Starting a Business in Turkey
Starting Business in Turkey
Starting a business in Turkey can be a complex process for foreigners, thus, it’s important to seek professional legal guidance from a competent lawyer who can provide advice and support throughout the process. An investor should firstly choose a legal structure for his/her business. The most common business structures in the country are limited liability company (LTD) and corporation (A.S). Prior to forming a business, the investor should intially obtain a tax identification number from a tax office, and subsequenly open a bank account on behalf of the company. Establishing a company in Turkey is a very quick and easy process for foreign nationals as explained below. We would also would like to underscore that investing through a company is one of the ways of obtaining Turkish citizenship by investment.
How to Start a Company
Required Documents for Formation
1. Notarized Copy of Passport
Foreign natural persons firstly must have their passport translated into Turkish and notarized. Translation and notarization can be done in any public notary office in Turkey.
2. Tax ID Number
Secondly, a foreign tax ID number, which starts with 99, is required. In order for a foreign national to obtain a foreign tax ID number he or she must show an address in Turkey. Therefore, a person, who wishes to get a tax ID number, must reside in the country temporarily or permanently. Especially nowadays, the procedure of establishing a company in Turkey by a foreign natural person is fast and effortless. It is possible to obtain a tax ID number within minutes over the internet or in a tax office.
3. Minimum Capitals
The minimum capital is 100.000 TRY for corporations, and 10.000 TRY for limited liability companies as of the year of 2024. These minimum capital amounts are updated every year according to yearly inflation rates.
4. Other Documents
An application petition, notarized copied of the signatures of the partners, notarized statements of the founders, an operating agreement and proof of residence of the parters are also required for company formation.
Costs
In addition to start up capitals there are other costs such as notary fees, translation fees, taxes and attorney fees. These fees may vary depending on the company type.
Formation Process
As mentioned above, a foreign natural person requires two things in order to establish a company in Turkey. First translated and notarized passport copy and second tax ID number. It is legally possible for a foreign natural person to become the sole partner or the manager. On the other hands, formalities are different for legal entities.
Company Formation for Foreign Legal Entities
Establishing a company in Turkey by foreign legal entities require more documents compared to the formation by foreign natural persons such as an apostilled copy of the tax record in which country it is incorporated and two copies of the scope of business certificate from the chamber of commerce from the country where it is incorporated.
Operating Agreement
An operating agreement is the most critical document in the formation process and it should be noted that the articles of association should be written by a competent lawyer who has experience company law in order to avoid legal problems or loss of rights. The articles of association appears as a registered public document that reveals the title, address, the scope of business and the purpose of the company. Since the company’s articles of incorporation forms the entire infrastructure of a company, it contains information about the managers of the company, their duties and obligations and, the names of the officers.
