Why Are Work Permit Applications Refused? Grounds and Appeal

Published: 11 September 2026 · Reading time approximately 7 minutes

Let us first correct a common misconception: a work permit application is made by the employer, not by the foreign national. For that reason most refusals arise not from the foreign national's circumstances but from whether the employer meets the conditions. The good news: almost all of these can be checked before applying.

The most common grounds for refusal

1. 1

   The employment ratio (quota) requirement

   The employer is expected to employ a set number of insured Turkish citizens for each foreign national it engages. If the social security records do not bear this out, the application is refused at the outset.

2. 2

   The salary requirement

   The monthly salary to be paid to the foreign national must not fall below a certain multiple of the minimum wage, depending on the nature of the post. If the figure in the contract is below that threshold, the file comes back.

3. 3

   Capital, turnover or export threshold

   The employer is expected to meet at least one of the criteria relating to paid-in capital, gross sales or export volume.

4. 4

   Mismatch between the post and the business activity

   The position applied for must bear a reasonable relation to the registered field of activity of the workplace and to the scale of the company. Three manager posts requested for a three-person company is a textbook ground for refusal.

5. 5

   Missing, expired or non-apostilled documents

   Gaps in the diploma, equivalence, contract and passport translations are the most easily avoided ground for refusal.

6. 6

   The profession being closed to foreign nationals

   Some professions are reserved for Turkish citizens by special legislation (law, notarial practice, dentistry, pharmacy and customs brokerage, for example). No permit is granted for these posts.

7. 7

   A problem with the foreign national's status

   A stay in breach of permitted duration, an entry-ban (restriction) code recorded in the system or an invalid passport will lead to refusal without the merits of the application being examined.

8. 8

   Diploma and equivalence problems

   If the level of education and experience the profession requires cannot be documented, the application will not be accepted — particularly in professions that require equivalence.

The salary, capital and employment ratio criteria are updated every year through legislation and administrative practice. That is why we do not quote figures here; before you apply we check the current thresholds against your company's social security and balance sheet data.

Are there exemptions and exceptions?

Yes. For certain application types — qualified labour under the Turquoise Card, key personnel under direct foreign investment, care staff in domestic services, or the foreign spouse of a Turkish citizen, for example — the general criteria are applied differently. Establishing at the outset which category your file falls into prevents an unnecessary refusal.

What is done after a refusal?

• Appeal: An appeal is lodged with the relevant Ministry within the period laid down by law, running from notification of the refusal decision. The period is short; the date of notification is what counts.
• Administrative lawsuit: If the appeal is also refused, an annulment action before the administrative court remains open.
• Reapplying after remedying the defect: If the ground for refusal is a missing document or a condition that can be corrected, a fresh, corrected application usually produces a result faster than an appeal.

The right choice depends on the stated ground for refusal. “Quota insufficient” and “document missing” are not solved the same way; so the first task is to read the reasoning in the refusal letter.

The risk on the employer's side

Employers who engage a foreign national without a permit face an administrative fine, and the penalty is updated every year; on repetition the amount rises. In addition, unauthorised work recorded against the foreign national creates a risk of an entry ban for them too — details: what is an entry-ban code and how do you find it out?

Common mistakes

• Not checking the employment ratio and the salary threshold before applying
• The position in the employment contract differing from the job description in the application
• Submitting the diploma without an apostille or without equivalence obtained
• Applying while the foreign national is in breach of their status
• Missing the appeal deadline and having to start from scratch
• Actually putting the foreign national to work before the permit is issued

We handle the pre-application eligibility check, file preparation and post-refusal appeal process — you can review our work permit consultancy service; and if you will be applying through a company, look at the company formation for foreign nationals step as well.