Türkiye Work Permit for Pakistanis 2026: Employer Process, Salary Rules and Real Costs

Published July 31, 2026 · by Hijrat — visa consultants, Islamabad & Rawalpindi

Türkiye is a popular target for Pakistani professionals and skilled workers — but unlike a visit eVisa, a work permit cannot be bought or applied for on your own. It is an employer-driven process: a Turkish company must sponsor you, and two applications run in parallel. Here is the realistic 2026 picture.

Step one: a genuine job offer

Everything starts with a signed employment contract from a Turkish employer. Be wary of agents selling “Türkiye work visas” without a named employer — the Ministry of Labour rejects applications where no real vacancy exists, and for many roles the employer must first show the position could not be filled by a Turkish citizen through the İŞKUR employment agency.

The two-track application

You file a work visa application at an Anatolia visa application centre in Pakistan (Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Faisalabad or Hyderabad) and receive a reference number. Your employer must then apply to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security within 10 days of that reference number. The Ministry’s decision typically takes up to 30 days; overall, plan for 4–8 weeks.

Rules your employer must meet

Turkish law generally requires the sponsor to employ five Turkish citizens for every foreign worker, and to pay minimum salaries tied to the national minimum wage: roughly 1.5× for most roles, 3× for specialists and teachers, 4× for mid-level managers, and 6.5× for senior managers, engineers and pilots (2026 benchmarks). If an offer promises a salary far below these multiples, the permit is unlikely to be approved.

What it costs in 2026

Government charges for a first one-year permit total roughly TRY 19,000–21,000 (about US$540–595): the work permit fee (~TRY 11,000), the permit card (~TRY 1,400) and the consular work visa (~TRY 6,000), plus sworn translations and notarisation of your documents. Degrees and certificates should be attested — see our attestation service and MOFA/apostille guide.

After approval

The work permit doubles as your residence permit, and renewals get easier with time in the same job. If you only plan to visit Türkiye first, read our Türkiye eVisa guide — a tourist eVisa does not allow work, and overstaying or working on it can bar future permits. Browse all our work visa services for other destinations too.

Disclaimer: Turkish work permit fees are set in lira and revised every year (figures above are 2026 rates, ~TRY 19,000–21,000 total); salary thresholds move with the Turkish minimum wage. All permit decisions rest with Türkiye’s Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Confirm current requirements with the Ministry or the Turkish Embassy before applying.