Hiring a Japanese Chef in Turkey: Work Permit Criteria for 2026

Turkey has no chef visa, but it does have a clear, published set of numbers that decide whether a foreign cook gets a work permit. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security sets a ratio of Turkish staff to foreign staff, a capital or turnover test for the business, and a salary floor tied to the minimum wage. If you run or are opening a Japanese restaurant in Istanbul, you can check most of this yourself before you ever file. This guide sets out those criteria as published in September 2026.

1. Turkey in numbers

• Japan's agriculture ministry (MAFF) counted about 480 Japanese restaurants in Turkey in 2025, up 220 on 2023, so the count has nearly doubled in two years. MAFF lists Turkey in its Middle East group.
• 1,754 Japanese nationals were registered in Turkey on 1 October 2025, down 0.1% on the year (MOFA). No Turkish city appears in MOFA's list of the 50 largest Japanese communities abroad, so there is no official Istanbul figure to quote.

Put those together and the picture is clear. Demand for Japanese food is growing fast, while the local Japanese community is small and flat. Most Istanbul operators will be hiring from abroad or training Turkish cooks, not recruiting Japanese residents.

2. How Turkish work permits work

Foreign employment is governed by the International Labour Force Law No. 6735. The points that matter to an employer:

• Where to apply. Applications are made directly to the Ministry from inside Turkey, or from abroad through the Turkish embassy or consulate in the country where the foreigner is a citizen or legally resident. An authorised intermediary may also file the application.
• First permit. Up to one year, and never longer than the employment contract, tied to a specific job at a specific workplace (or workplaces of the same employer in the same line of business).
• Extensions. With the same employer, up to two years at the first extension and up to three years at later ones. A new employer means starting again at one year. Extension applications must be filed in the 60 days before expiry and before the permit runs out; late applications are rejected.
• Arrival. A worker granted a permit on an application from abroad must enter Turkey within six months of the permit's start date, or it is cancelled.
• Residence. A work permit also serves as a residence permit.

3. The evaluation criteria that decide most cases

The Ministry's International Labour Force directorate publishes the criteria it applies. Three of them decide most restaurant applications.

Five Turkish employees per foreign employee

The workplace must employ at least five Turkish citizens for each foreigner it applies for. A business with net sales of TRY 50 million or more in the last year is exempt from this ratio for up to five foreigners.

Capital or turnover

A newly established business needs paid up capital of at least TRY 500,000. An operating business needs paid up capital of at least TRY 500,000 or net sales of at least TRY 8,000,000 (the criteria also allow an export test, which rarely applies to restaurants).

Salary as a multiple of the minimum wage

The 2026 gross minimum wage is TRY 33,030 a month (net TRY 28,075.50), applying from 1 January to 31 December 2026 according to the Ministry. The table multiplies that figure; the criteria also list other categories (engineers and architects, for example) that do not concern restaurants. A Japanese cook would normally fall under jobs requiring expertise or mastery, and a head chef who manages a kitchen team may be assessed as a manager, which raises the floor. Confirm the category with the Ministry or your intermediary before you fix the salary.

4. The hotel restaurant exception

The criteria include a tourism sector provision. For skilled jobs requiring expertise or mastery, the five to one employment criterion is not applied when the applicant employs at least ten Turkish citizens and is one of the listed establishment types. These include tourism establishments certified by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and restaurants that operate under contract inside a certified tourism establishment at the same address.

In plain terms: a Japanese restaurant inside a certified hotel, with ten or more Turkish staff, can bring in more foreign cooks than the five to one ratio would otherwise allow. A standalone restaurant on the street does not get this exception.

5. Worked example: an Istanbul restaurant

Take a standalone Japanese restaurant in Istanbul with 12 Turkish employees that wants a sushi chef and a second cook from Japan.

• Ratio: 12 Turkish employees supports two foreigners (5 each). A third would need three more Turkish hires.
• Business test: the company needs TRY 500,000 paid up capital or TRY 8 million in net sales.
• Salary: at least TRY 66,060 gross a month each in 2026 if both are assessed as skilled jobs; more if the head chef is assessed as a manager.

The same restaurant opening inside a certified hotel, with 10 Turkish staff, would not be held to the ratio for skilled cooks. Note that the minimum wage is reset each year, so the salary floor moves with it.

6. Step by step

1. Count your Turkish employees and check the capital or turnover test before you recruit.
2. Decide whether the role is a skilled job or a management role, and set the salary above the matching multiple.
3. Agree the contract with the chef; the first permit cannot run longer than it.
4. The chef applies through the Turkish embassy or consulate in Japan (applications made inside Turkey go directly to the Ministry, but check whether the chef's current status allows an in-country application). Documents from Japan will usually need translation; see translating employment certificates for visas.
5. Once approved, the chef must arrive within six months. Put a reminder in for the extension window 60 days before expiry.

For offer terms, see the chef employment contract checklist. For how other markets in the region compare, see Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

General information checked against official Turkish and Japanese sources in September 2026, not legal or immigration advice. The Ministry updates its evaluation criteria from time to time and applications are assessed case by case. Confirm current requirements with the Ministry of Labour and Social Security or an authorised intermediary before applying.