Company Formation in Turkey for Foreign Investors (2026)

Yes, a foreign individual or foreign legal entity can generally own 100% of a Turkish company in ordinary, unregulated sectors. The Foreign Direct Investment Law applies an equal-treatment principle to international investors, so a Turkish shareholder is not normally required. Activities such as banking, insurance, energy or other regulated businesses can have separate licensing, capital or ownership conditions and should be reviewed before the structure is selected.

No, a Turkish partner is not normally required to establish an LLC or JSC in Turkey. A foreign investor can usually be the sole shareholder, and a foreign corporate parent can own the Turkish subsidiary directly. A local partner should be added only for a genuine commercial or regulatory reason, not simply to complete the registration. Regulated sectors and special licenses still need a separate ownership review.

Formation and establishment are used interchangeably in English; both describe the whole process of setting up a Turkish company, known in Turkish as şirket kuruluşu. That process covers choosing the company type, preparing the articles of association, founder and manager documents and capital arrangements, and filing the application through MERSIS. Company registration (tescil) is one step within it: the Trade Registry Office records the company, which acquires legal personality on registration under the Turkish Commercial Code, and the registration is announced in the Turkish Trade Registry Gazette. Tax registration, accounting, e-document setup and banking follow, so registration alone does not make the company ready to invoice, bank or hire.

The Trade Registry filing can move quickly once a complete and acceptable file is ready, but the total project has several separate clocks. Foreign document preparation, apostille or consular legalization, sworn translation, tax activation and bank KYC can take longer than registration itself. A realistic schedule should therefore separate the registry date from the date when the company is ready to bank, invoice, hire and meet its first compliance obligations. In practice, a complete file typically clears the registry stage in 3 to 5 business days and the whole project often takes 2 to 4 weeks, but neither is guaranteed: the registry's workload, the foreign document chain and bank onboarding drive the actual timeline.

A foreign individual typically needs a passport copy, a Turkish tax identification number, founder and manager information, and a formation power of attorney if the process will be handled by a representative. Documents issued abroad may require notarization, apostille or Turkish consular legalization, followed by sworn Turkish translation and notarization. Residence details, signature documents and additional evidence can be required depending on the person's role and the filing route.

A foreign corporate shareholder normally needs a current activity or good-standing certificate, a resolution approving the Turkish investment, evidence identifying the parent company's authorized signatories, and a corporate power of attorney where a representative will act. The documents usually require the correct apostille or consular legalization chain and Turkish translation. Banks can separately request an ownership chart, ultimate-beneficial-owner information, group activity and source-of-funds evidence.

The current statutory minimum capital is TRY 50,000 for a Turkish LLC and TRY 250,000 for a Turkish JSC; a non-public JSC that adopts the registered-capital system needs an initial capital of at least TRY 500,000. LLC capital may be paid within 24 months after registration. For a JSC, at least 25% of subscribed cash capital must be paid before registration and the balance within 24 months. Capital belongs to the company and should not be confused with registry charges or professional formation fees.

Yes, many foreign investors can complete the company registration process through a properly drafted power of attorney. The document can authorize tax-number, MERSIS, Trade Registry and selected post-registration procedures. A power of attorney signed at a Turkish consulate does not need an apostille. One signed before a foreign notary needs an apostille (in Hague Apostille Convention countries) or consular legalization, and is then translated by a sworn translator and approved by a notary in Turkey. Remote registration does not mean every later step is remote, because a bank may still request in-person verification from the authorized signatory.

No. Company registration creates the legal entity but does not require a bank to approve its account. Each bank applies its own KYC, beneficial-ownership, source-of-funds and business-model review. Foreign-owned companies may need to provide corporate records, ownership charts, contracts, projected transactions and signatory information. Some banks may also request an in-person visit even where the company was registered remotely through a valid power of attorney.

No. Having a company in Turkey, owning shares or being appointed as a manager does not automatically authorize a foreign national to work in the country. If the shareholder or manager will actively perform duties in Turkey, a separate work permit from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is required. For a foreign partner, the Ministry's current evaluation criteria look at the company's paid-up capital, the foreigner's capital share and ownership percentage, and the employment of Turkish citizens, which is checked from the seventh month of the first permit. Meeting the criteria does not guarantee approval, so formation, capital, payroll and work-permit planning should be coordinated before the person begins working.

The standard corporate income tax rate is 25% for 2026, with a 30% rate for specified financial and other listed entities. A separate five-point reduction can apply to qualifying export earnings. The 100% deduction under KVK Article 10/1-ğ applies only to qualifying service-export earnings and does not establish a universal effective rate. A company that starts business for the first time is outside the domestic minimum corporate tax for its first three accounting periods (companies formed by merger, transfer, conversion or demerger do not count as newly started); after that, the service-export deduction cannot be deducted from the minimum-tax base. VAT, withholding and stamp-tax treatment depends on the transaction and taxpayer.

A subsidiary is a separate Turkish legal entity (LLC or JSC) with its own limited liability, governance, and tax obligations. A branch office is not a separate legal entity; it operates under the foreign parent company's identity, with the parent bearing unlimited liability for all branch obligations. Branch offices do not require minimum capital, but some regulated activities can only be carried on through a Turkish company. Branch profits are subject to Turkish corporate tax and a 15% withholding on profits transferred to the head office, which a double tax treaty may limit.

Yes. A liaison office can be established by a foreign company with approval from the Ministry of Industry and Technology. Liaison offices are restricted to non-commercial activities such as market research, supplier identification, and coordination. They cannot generate revenue, issue invoices, or engage in commercial transactions. A liaison office is suitable for preliminary market exploration but not for active business operations.

A sole proprietorship is a business structure where the owner and the business are not legally separated, meaning the owner is personally liable for all business debts. It is opened with a start-of-business notification to the tax office, which can be started through the Digital Tax Office or e-Devlet. No minimum capital is required. Profits are taxed under the progressive income-tax tariff of 15% to 40%; for 2026, income up to TRY 400,000 falls within the 15% and 20% brackets, and a first-time resident business owner under 29 may qualify for a three-year exemption on business income up to TRY 400,000 (2026 amount) if the statutory conditions are met. A foreign national needs a valid residence permit and must also obtain an independent work permit from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security before starting the business. Unlimited personal liability makes this structure generally not recommended for foreign investors seeking asset protection.

After registration, the tax office inspects the address and opens the company's tax registrations. The company keeps its journal and general ledger as e-Defter from the start of business, while its share ledger and general assembly meeting book are kept in the Ministry of Trade's ETDS for companies registered from 2026. It receives official notifications electronically (e-Tebligat), notifies its ultimate beneficial owners to the Revenue Administration within one month of tax registration, makes the E-TUYS foreign direct investment notifications to the Ministry of Industry and Technology if it is covered by Law No. 4875, files the monthly VAT return by the 28th of the following month even without transactions, files the withholding and social security return by the 26th for months with withholding or employees, registers with SGK before hiring, joins the relevant exporters' association if exporting, and holds annual general assembly meetings. E-invoice and e-archive obligations depend on turnover, sector and invoice amounts.

MERSIS (Merkezi Sicil Kayit Sistemi) is Turkey's Central Registry Record System through which all company incorporation, modification, and dissolution procedures are processed electronically. A unique MERSIS number is assigned to every legal entity. Articles of association are drafted and submitted through MERSIS before physical Trade Registry filing.

There is no single official price. Official costs include Trade Registry, chamber and Trade Registry Gazette charges, the Competition Authority share of 0.04% of the subscribed capital, notary fees, and, for foreign founders, sworn translation, apostille or consular legalization and courier costs. These tariffs vary by city, capital and number of documents and are updated during the year, so they should be quoted per file. For companies registered from 2026, the share ledger and general assembly meeting book open automatically in the Ministry of Trade's ETDS, so an opening-certification charge arises only for books kept on paper, typically the inventory book (unless the company applies to keep it as e-Defter) and a board or managers' resolution book not kept in ETDS. Professional CPA formation fees vary. The TRY 50,000 LLC minimum capital is not a fee; it remains as working capital in the company's bank account.

Yes. For an LLC, a share transfer requires a written transfer agreement with notarized signatures, General Assembly approval as a rule, and Trade Registry registration. For a JSC, transfers are generally more flexible and depend on whether share certificates have been issued and on the articles of association. For individual shareholders, gains on JSC shares (hisse senedi) held for more than two years fall outside income tax, while gains on LLC shares remain taxable; corporate and non-resident shareholders are taxed under separate rules.

No. Tax activation, e-Defter bookkeeping, e-document setup, electronic notification (e-Tebligat), banking, and monthly compliance start immediately after registration. A company that is registered but not connected to accounting, tax, e-invoice, and monthly reporting quickly accumulates avoidable compliance risk.