SGK for Foreign Employees in Turkey: Obligations, 2026 Costs and Incentives

Who is covered

A foreigner who works in Turkey under an employment contract is insured with the Social Security Institution (SGK) like a Turkish employee (Law No. 5510, art. 4). If Turkey has a social security agreement with the employee's country, the agreement is applied first.

Coverage includes pension, disability and survivors' benefits, work accidents and occupational disease, sickness and maternity, general health insurance and unemployment insurance.

General health insurance covers employees who live in Turkey (art. 60). It also meets the health insurance condition for a residence permit. An SGK-registered employee does not need separate private health insurance for that purpose.

The employer's duties

• Before work starts: file the start-of-work notice (işe giriş bildirgesi) with SGK (Law No. 5510, art. 8).
• Within 15 days: tell the Ministry of Labour when the foreigner starts work and when the job ends (Law No. 6735, art. 22).
• Every month: declare days and earnings, deduct the employee's share from gross pay, and pay both shares to SGK.

The work permit also sets a deadline to start work. With a permit applied for inside Turkey, the foreigner must start work and be registered with SGK within 1 month of the permit's start date. With a permit applied for from abroad, this must happen within 1 month of entering Turkey and within 6 months of the permit's start date. A foreigner who does not enter Turkey within 6 months loses the permit.

The employer is liable to SGK for both shares. Employees can check their declared days and pay on e-Devlet under "SGK Tescil ve Hizmet Dökümü".

2026 premium rates

As of November 2026, these rates apply to gross earnings. They come from Law No. 5510, art. 81, as amended by Law No. 7566 from 1 January 2026, and Law No. 4447, art. 49.

Pension-share reduction

Private-sector employers get a reduction on the employer's pension share (art. 81(ı)). In 2026 it is 2 points. It was 4 points from February to December 2025 and 5 points before that. Manufacturing employers (NACE section C) keep 5 points until 31 December 2026. The net employer rate is then 21.75%, or 18.75% in manufacturing.

The reduction requires declarations filed and premiums paid on time, with no overdue SGK debt. The law text does not exclude foreign employees. Older articles call this the "5% discount". That figure is out of date.

Premium floor and ceiling

Premiums are charged on gross earnings between a floor and a ceiling. The floor is the gross minimum wage. The ceiling is 9 times the floor (art. 82). Pay above the ceiling carries no further premium.

Example

Take a gross monthly salary of 100,000 TL outside manufacturing:

• Employee premiums: 15,000 TL, deducted from pay. Income tax and stamp tax come on top.
• Employer premiums: 23,750 TL before the reduction, or 21,750 TL with the 2-point reduction.

Work permit fees are a separate cost. See our 2026 work permit fees.

Social security agreements

Turkey has 35 bilateral social security agreements in force, according to SGK's list. Under these agreements, a worker is generally insured in the country where they work. A worker posted to Turkey by an employer in an agreement country can stay on the home system for the period the agreement allows. The home institution issues a certificate of coverage, which is submitted to SGK.

Can a foreign employee opt out?

In SGK practice, foreign employees cannot generally opt out of the pension branches. The exception confirmed in the law is a posting from abroad of up to 3 months, when the worker proves they are insured in their home country (Law No. 5510, art. 6(1)(e)). Some agreements have their own rules, so check the agreement with your country first.

Incentives in 2026: what applies to foreign employees

Law No. 6111

The 6111 incentive supports the employer's premium share for additional hires. Presidential Decision No. 10769 (Official Gazette, 25 December 2025) extended it to 31 December 2026. It applies to foreign employees. Part of it is tied to registration with İŞKUR, the public employment agency. Reports say foreigners have not been able to register with İŞKUR as unemployed since November 2023, so that extra period is reported to be unavailable to them. Check eligibility for each hire before you rely on it.

2026 minimum-wage support

Law No. 7573 added a minimum-wage support for 2026 (Law No. 5510, temporary art. 112). It pays 42.33 TL per insured day. It covers employees whose daily insurable pay in the same month of 2025 was 1,300 TL or less, or 2,600 TL or less under a collective agreement. The text has no nationality exclusion, so it should also cover foreign employees who meet the pay condition. For a full 30-day month, it is worth about 1,270 TL per employee.

Closed or excluded

Law No. 7103 only covered hires made from 2018 to 2022, so it is closed. The tourism support under Law No. 7590 expressly excludes foreign employees.

Working without a permit or without SGK

A foreigner needs a work permit or an exemption before starting work. Employing a foreigner without one brings administrative fines for both the employer and the worker under Law No. 6735. SGK can also claim the unpaid premiums with late-payment charges. The current amounts are in our guide to fines for working without a work permit.

For the full permit process, see our work permit guide for 2026.

Official sources: Law No. 5510; Law No. 4447; Law No. 6735; SGK list of social security agreements.