Hiring a foreign employee: SGK registration, the 5:1 ratio and payroll documents

The work permit is only the first half of hiring a foreigner. The second half is the employer's: a social-security workplace file, the employee's SGK registration before the first day, a salary that matches the multiple declared in the permit, and a monthly declaration that the Ministry of Labour cross-checks against the permit. This guide sets out the employer's obligations in 2026, from the SGK file to the payroll folder, and the points where permits are lost.

Before the permit: the SGK workplace file

A company that has never employed anyone must open a workplace file (işyeri dosyası) at the SGK, through e-Devlet or the SGK's employer portal, before the first employee starts; the registration produces the workplace registration number used in every later declaration. The work permit application on e-İzin requires this number and reads the number of insured Turkish employees from it. Newly formed companies therefore open the file in the first weeks, even before the first hire, so that the e-İzin criteria check has data to read. See our company formation guide for where this sits in the sequence.

The 5:1 ratio and the financial thresholds

For each foreign employee the workplace must employ five Turkish citizens registered with the SGK, counted at the time of the application and maintained for the permit's duration; the Ministry recounts at renewal. The requirement applies from the sixth month of the permit for the first foreign employee of a new company. The company must also show paid-in capital of at least ₺100,000, or gross sales of ₺800,000, or exports of US$250,000 in the previous year. Foreign shareholders holding at least 20% of the shares and ₺40,000 of capital are exempt from the ratio for their own permit, and the Ministry grants sector exemptions (tourism establishments, education, certain engineering and IT posts, domestic work). The details are in our work permit guide.

Salary: the minimum wage multiples

The permit is granted on a declared position, and the position fixes the minimum gross salary as a multiple of the gross minimum wage in force: 1.5× for ordinary posts, 2× for acrobats, masseurs and similar listed posts, 3× for teachers, specialists and engineers in some categories, 4× for unit managers, engineers and architects, 6.5× for senior managers and pilots; domestic workers at 1×. The Ministry reads the SGK declaration every month: a gross salary below the multiple, or a position changed on payroll without a permit amendment, is a ground for cancellation at renewal. When the minimum wage is raised, usually in January, the multiples rise with it on the same day; payroll must follow.

Registration and the payroll folder

• Employment entry (işe giriş bildirgesi) submitted to the SGK no later than the day before the start, through e-Bildirge; the foreigner's YKN from the permit is the identifier. The employer must also notify the Ministry of Labour within 15 days of the start of work.
• Written employment contract in Turkish (a bilingual version is advisable), matching the e-İzin contract in position and salary.
• Personnel file: passport and permit copies, diploma with notarised translation (≈ ₺884 per page at the 2026 notarial tariff, paid to the notary), address record, criminal record certificate, health report where the post requires one, occupational-safety training records, bank account for salary payment.
• Monthly payroll: payslip signed or delivered electronically, salary paid through a bank, income-tax withholding and stamp duty, employee and employer SGK and unemployment premiums; foreign employees are insured on the same basis as citizens unless a bilateral agreement and a certificate of coverage exempt them.
• Monthly withholding and premium declaration (MUHSGK) filed by the licensed accountant by the 26th of the following month, with the premiums paid by the end of that month; see our monthly accounting guide.

State fees and notarial tariffs are paid by you directly to the state or to the notary; they never pass through us and we receive nothing from any notary. The figures above are the official 2026 tariff, last checked 24.10.2026.

Leaving, renewal and the usual failures

When a foreign employee leaves, the employer files the SGK exit (işten ayrılış) within 10 days and informs the Ministry within 15 days; the permit lapses, and the employee's residence right with it unless they hold another permit. Renewal applications are filed by the employer within the 60 days before the permit expires, with the ratio and salary conditions re-tested. The failures the Ministry sees most: Turkish employees counted at application but not kept; salary adjusted in January but not raised to the new multiple; the employee working at a second branch not covered by the permit; and the SGK entry dated after the start of work, which is an undeclared-employment fine on top of the permit problem.

Sources

• csgb.gov.tr — Ministry of Labour and Social Security: employer criteria, salary multiples, notification duties
• sgk.gov.tr — Social Security Institution: workplace registration, e-Bildirge, premiums
• mevzuat.gov.tr — Law 6735; Law 5510 on Social Insurance; Labour Law 4857
• turmob.org.tr — licensed accountants' 2026 minimum tariff

Questions