A claim that work was carried out without a work permit may give rise to several legal proceedings for both the foreign national and the employer: an administrative fine, a deportation decision, an entry ban, a restriction record and the recovery of certain costs from the employer. Paying or applying against one of these does not automatically remove all the others. In Ç-117 and Ç-119 files, the first step is to examine the work actually carried out, the status of the permit or exemption, and the separate notice of each act.
In practice, Ç-117 is associated with unauthorised work, while Ç-119 is associated with the non-payment of the administrative fine imposed for that reason. However, a code name alone does not replace a valid finding of work, a final debt or a time-limited ban. This article treats the worker's defence and the employer's obligations as different legal aspects of the same event.
Which activities count as unauthorised work?
Under Article 6 of Law No. 6735 on International Labour Force, foreign nationals within its scope may not work, or be employed, without a work permit. Exceptions provided in laws or in international agreements to which Türkiye is a party, and the work permit exemption provisions, remain reserved. The examination must rely on the activity carried out and the authorisation valid for that activity, not merely on the fact that the foreign national is in Türkiye. The types of work permit and the application process are explained in detail in the article work permits for foreign nationals in Türkiye. [K1]
Being present at a workplace is not the same as working there. If the defence is that the person was there as a customer, visitor or family member, the work actually done, the department the person was in, the activity at the time of inspection, the duration of work and the payment relationship are examined. On the other hand, saying only "I was not paid" does not in every case place the work actually carried out outside the scope of the permit. The real nature of the activity is decisive.
An employer's statement that "we will apply for a permit" does not make starting work before the necessary permit lawful. Filing an application and the granting of a permit are separate stages. Because special rules on the continuation of work may apply to extension applications, a first application and a duly made extension application should not be assessed in the same way. The type of document, the previous permit and the application date are examined together.
Are a residence permit, a company partnership or a student document enough?
The difference between a residence permit and a work permit
A residence permit generally regulates the status of stay in the country; on its own it does not authorise work in every job. The effect that a valid work permit has on residence, however, requires Law No. 6458 and Law No. 6735 to be read together. In special situations, such as protection statuses, the effect of a work document is regulated separately. [K1; K2]
Possessing a permit card does not complete the examination either. A time-limited permit may have been issued for a specific employer, workplace and scope of work. If the inspection took place at another employer's workplace or in an activity outside the scope of the permit, it is examined whether the existing document permitted that work. An old card belonging to another employer does not automatically cover a new employment relationship.
A foreign national who is a company partner or manager
Acquiring shares in a company is not an authority to carry out every kind of activity within the company without a work permit. The legal position of the partner, the role of manager, the actual activity in Türkiye and the permit or exemption regime provided by law are determined together. Under Articles 10 and 13 of Law No. 6735, company partners and certain board members are subject to different provisions. [K1]
Company records, signing authority, assignment and the work the person actually does in Türkiye are therefore important. The file cannot be closed with the statement "I work in my own company." On the other hand, it cannot be assumed that unauthorised work took place merely because a partnership is on record.
Students and foreign nationals under protection
It is not correct that foreign students can never work. Article 19 of Law No. 6735 allows work on the basis of a work permit. For undergraduate and associate degree students, the conditions are that the first year has been completed and that the work is part-time; these limits do not apply to students in formal postgraduate programmes. This distinction does not mean that the required work permit is not sought. [K1]
A temporary protection identity is also not a general and unlimited work permit. Applicants for international protection, conditional refugees, refugees and persons under subsidiary protection are not subject to the same work regime. The status document, the work permit or exemption, and any limits by province, duration or sector are examined separately. A right specific to one person should not be generalised to all foreign nationals. [K1; K2]
How are the inspection report and other evidence assessed?
The person who prepared the inspection report, the authority under which it was prepared and the concrete observations on which it rests must be identified. A report that contains only a conclusion does not have the same evidential value as one that records in detail the work carried out and the person's statement. It also matters for the defence whether the foreign national understands Turkish, whether an interpreter was present, and whether the person understood the text they were asked to sign.
| Document to examine | What it clarifies |
|---|---|
| Inspection report and annexes | Place, time and nature of the activity, and direct observations |
| Work permit or exemption document | Validity date, person, employer and scope of activity |
| Application and extension records | Type of application, its date and its link to the current permit |
| SGK and payroll records | The employment relationship reported and the actual working data |
| Employment contract, job record, shift schedule | The nature of the work and the claimed working period |
| Lawfully obtained camera footage, correspondence and witness information | The real reason for being at the workplace and the activity |
| Penalty decision, notification and payment document | Debtor, amount, activity and application time limit |
An SGK notification does not replace the required work permit. Holding a work permit also does not remove social security obligations. For example, a shortfall only in the SGK notification while the permit was valid, and work carried out with no work permit at all, are different legal characterisations. The existence of one violation does not make it unnecessary to examine the elements of another.
When records are preserved, the real date and content must be the basis. A contract drawn up later must not be presented as if it had been issued earlier. Where the employer's and the employee's statements conflict, the conflict should be explained with concrete records. A statement made by the employer in order to avoid its own fine may require independent verification in the foreign national's file.
What is the administrative fine for unauthorised work in 2026?
The Ministry of Labour and Social Security's 2026 table sets out the amounts below. The table shows the administrative fines published for 2026; it does not show the total cost of each file or the amounts for later years. The date of the act, the provision applicable, repetition and the number of persons are assessed separately. [K3]
| Violation or responsible person | 2026 amount |
|---|---|
| Employer employing an unauthorised foreign national; for each foreign national | 102,503 TL |
| Foreign national working without permission under one employer | 40,977 TL |
| Foreign national working independently without permission | 82,010 TL |
| Violation of the notification obligation in the Ministry's table; for each foreign national concerned or each foreign national of the employer | 6,805 TL |
Under Article 23(6) of Law No. 6735, where the relevant acts are repeated, the administrative fine is increased by one fold (bir kat). The fine on the employee and the fine on the employer are separate obligations. The employer paying a fine issued in its own name does not automatically discharge another debt assessed against the foreign national. [K1]
The payment period and the application period differ. Article 23(4) of Law No. 6735 provides for the fines to be paid within one month of notification. That does not mean there is always one month for an objection. The general judicial application period for administrative fines and the rules on jurisdiction are explained separately below.
Why does the distinction between Ç-117 and Ç-119 matter?
The Ç-117 examination centres on the act of work and the permit status. For Ç-119, what matters is the legal status of the administrative fine, to whom the debt belongs, and the matching of payment with the record. Proof of the first event and the continuing financial obligation in the second record are not the same question.
Where it is claimed that a record remains after a debt has been paid, the identity, assessment or file number on the receipt and the payment item should be checked. The same person may have a visa violation debt, a fine for work and another public receivable. A payment document should not be assumed to have closed all debts.
Periods such as one year for Ç-117 and five years for Ç-119 are often cited in practice guidance. However, without examining the individual's current situation, these periods cannot be presented as an unchanging rule or a fixed entry date for everyone. The reason for the entry ban, its start and end, the prior-permission requirement and any other records must be determined together. The distinction between paying a debt and lifting a separate entry ban must be preserved. Entry ban periods for visa and residence violations are discussed separately in the article entry ban for visa and residence violations. [K2]
Does unauthorised work make deportation mandatory?
Article 54(1)(ğ) of Law No. 6458 lists among those for whom a deportation decision is to be taken persons found working without a work permit. Article 23(8) of Law No. 6735 also provides for the foreign national found working without permission to be reported to the Ministry of Interior. However, that report does not replace an individual deportation assessment. [K1; K2]
First, it is examined whether unauthorised work actually took place. Then the principle of non-refoulement and the exceptions in Article 55 of Law No. 6458 are assessed. A serious health condition, a risk in travel, specific vulnerabilities, or a risk to life and of ill-treatment in the country to which the person would be sent may affect the outcome. Marriage to a Turkish citizen is not, on its own, an exemption that bars all deportation procedures; genuine family life and the effect on a child matter in the individual assessment. On this subject, the article not being deported because of health or pregnancy may also be a useful guide.
Placement in a removal centre is also not an automatic consequence of every finding of unauthorised work. The conditions for administrative detention under Article 57 of Law No. 6458 must be met separately, and alternative obligations are assessed. A fixed workplace or a family address may affect the assessment of the risk of absconding, but on its own it cannot be said to remove all grounds for supervision. For those who have a relative in a removal centre, the rights and documents in the article I have a relative in a removal centre may also be reviewed.
To what extent is the employer liable for deportation costs?
The regulation on the collection of expenses published in the Official Gazette (Resmî Gazete) No. 32964 of 23 July 2025 entered into force on 23 January 2026, six months after its publication. It governs the collection from employers or employer representatives of certain expenses, paid from the budget of the Presidency of Migration Management and not recoverable from the foreign national, relating to a foreign national against whom a deportation decision was taken because of unauthorised work and, where applicable, to that person's spouse and children. [K4]
Article 7 of the regulation distinguishes between procedures carried out from a removal centre and those carried out outside one. In the process carried out from the centre, accommodation, return to the country and, where necessary, health expenses are covered; in the process outside the centre, return costs fall within the regulation. The employer is notified in writing that the relevant amounts must be paid within one month; if payment is not made on time, enforcement under Law No. 6183 on the Collection of Public Receivables may follow.
For the collection of supervision costs from the employer, the regulation provides for a period of no more than three months. This limit does not mean that the maximum period of administrative detention of the foreign national is three months. The statutory periods of detention are one matter; the limit on directing a specific cost to the employer is another. This distinction matters both for the employee's right to liberty and for the employer's account of its debt.
The employer should review not only the total amount, but also the person subject to the procedure, the deportation decision, the expense period, the expense items, any collection from the foreign national and the notification. A fixed daily fee should not be calculated without seeing the annual amount set for accommodation. Likewise, a payment order sent later and the routes and time limits of an earlier expense notice should not be treated as the same.
Why must the routes of challenge be tracked separately?
Administrative fine
Under Article 27(1) of Law No. 5326 on Misdemeanours (Kabahatler Kanunu), the general application period is fifteen days from notification or oral announcement, and the general authority is the criminal judgeship of peace. However, Article 27(8) contains a jurisdictional exception for sanctions imposed together with decisions falling within the field of administrative jurisdiction, in the same proceedings concerning the same person. One authority should not be named for every file without examining the concrete decisions. [K5]
Paying a fine does not mean giving up the right of challenge that the law grants. However, the payment document should be kept and it should be clear which fine it relates to. An application must rest on a concrete unlawfulness in the act of unauthorised work, the scope of the permit, the authority, the person or the amount.
Refusal or cancellation of a work permit application
A work permit decision is a separate act. Article 21 of Law No. 6735 provides, against the Ministry's relevant decisions, for an objection to the Ministry within thirty days of notification and, in the event of refusal, for administrative judicial review. This period is not a common period applicable to all administrative fines or deportation decisions issued because of work. [K1]
Restriction, entry ban and deportation decision
Against a restriction or an entry ban, where no special period exists, the general sixty-day period for administrative action applies. If the conditions for application under Article 11 of the Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577 (İYUK) arise, the period is suspended; after a refusal, the remaining period continues. Filing an action against a restriction does not automatically stop the act. For a stay of execution, the conditions of manifest unlawfulness together with serious or irreparable damage are examined. The general framework of restriction and entry ban decisions is discussed in the article lifting a restriction code and entry ban. [K6]
Against a deportation decision there is a special seven-day period for bringing an action, counted from notification. Subject to the foreign national's consent, within that period and while proceedings continue, the safeguard that the person is not deported applies. Waiting for an expected statement from the employer, or for the outcome of an objection to the fine, does not preserve this period. An application to the criminal judgeship of peace concerning administrative detention is dealt with separately. The details of the seven-day period are examined in the article objection to a deportation decision: notification and the seven-day action period. [K2]
Whether the Ç-117 and Ç-119 proceedings can be challenged in the same petition is determined by the concrete acts, the parties, their connection, and the rules on jurisdiction and venue. That the two are related does not mean that all the different acts concerning the foreign national and the employer will necessarily be heard in one action.
How are records tracked after a decision or payment?
After a fine has been cancelled or paid, or a restriction has been lifted, it is checked whether the legal result has been reflected in the relevant records. When a receipt or court decision is submitted to the relevant unit, the correct person and file are matched. It is also checked whether any other active entry ban or debt exists.
If a work permit is obtained later, that permit does not automatically make the past activity lawful. It may, however, affect the forward-looking work status and the current assessment. A visa application with explanatory notes (meşruhatlı vize) does not automatically delete a restriction record either; the purpose of travel and the necessary permits are assessed separately.
Conclusion
A file on unauthorised work is not just a restriction code. The correct determination of the act, the valid permit or exemption, the separate fines, the deportation safeguards and the employer's liability for costs must be examined together. When the documents and time limits for each decision are tracked separately, the worker's defence and the employer's financial objections rest on a concrete and reviewable basis.
Related articles: Does an acquittal or a discontinuation remove a restriction code?; N-82 and N-99: prior permission and visa with explanatory notes; V84 conditional entry: is it lifted? Current legal guide; Grounds for a deportation decision and exceptions; Objection to an administrative detention decision.
Frequently Asked Questions
If I have a residence permit, can I work without a work permit?
Generally no. The right to reside and the authority to work are separate. Whether the person has a special status or an exception arising from law is examined separately.
Can I start work once a work permit application has been filed?
Filing an application does not mean that the necessary permit has been granted. The effects of a first application and of a duly made extension application may differ; the documents and dates should be checked.
If I was only a visitor at a workplace, does that count as unauthorised work?
Being present at a workplace is not enough on its own. The actual activity, the inspection report, statements and other evidence are assessed. Supporting a visitor defence with concrete records is important.
If the employer pays the fine, is the Ç-119 record removed?
The person and the debt to which the payment relates must be determined. An employer paying its own fine does not discharge the worker's debt. Even if the relevant debt is paid, any other entry ban or record is assessed separately.
What is the fine for an employer in 2026?
The Ministry's 2026 table sets out 102,503 TL for each foreign national employed without permission. Repetition of the act and other obligations may change this; that amount is not the total cost of the file.
Does the employer pay all removal centre costs indefinitely?
The regulation sets out, for the type of expense, the collection conditions and the cost of supervision, a period of no more than three months. The concrete calculation, the notifications and the collections made should be examined.
Does an objection to the fine also stop the deportation process?
It does not automatically have that effect. A separate legal assessment must be made within the seven-day special period against a deportation decision. A supervision decision is also subject to its own route of challenge.
Sources and legal bases
K1 — Law No. 6735 on International Labour Force, in particular Articles 6–7, 10, 13, 17, 19 and 21–23.
K5 — Law No. 5326 on Misdemeanours (Kabahatler Kanunu), in particular Articles 17 and 27.
The administrative fine table applies only to the year indicated; the amount applicable to a concrete act must be determined separately.