CAN I GET RESIDENCE PERMIT WHEN I OPEN A COMPANY IN TURKEY?
In some countries, company registration automatically grants a residence permit to the shareholder of the company. Therefore, entrepreneurs ask the same question here. Can I get residence permit when I open a company in Turkey? However, when you open a company in Turkey you do not automatically get residence permit. Both processes are completely separate. But having a company in Turkey gives you a right to apply “establishing business or commercial connections type” of residence permit.
What is Having a Company in Turkey and What is Having a Residence Permit in Turkey
According to Turkish law, Company is a commercial enterprise that arises as a result of two or more natural or legal persons coming together and combining their labor or goods with a contract for a common purpose. Recently, opening a company in Turkey with single shareholder likewise the other countries became possible in Turkey. As you can tell from the definition company is a legal entity with a purpose. The most important purposes of companies are generating income.
On the other hand, “residence permit” is a kind of legal status grants to its holder to legally stay in Turkey. Generally, it is limited to a certain period of time. The durations of the residence permits are approximately 1-2 years.
Consequently, both concepts are from legal point of view independent from each other. However, since the investors sometimes require relocating to a country for the business. In such scenario those two concepts intersection to each other.
Scenarios for Opening a Company in Turkey and Obtaining a Residence Permit
1-When you open a company in Turkey, you do not get a residence permit
In some countries, to our best knowledge such as UAE this is possible. The director of the new company automatically gets the residence permit of the country. However, this is not the case in Tukey. In Turkey, there are several types of residence permits, such as tourism, education, business etc. You can find the list of the potential types of the residence permits at www.goc.gov.tr. Opening a company in Turkey is relevant only one type of the residence permit which is “establishing business or commercial connections type”. Therefore, Turkey company registry only give a chance to apply this type of residence permit. Moreover, having a company only gives a right to make application to residence permit. The relevant immigration authority has a right to accept and reject of your application.
2-In order to get residence permit, you do not need to open a company in Turkey
The ultimate goal of some applicants is sometimes having a legal residency in Turkey. Likewise the other countries, they think, by opening a dormat company in Turkey they can get residence permit. However, in Turkey the situation is not like this. There are numerous options to obtain residence permit in Turkey. The other options such as tourism, education, health etc, relatively easier. Moreover, if the situation of the applicant does not reflect the reality, the result might be likely negative. As a result, if you are not planning to do business in Turkey, it is better not to go through company opening.
3.To open a company in Turkey, you do not need residence permit.
This means if your only purpose is to establish a company in Turkey. In other words, you do not want to relocate to Turkey, you do not need a residence permit in Turkey. Residence permit is not one of the conditions to establish a company in Turkey. You can open your company at trade registry, and you can continue to live in your own country. You may open a manager to follow up your business in Turkey. Generally, the business entrepreneurs who are planning to do export from Turkey choose this option. Moreover, some nationalities such as Russia they have banking problems. In order to overcome this issue, they open a company and commercial bank account in Turkey. For the investors who wish to reside in Turkey after they open a company in Turkey, they shall obtain a residence permit. To achieve this;
- You have to enter into Turkey with tourist visa. If you wish to apply, “establishing business or commercial connections type”, you should enter to country with business visa
- Apply the residence permit over the government portal of the immigration office
- Get the interview date online
- Attend the designated interview with the required documents
At the same time, you can start the process for opening a company in Turkey. You can visit our web page Turkey “register company in Turkey” you can find plenty of information.
Briefly, if you are planning to open a company in Turkey with a real person shareholder you can visit our office only with your passport. If you are planning to open a company in Turkey with a legal entity shareholder, additionally the board of directors’ resolution and the corporate documents of your company are required. For the details you can contact us.
Conclusion
One of the main requirement for resident permit is either purchased or rented residence in Turkey. As it was explained in our guiding page, a legal address required for opening a company in Turkey. If your business in Turkey does not required a large office or a shop, you can use your residence address as a legal address when opening a company in Turkey.
If you are not planning to reside in Turkey and therefore if you are not planning to purchase or rent a resident, you can use virtual office options when opening a company in Turkey.
In conclusion, residence permit and opening a company in Turkey process are completely separate process. We will be happy you to assist you on both concept.