Citizenship by Employment

Step-by-Step Process

Turkish Citizenship by Employing 50 People

All steps and legal requirements in the process of acquiring Turkish citizenship by creating employment.

1. 1

   SECTION ONE - LEGAL BASIS OF CITIZENSHIP APPLICATION VIA EMPLOYMENT

   Among the citizenship application options by investment in Turkey, there are different methods such as real estate investment, bank deposit, government debt instruments, investment funds, individual pension system, and fixed capital investment. One of these methods is creating employment for at least 50 people in Turkey.

   The basic condition in the citizenship application via employment is that it is officially determined by the official authorities that employment is created for at least 50 Turkish citizen employees through the workplace or workplaces owned or partnered by the foreign real person. The institution authorized to make this determination is the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

   In this scope, the applicant foreign investor must first obtain a conformity certificate from the General Directorate of International Labor of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security in order to proceed to the citizenship process. The conformity certificate is the basic document showing that the employment condition is met in accordance with the legislation. Without this certificate, the investment condition of the citizenship application is not considered completed.

2. 2

   SECTION TWO - EVALUATION OF THE 50-PEOPLE EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENT

   The most important point in the citizenship application via employment is that the number of employees is present not only on paper but also actually and legally. At least 50 Turkish citizen employees must be employed continuously and insured for the last six months in the company or companies owned or partnered by the applicant. The 50-worker requirement must be met for each month of the last six months. If workers are to be dismissed, first workers in the amount of dismissed workers must be employed, notified to SGK, and then the dismissed workers' relationship with the company must be terminated. Otherwise, falling below 50 in the number of workers even for 1 day in this transition period may cause the citizenship application to be delayed or become impossible.

   While this evaluation is made, not only the current number of employees but also the continuity of employment is taken into consideration. In practice, whether the employees work full-time, whether the Social Security Institution records are up-to-date, and whether employment has continued stably in the last period are examined.

   Therefore, the following points must be evaluated in advance when planning employment for citizenship purposes:

   • Current number of employees of the company,
   • Whether the required number of employees has been provided in the official records for the last month,
   • Whether the employees are Turkish citizens,
   • Whether the SGK records of the employees are kept properly,
   • Whether the employees are employed full-time,
   • Whether the company has tax debt,
   • Whether the company has social security premium debt,
   • The partnership structure of the company and the applicant's share of capital,
   • Whether there is a negative record due to administrative fines or audits in the last period.

   A deficiency in any of these conditions may cause the conformity certificate application to be rejected or the process to be extended.

3. 3

   SECTION THREE - THE APPLICANT'S LEGAL BOND WITH THE COMPANY

   In order to apply for citizenship by employing 50 people, the applicant must be legally connected to the company or companies where the employment is located. In other words, it may not be sufficient for the foreign investor to be only a person providing external financing in the said workplace or workplaces.

   The applicant being the company owner, partner, or capital share owner is important in the conformity certificate evaluation. Therefore, the trade registry records, partnership structure, and capital shares of the company must be carefully examined before the application.

   Especially in case of providing a total of 50-people employment through more than one company, the applicant's partnership and capital relationship in these companies must be evaluated separately. The independent structure of the companies, the applicant's capital share being considered insufficient, or the partnership structure not being clear may create a risk in the application process.

   Company structure and the applicant's position in the companies must be legally analyzed before applying for citizenship via employment.

4. 4

   SECTION FOUR - WHAT IS A CONFORMITY CERTIFICATE?

   A conformity certificate is an official document showing that the foreign investor meets the minimum investment or employment requirement sought for the Turkish citizenship application. In citizenship applications via employing 50 people, this document is issued by the General Directorate of International Labor of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

   This document is one of the most critical stages of the citizenship application. Because in order for the applicant to apply for Turkish citizenship, it must first be accepted by the relevant public institution that the investment requirement has been met.

   In citizenship applications via employment, the conformity certificate confirms the following points:

   • That the applicant has a workplace or company connection in Turkey,
   • That the applicant has a sufficient partnership or capital relationship in the relevant company or companies,
   • That at least 50 Turkish citizen employees are employed,
   • That the SGK records of the employees are present,
   • That the tax and social security obligations of the company are in a inspectable status for the application,
   • That the employment condition is considered sufficient for the citizenship application.

   It is not possible to apply directly for citizenship without obtaining a conformity certificate. Therefore, in the first stage, whether the employment condition is met must be examined, and then the application file for the conformity certificate must be prepared.

5. 5

   SECTION FIVE - DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR CONFORMITY CERTIFICATE APPLICATION

   Foreign real persons who will request a conformity certificate on the grounds that they have created employment for at least 50 people make their applications in writing to the General Directorate of International Labor of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

   The application file generally contains the following documents:

   • Application petition signed by the applicant foreign real person,
   • Signature declaration of the applicant obtained from the notary,
   • Completely filled employment information form,
   • Copy of the pages of the applicant's passport containing identity information,
   • Trade registry gazette records showing the partnership and capital shares of the company or companies where the employment of at least 50 Turkish citizens is located,
   • Trade registry certificate of recent date,
   • SGK workplace employee list of the last six months showing the list of insured persons working in the workplace or workplaces owned or partnered by the foreign real person,
   • Revenue Administration records showing the tax debt status of the company or companies,
   • SGK records showing the social security premium debt status of the company or companies,
   • Written declaration on whether an administrative fine was imposed in administrative audits within the last six months,
   • Documents regarding the fine if applied.

   It is extremely important to prepare the application file completely and consistently. In case of contradictions between documents, trade registry records not being up-to-date, SGK lists not meeting the employment condition, or problems in documents regarding debt status, the conformity certificate process may be extended or the application may be rejected.

6. 6

   SECTION SIX - APPLICATION AND EVALUATION PROCESS

   The first official stage in the citizenship application via employment is the conformity certificate application. The application is evaluated by the General Directorate of International Labor of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.

   If the application is made completely, the evaluation process progresses faster. However, in case of missing information or documents, time is given to the applicant to complete the deficiencies. If the deficiencies are not completed within the time, the application may be rejected.

   During the evaluation, the Ministry does not limit itself to looking only at the number of employees. The legal structure of the company, the applicant's share in the company, the reality of employment, insurance records, tax and premium obligations, and the continuity of employment are examined together.

   If it is determined that the required conditions are met, a conformity certificate is issued and the application result is notified to both the applicant and relevant institutions. After this stage, the foreign investor can proceed to the citizenship application process.

7. 7

   SECTION SEVEN - CONTINUITY OF EMPLOYMENT AND APPLICATION RISKS

   One of the most important risks in citizenship applications via employing 50 people is that the employment is provided only formally on the application date. Public institutions can evaluate the reality and continuity of the number of employees.

   Therefore, short-term, temporary, or employment structures that seem to be created only for the citizenship file should be avoided before the application. The field of activity of the company, number of employees, payroll structure, financial records, and commercial volume must be compatible with each other.

   Some situations that may create a risk for the application are:

   • Creating the 50-person employee count suddenly at a date very close to the application,
   • Employees not working actually,
   • SGK records not reflecting the truth,
   • Incompatibility between the company's commercial activity and the number of employees,
   • Tax or SGK premium debts of the company,
   • The applicant's share in the company being insufficient or controversial,
   • Incompatibility between company records and SGK records,
   • Presence of administrative fines or negative records from audits in the last period.

   Therefore, all records of the company must be examined legally and financially, deficiencies must be resolved, and the conformity certificate application must be prepared accordingly before applying.

8. 8

   SECTION EIGHT - IMPORTANCE OF LAWYER SUPPORT

   Applying for Turkish citizenship via employment is a process that requires multi-faceted evaluation in terms of corporate law, labor law, social security law, tax practices, foreigners' law, and citizenship law.

   Lawyer support is particularly important at the following stages:

   • Evaluation of the applicant's compliance with citizenship conditions,
   • Examination of the company partnership structure,
   • Control of trade registry records,
   • Evaluation of the compliance of SGK employee lists with the application,
   • Examination of tax and premium debt records,
   • Preparing the conformity certificate application file,
   • Following up on missing documents or institution correspondence,
   • Executing the short-term residence permit process,
   • Preparing the citizenship application file,
   • Including the spouse and children in the application file,
   • Following up on the application process before the relevant institutions.

   Applications prepared incompletely or incorrectly may cause not only the process to be extended, but also the application to be rejected. Therefore, it is recommended to obtain professional legal support from the beginning of the process in Turkish citizenship applications via employing 50 people.

9. 9

   SECTION NINE - GENERAL STAGES OF THE PROCESS

   Turkish citizenship application via employing 50 people in Turkey generally consists of the following stages:

   1. 1.Examination of the applicant's company structure and partnership status,
   2. 2.Evaluation of the number of employees in the company or companies,
   3. 3.Control of SGK, tax, and trade registry records,
   4. 4.Resolving missing or risky issues,
   5. 5.Preparing the conformity certificate application file,
   6. 6.Applying to the General Directorate of International Labor of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security,
   7. 7.Obtaining the conformity certificate,
   8. 8.Applying for a short-term residence permit,
   9. 9.Preparing the citizenship application file,
   10. 10.Applying through the Provincial Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs,
   11. 11.Completion of the administrative investigation process including security and archive research,
   12. 12.Acquisition of Turkish citizenship by the decision of the President if found appropriate.

   Each of these stages requires document preparation, institution examination, and legal evaluation within itself. Therefore, the process must be executed in a planned and controlled manner from beginning to end.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Legal Basis

• Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901

  Regulates the acquisition, loss of Turkish citizenship, and the basic procedures and principles regarding citizenship.

• Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law

  Regulates the application conditions and procedures regarding the acquisition of Turkish citizenship through investment and in an exceptional way.

• Article 20/2-c of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law

  Regulation regarding the ability of foreign nationals, whose creation of employment for at least 50 people is determined by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, to apply for Turkish citizenship in an exceptional way.

• Foreigners and International Protection Law No. 6458

  Holds importance in terms of the short-term residence permit processes of foreign nationals who will apply for citizenship by investment.