If you are eligible to obtain a touristic visa without visiting a Turkish consulate in your home country, we advise you to do so and enter Türkiye as a tourist. Beside exceptions, you have the right to stay in Türkiye for up to 90 days as a tourist. Since your work permit will be issued in Türkiye and will be ready before your employment date, as long as you remain in lawful status, you can begin employment with a work permit. This means that faculty members can enter Türkiye with a touristic visa and begin their employment with the work permit that was obtained on their behalf. The International Community Office will keep faculty members posted about their work permit statuses.
For country specific information, please visit the official website of the Turkish Republic Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Visa Information for Foreigners.
Please note that “ordinary visa” refers to a regular touristic visa that students and non-students can obtain to enter Türkiye.
International students and non-students can enter Türkiye with an e-Visa. An e-Visa is a touristic visa that anyone can use to enter Türkiye and that does not require an in-person visa application at a consulate. The e-Visa module will also state whether an individual is exempt from touristic visas and if he/she can enter Türkiye with a valid passport. Nationals of some countries can travel to Türkiye with a valid passport. We recommend that everyone use the e-Visa module to check the visa requirements for Türkiye.
International faculty and staff working at KU first become residents, then begin employment. Their work permit process is completed before their employment start date. Faculty and staff work permits are also residence permits in the form of a picture ID card. Faculty members receive an academic work permit issued by the Higher Education Council of Türkiye (YÖK). International staff are issued a work permit by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
When a prospective applicant is offered and accepts employment, the Human Resources department notifies the ICO and we begin the work permit process following receipt of specific data about the faculty via our webform. ICO handles the whole process and faculty members are notified when the work permit application is approved. Work permit approval is followed by the delivery of the work permit ID card to Koç University. We keep your work permit ID until you arrive at the university and can collect it from our office. Since the work permit is at the same time as your residence permit in Türkiye, you can travel outside Türkiye and come back by presenting this ID card to the customs security officer upon entry. When your work permit expires you must follow the regular entry rules. ICO receives advice from Human Resources regarding the renewal status of each work permit for each international employee. Therefore, we will contact employees and their dependents, if any, to inform them about the next steps depending on their work permit renewal status. Faculty members, staff and post-doc researchers can contact Human Resources staff or respective faculty administrator about their employment contract renewal status for detailed information. ICO is solely entitled to facilitate the work/residence permit acquisitions of foreign employees and provide accurate and timely advise to them about maintaining their legal immigration status in Türkiye.
With recent regulation updates, Labor Department, Migration Authorities and the Higher Education Council have switched to combine work permits with residence permits for employees. Therefore, a faculty work permit is both a Turkish ID, Residency Card (residence permit) and Work Permit; all in one card. Work permits can be used for international traveling, banking, e-government registration, obtaining a driver’s license, taxation, mobile phone registration, and more.