Your work permit was refused — what now?

First: read the decision and the date

A refusal, cancellation or termination decision is sent to the email address given in the application and can be seen in the e-İzin system. The decision states the ground for refusal, and the whole appeal is built on that ground.

Note the date of notification. The appeal window is thirty days from that date, and once it passes the administrative appeal route closes.

Check your email regularly, including the spam folder. The clock does not stop because the decision did not reach you.

The most common grounds for refusal

• Uncertified translation — a foreign-language document uploaded without a sworn translation and notary certification
• Employment ratio — fewer than five insured Turkish citizens at the workplace for each foreigner to be employed
• Insufficient salary — the declared salary low for the nature of the work and the occupational group
• Inconsistent declarations — differences between the contract, the application and the social security records
• Residence permit problem — no valid permit of at least six months for an in-country application
• Closed profession — applying in a profession reserved by law for Turkish citizens
• Financial thresholds — the workplace not meeting capital, turnover or export requirements
• Missing documents — requested additional papers not uploaded within the deadline

Grounds are sometimes worded generally. If it is not clear which item caused the problem, the file has to be reviewed from the start; an appeal aimed at the wrong point changes nothing.

How to file an appeal

The appeal is filed through the e-İzin system within thirty days of notification. No paper petition is sent; the whole process is online.

1. Identify the groundUnderstand exactly what the decision says. The entire appeal must answer that specific point.
2. Write a reasoned petitionSet out item by item why the ground does not hold, or how the deficiency has been remedied. Avoid emotive language; rely on documents.
3. Gather supporting documentsPrepare the missing paper, the corrected information or the evidence as PDFs, each no larger than 2 MB.
4. Upload to the systemOpen the relevant application under Application Tracking Procedures and upload the petition and documents.
5. Complete with an e-signatureAn appeal is not complete until it is signed electronically either.

The Ministry then assesses the appeal. The result is again notified by email and can be followed in the system.

If the appeal is also refused

Where the administrative appeal fails, administrative court remains open. An annulment case can be brought before the administrative court, and you will need a lawyer at that stage.

Litigation can take a long time, and no right to work arises meanwhile. In practice, fixing the deficiency and applying again is usually faster than going to court.

We are not a law firm; at the litigation stage you need a lawyer. What we do is resolve the ground for refusal and build the new file correctly.

Reapplying

A refusal does not bar a new application. Once the deficiency behind it has been fixed, a fresh application can be made and the file is assessed from scratch.

The thing to avoid is returning with the same mistake. If the ground was the employment ratio, the workplace structure has to change; if it was salary, the contract; if it was translation, the paperwork.

Remember too that for applications from abroad, the application is refused if the fee and valuable paper charge are not paid within thirty days of notification — refusals of that kind are easily avoided.

If the appeal succeeds, the work permit document is issued — specimen image published by the Ministry.