents certifying
that the turnover of the company or the branch office
for the previous year has been minimum TRL 30 trillion
(documents such as company endorsed income statement),
4. In case the company
or the branch office has employed at least 250 personnel
registered to the Social Security Authority (SSK)
during the previous year, documents certifying the
case such as SSK lists.
5. In case the company
or the branch office is yet to make investments, documents
certifying that the projected fixed investment amount
is at least TRL 10 trillion, such as Investment Incentive
Certificate, Tourism Incentive Certificate,
6. Certificate of Activity
or Activity Report or letter from the officially authorized
organizations of the related country certifying that
the company has at least one foreign direct investment
besides the country its head office is located at,
and letter of assignment certifying that the subject
key personnel have been assigned by the main company
headquartered abroad.
b)
Information and documents certifying that the foreign
personnel are at key status:
1.
For personnel subject to key personnel status described
in Article 4, paragraph (a), documents such as xerox
copy of circular of authorized signatures, xerox copy
of the Trade Registry Gazette, xerox copy of resolution
of Board of Directors or Board of Shareholders,
2. For personnel subject
to key personnel status described in Article 4, paragraph
(b), reference letter and its translation, copy of
the diploma and its translation, and other information
and documents on the line of work the subject personnel
will be employed and their translations (e.g.: for
export personnel, documents such as bank endorsed
bank receipt certifying exports on country basis,
bank letter, xerox copy of foreign currency buying
note, company endorsed income statement),
c)
For liaison offices, documents
certifying that at least USD 200.000.- or its equivalent
in foreign currency have been transferred from abroad
for the activities (documents such as power of attorney
issued to name of the person authorized for the office,
bank receipt certifying the money transfer, bank letter,
xerox copy of foreign currency buying note),
d)
Duly filled Foreign Personnel Declaration Form (in
4 copies), which is an enclosure of the Implementation
Directive for the Law on Work Permits of Foreigners,
carrying the employer’s stamp and signature
and photograph of the foreign personnel,
e)
In case the Foreign Personnel Declaration Form holds
the signatures of neither the employer nor the foreign
personnel; individual job contract entered by the
parties or an employment document certifying the employee’s
acceptance of the job proposal made by the employer
or its certified copy,
f)
Copy of the foreign personnel’s passport, not
having elapsed its date of expiry, certified by a
Turkish Consulate or a notary and its translation,
g)
Resume of the subject foreign personnel in accordance
with the “Format Resume” enclosed in the
Implementation Directive for the Law on Work Permits
of Foreigners,
h)
Work permit petition to be issued by the employer.
| Applications
for Extension of Work Permits |
Article
11. Extension applications
for work permits of key personnel to be employed in
foreign direct investments with exceptional features
have to be made to the Ministry by the foreign personnel
or his/her employee, by submitting the previous permit
in addition to the documents designated in Article
10, paragraphs (c), (d), (e), (f) and (h) of this
Directive.
Application to
extend a work permit has to be made fifteen days before
its date of expiry latest. Extension applications
made after this time limit will be considered as initial
applications by the Ministry.
Extension applications
for work permits may as well be made earlier, provided
that they are filed within the two-months ahead of
the expiry date of the said work permit earliest.
In case a work
permit is extended; the date of initiation of the
extended work permit is the date of expiry of the
expired work permit.
| Evaluation
Periods of Work Permits |
Article
12. The Ministry finalizes
the applications for work permits and extensions thereof
made for key personnel to be employed in foreign direct
investments with exceptional features and liaison
offices within the scope of Article 6 of this Directive
within fifteen days following the date of application
to the Ministry latest, provided that the related
documents are proper and complete.
In case it becomes
evident that the application is short of any document,
the Ministry notifies the applicant and requests the
fulfilment of the missing document. In such a case,
the fifteen-days evaluation period starts on the date
the missing documents reaches the Ministry.
For applications
made abroad, the fifteen-days evaluation period starts
on the date all the documents reach the Ministry.
Applications made
for key personnel to be employed in occupational training
jobs in foreign direct investments with exceptional
features, the fifteen-days evaluation period designated
in the first paragraph above will not be in effect.
| Non-execution
of the Public Announcement Period |
Article
13. Article 14, paragraph
(b) of Law No: 4817 will not be in effect for key
foreign personnel to be employed in foreign direct
investments with exceptional features.
| Employment
in a Job outside Occupational Education/Training |
Article
14.Considerations of related
authorities will not be asked for, on the occupational
competence of key personnel to be employed in jobs
outside their occupational education/training in foreign
direct investments with exceptional features.
These persons are not subject to procedures on occupational
requirements and competence and license requirements
and competence stipulated in the Implementation Directive
for the Law on Work Permits of Foreigners.
PART
THREE
Miscellaneous Provisions
| Refusal
of Work Permit Applications |
Article
15. While evaluating the
work permit and extension applications for foreign
personnel within the scope of Article 2, paragraph
2, sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of this Directive, the
Ministry takes the restrictive provisions of Law No:
4817 into consideration.
The accomplishment
of an investment within Law No: 4875 does not necessarily
require the granting of work permit to foreign personnel
– including company shareholders.
| Notification
of Statistical Data |
Article
16. Aiming at establishing
and developing an information system regarding foreign
direct investments, the Ministry notifies the statistical
data concerning foreign personnel to the Undersecretariat
of Treasury – General Directorate of Foreign
Investments every three months.
Article
17. Values stipulated in
Turkish Lira for the designation of foreign direct
investment having particular features will be raised
each year by the reevaluation index to be proclaimed
by the Ministry of Finance.
| Cases
not Stipulated by the Directive |
Article
18. In cases not stipulated
by this Directive, provisions of Law on Work Permits
of Foreigners and Implementation Directive for the
Law on Work Permits of Foreigners will be in effect.
Article
19.This Directive will come
into effect on 6 September 2003
Article
20. The provisions of this
Directive will be enforced by the Ministry of Labor
and Social Security.
