The five to one rule, in the Ministry's own words
The core sentence is this: "adına çalışma izni başvurusu yapılan yabancının çalışacağı işyerinde, istihdam edilmek istenilen her bir yabancı için en az beş Türk vatandaşının istihdamı esastır". In plain terms, the workplace where you will actually work, not the group, not the holding company, must already have five Turkish citizens on its social security books for each foreigner it wants to add. Hire a second foreigner and the employer needs ten. ÇSGB evaluation criteria, checked 20 Sep 2026
There is a second, quieter ceiling that people miss. The same criteria state: "Birinci fıkra kapsamındaki işyerlerinde çalışma izniyle çalışan yabancıların sayısının aynı işyerinde çalışan Türk vatandaşı sayısından fazla olmaması esastır". Foreign permit holders must not outnumber Turkish citizens at the same workplace. That bites in small firms that have used exemptions to get several foreigners through.
The exemption that came into force on 3 August 2026, and why it changes your strategy
This is the single most useful thing in this guide. Since 3 August 2026 the criteria carry a new provision for people who are already legally in Turkey:
"Çalışma izni başvurusu tarihi itibarıyla son üç yılda en az bir yıl süreyle Türkiye'de çalışma izni, ikamet izni veya uluslararası koruma kapsamında yasal olarak kalmış yabancılar adına yapılan yurt içi çalışma izni başvurularının değerlendirilmesinde, bu kapsamda yer alan en fazla üç yabancı ile sınırlı olmak üzere istihdam ve mali yeterlilik kriterlerinin uygulanmaması esastır."
Read it carefully, because the wording is precise. If, on the date the application is filed, you have spent at least one year of the previous three legally in Turkey on a work permit, a residence permit or under international protection, and the application is made from inside Turkey, then the employment criterion and the financial sufficiency criterion are not applied. A single workplace can use this for a maximum of three foreigners.
What it does not do is lift the salary criterion. The wage multiple in the table below still applies. So the practical effect is that a small Turkish employer who could never assemble five Turkish employees per foreigner can hire you if you are already here, but still has to pay you the multiple your occupation attracts.
The consequence for anyone planning a move: a year of lawful presence in Turkey, on a student, family or short term residence permit, is worth more to your employability than almost anything else you can do, because it converts you from a candidate an employer cannot legally hire into one they can.
ÇSGB, Çalışma İzni Değerlendirme Kriterleri, provision marked "(03.08.2026 tarihi itibarıyla yürürlüktedir)", checked 20 September 2026.
