Türkiye Turquoise Card

Summary

The Turquoise Card (Turkuaz Kart) is a premium long-term work and residence permit issued by Türkiye (Turkey) for highly qualified foreigners. Introduced under the International Labor Force Law No. 6735 in 2016, it is designed for people whose work or investment Turkey actively wants to attract — senior professionals, researchers, investors, entrepreneurs creating Turkish jobs, and individuals with extraordinary talent in science, culture, or sports.

Unlike the ordinary work permit, which is tied to one employer, the Turquoise Card is an indefinite authorization to live and work in Turkey, issued initially with a three-year transition period and then converting to permanent status. It also accelerates the path to Turkish citizenship.

Eligibility

There is no single checklist — the Turquoise Card is awarded discretionarily to applicants who fall into one of four recognized categories. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security evaluates each file.

Highly qualified professionals

• Advanced education (typically graduate degrees) and significant international experience in scarce fields — senior engineering, advanced IT, medicine, finance, architecture, senior management.
• A Turkish employer or assignment demonstrating that the applicant's skills are in demand.

Investors

• Significant capital investment in Turkey, particularly in priority sectors designated by the Presidency.
• Job creation for Turkish citizens tied to the investment.

Researchers and academics

• Internationally recognized academic credentials and publications.
• Affiliation or planned affiliation with a Turkish university, research institute, or TÜBİTAK-supported project.

Extraordinary talent

• International recognition in arts, culture, or sports — for example, artists with major international exhibitions, athletes at national-team level, musicians and performers with established track records.
• Contribution to Turkey's reputation or cultural life.

Common baseline

Across all four categories, applicants must:

• Hold a valid passport.
• Present a clean criminal record.
• Submit a detailed CV and motivation file.
• Pay the application fee.

What the Turquoise Card grants

• Indefinite right to live and work in Turkey, not tied to any single employer.
• Same social security, healthcare, and education rights as Turkish citizens (except voting and public-sector employment).
• Spouse and minor children receive a Turquoise Card Dependent Certificate (Turkuaz Kart Sahibi Yakını) carrying broadly similar rights.
• Freedom to start a business, invest, and own property without additional permits.

Transition and review

• The card is issued with a three-year transition period. During this period, the holder must notify the Ministry of any change in address or employment.
• At the end of year three, if the holder has continued the activity that justified the card, it converts to the indefinite Turquoise Card.

Path to citizenship

• Turquoise Card time counts as legal residence. After five continuous years of residence, the holder can apply for ordinary naturalization under Article 11 of Citizenship Law No. 5901.
• In practice, Turquoise Card holders are treated favorably in the discretionary naturalization review, given the high-skill basis on which the card was issued.

What This Route Allows

If approved, this route gives you long-term work residence in Türkiye (Turkey). Key limit: The file must fit one recognized Turquoise Card category and show the Turkish value proposition: scarce professional skill, significant investment and jobs, research affiliation or publications, or extraordinary cultural or sports recognition. The first three years are a transition period.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a guarantee of approval. Immigration authorities can still review documents, admissibility, background, funds, and whether the facts match the pathway rules.

Next Steps

1. Identify the category that fits. Most Americans who qualify come in under the professional or researcher tracks; investors usually prefer the citizenship-by-investment route directly.
2. Assemble the dossier. Diplomas, publications, employment history, letters of support from Turkish institutions or employers, financial statements, and a written rationale for why you meet the "highly qualified" threshold.
3. Line up a Turkish sponsor or affiliation. Professionals need a Turkish employer; researchers need a Turkish institution; athletes and artists need a federation, club, or cultural institution sponsoring the application.
4. File through the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. Applications run through the ministry's online portal; the Ministry consults the Presidency of Migration Management and the International Labor Policy Advisory Board.
5. Attend interviews as requested. The Advisory Board may request additional documentation or an interview.
6. Receive the Turquoise Card. On approval, you receive the card at a provincial migration office. It functions as both your residence permit and your work permit.
7. Comply with the three-year transition. Maintain the underlying activity and update the Ministry on material changes; at the end of year three, the card converts to indefinite.

Sources

• International Labor Force Law No. 6735 — statutory basis for the Turquoise Card.
• Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Labor and Social Security — Turquoise Card program and application portal.
• Presidency of Migration Management (Göç İdaresi) — residence component of the Turquoise Card.
• Invest in Türkiye — investor- and talent-facing overview of the Turquoise Card program.