Employment of foreign teachers in educational institutions is increasing day by day with the effect of globalization. Accordingly, there is a significant increase in the number of foreign teachers in Turkey.
Foreign teachers who want to work in educational institutions in our country are allowed to be employed if necessary conditions are met in accordance with Turkish legislation. In this context, the procedures and conditions of employment of foreign teachers in Turkey are explained below in general.
1. The process of obtaining a preliminary permit from the Ministry of Education
According to Article 8 of the International Labor Law No. 6735, it is mandatory to obtain a preliminary permit from the Ministry of National Education in the evaluation of work permit applications of foreign teachers who will work in educational services that require professional qualification.
In this context, in Article 29 of the Ministry of National Education Private Education Institutions Regulation, the documents required for the preliminary permit are regulated. According to the relevant regulation, the following documents will be requested from the foreigners to be assigned as teachers:
- Notarized Turkish translation and the certified copies of the original Bachelor’s degree of their respective fields or a replacement certificate and the document indicating their respective field if it is not indicated on the diploma,
- Notarized Turkish translation and the certified copies of the “Teaching Formation” certificate indicating that he/she has gained the right to be a teacher in his/her country, or a notarized Turkish translation and the certified copies of the document issued by the official authorities, indicating that he/she has been teaching in the field for at least two years,
- Copy of passport,
- A certificate of equivalence obtained from the Council of Higher Education regarding the equivalence of the foreign teacher’s undergraduate diploma or replacement certificate from abroad.
Also, in the Regulation on the Qualifications and Selection of Foreign Teachers to be Assigned under Contract in Some Schools Affiliated to the Ministry of National Education, the points to consider in the selection of foreign national teachers are specified. Accordingly, teachers are required
- to have a four-year undergraduate degree or equivalent education,
- to have at least five years of teaching experience,
- to have a good or very good average of success in the reports prepared in accordance with the legislation of his/her country during the period of teaching,
- not to be over forty-five years old,
- to have accepted the assigned place of duty in Turkey,
- to document that he/she is medically fit to work in any climatic condition (It is requested after the selection),
- not to have received administrative and judicial punishments.
According to the regulations mentioned above, the status of the foreign teacher who wants to work in our country is first examined by the Ministry of National Education, and a preliminary permit is given according to the evaluation result. Foreign teachers who will work in private education institutions affiliated to the Ministry of National Education must obtain a preliminary permit from the General Directorate of Private Education Institutions of the Ministry of National Education, which indicates the proficiency of the foreigner, before applying to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security.
2. Application to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and Evaluation
The evaluation criteria which must be met by the applicant establishments and foreigners regarding the work permit requests of foreigners are listed below.
- At least five Turkish citizens are required to be employed at the workplace where a work permit is requested.
- The paid-in capital of the workplace must be at least TRY 100,000 or gross sales must be at least TRY 800,000 or the export amount of the previous year must be at least USD 250,000.
- The amount of monthly wage declared to be paid by the employer to the foreigner must be at a level compatible with the duties and competencies of the foreigner. Accordingly, the wage to be paid to the foreign teacher must be at least 3 times the minimum wage, taking into account the minimum wage amount in force as of the application date.
Foreigners residing outside Turkey apply for a work permit to the representative offices of the Republic of Turkey located in the country where they reside. The representative offices forward these applications directly to the Ministry, the Ministry of Labor and Social Security shall evaluate their applications by taking the opinion of the relevant authorities; work permits are granted to foreigners whose status is deemed appropriate. This permit becomes valid upon obtaining a work visa and residence permit.
3. Conclusion
In the content of this article, the employment process of foreign teachers in Turkey is examined. This process requires technical and comprehensive work. Therefore, we will be happy to provide assistance to you in order to obtain more useful results by getting detailed information and to prevent possible problems.
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For more information and questions:
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Hansu Attorney Partnership provides legal services to local and international clients, particularly in the areas of real estate, corporate, tax, energy and intellectual property law. This article is intended to present recent developments in Turkey and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Readers of this article should contact a lawyer to obtain advice with respect to any particular legal matter.