Owning a Turkish company can support both a residence permit and, if you intend to actively manage or work in the business, a work permit — but the two are different documents with different conditions, and neither is granted automatically simply because you hold shares. It helps to separate them clearly before you apply.
A residence permit (ikamet izni) gives a foreigner the right to stay in Türkiye beyond the visa-free or visa period. It can be obtained on several grounds — business activity, property ownership, family or study — and applications are made online through the e-İkamet system. As of 2026 the residence-permit document fee set by the Ministry of Interior is TRY 810, on top of any card and processing costs. A residence permit is what lets you do things like open certain bank accounts and obtain official certificates as a resident.
A work permit (çalışma izni) is required if you will actually work in Türkiye, including as the company's own director drawing a salary, and it doubles as a residence permit for the duration of its validity. It is issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, and the company — not the individual alone — must meet financial and employment criteria for it to be approved.
For company owners those criteria tightened in 2026, and the key figures are worth planning around. The Ministry generally expects the company to have at least TRY 500,000 of paid-in capital before it will approve a work permit for a foreign owner. In addition, an employment ratio applies: for every foreigner on a work permit (including the owner), the company is expected to employ five Turkish citizens. Newly formed companies receive a grace period — during the first six months of the first work permit the five-employee rule is relaxed, but from the seventh month it must be met and maintained at every renewal.
This means the sequence matters. Many owners form and capitalise the company first, build it up, and apply for the owner's work permit once the capital and staffing can support the criteria — rather than applying on day one. If you only need to be present occasionally, a residence permit on business or another eligible ground may fit better than a full work permit.
It is important not to confuse these permits with citizenship. Turkish citizenship by investment is a separate programme with its own, much higher thresholds — for example a qualifying property purchase at the published minimum, or a defined capital or job-creation investment — and it is not a consequence of ordinary company ownership. A company can be part of a longer immigration plan, but the routes and requirements are distinct.
Because the financial and employment thresholds change and are enforced strictly, this is an area to approach with current, tailored advice. Mapping your presence needs, your capital and your hiring plans against the latest rules — before you file — is what turns permit applications from a source of stress into a predictable step, and it is a core part of what P&B Global helps non-resident owners arrange.