Foreign business owners: Work permit ‘panic and confusion’

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FOREIGN business owners have spoken of their ‘confusion’ at the potential threat of being kicked out of Turkey due to the legal needs of gaining work permits.

Voices revealed last week of the fate of one owner who has been hauled up before the Aydin immigration authorities.

They have been advised they needed to leave the country within 30 days. They were fined 765TL, and the business was fined 7,500TL. They are expected to leave mid-June.

They, and at least two others, fell to an apparent change in the law back in 2014 that requires legal foreign business owners to obtain work permits. If not, they face the threat of deportation.

But one of the biggest sticking points in obtaining a work permit is that the business owner should have at least 100,000TL in registered capital and employ five Turkish people on their books.

One foreign business, speaking to Voices on the grounds of anonymity, said: “There are very few foreign businesses in Didim, let alone, elsewhere, that would employ five Turkish people for every foreign worker.

“We have queried the law with a number of different advocates and we received different answers. There is a bit of panic but more confusion in the foreign business community as to what they need to do.

“If you look at small business owners, such as bars, how on earth are they going to be able to employ five people?

“We are seeking detailed guidance but it seems unequivocal. You need a work permit if you want to have a business here.”

They added: “We were only alerted to this issue when we read it on the front page of Voices. To say it has come as a major shock is an understatement.”

Sami Isik, a Didim-based translator and legal worker for the foreign community, said: “It is true that if you open a business in Turkey, you have to obtain a work permit for yourself, otherwise you’ll be seen by the authorities as working illegally.

“To be able to qualify for a work permit, your business must employ five Turkish people and have a minimum of 100,000 TL registered capital.

“Failure to do so could leave the foreign business owner with deportation and a hefty fine against the business and themselves.”

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