Company Formation in Türkiye: Foreign Investor Guide

Choose the entity around ownership and funding

Limited and joint-stock companies are common choices. Compare governance, share transfers, future investment, minimum capital and reporting. A liaison office or branch serves different purposes and should not be treated as an interchangeable substitute.

Prepare the founder document path

• Passport or corporate registry evidence
• Apostille or consular legalisation where required
• Sworn Turkish translation and notarisation
• Turkish tax numbers and powers of attorney
• Corporate resolutions for an overseas shareholder
• Ultimate beneficial owner information

Plan capital, banking and authority together

The statutory minimum capital is only one part of funding. Model setup and working capital, identify who can open and operate accounts, and expect banks to perform their own KYC and source-of-funds review.

Separate company, work and residence matters

A shareholder or director role does not by itself create a Turkish work or residence permit. The founders' immigration and employment position should be reviewed separately with authorised advisers.

Launch the compliance cycle

• Tax registration and e-notification
• Accounting books and e-document readiness
• Invoice, payment and expense approval
• Payroll and social security before hiring
• Sector licences and municipal permissions
• Recurring tax, registry and beneficial-owner reporting

The first 90 days

Move contracts and costs into the correct legal entity, reconcile capital contributions, test invoicing, approve a compliance calendar and prepare a cash forecast. Formation is only useful when the company can operate and report.

Design the investment before incorporating

Define the Turkish revenue model, customer and supplier countries, funding source, profit policy and management location. Choose the company type by governance, transfer, fundraising and exit needs—not by registration cost alone.

A foreign individual and a foreign corporate shareholder require different evidence. Ownership charts, authorised signatory documents, apostille or consular certification and sworn translations should be checked before the registry appointment. Banks will also assess ultimate ownership and source of funds under their own onboarding process.

From incorporation to operating readiness

• Agree ownership, management, capital and signing rules.
• Validate foreign documents and powers of attorney.
• Plan registry, tax number, address and beneficial-owner steps.
• Prepare a bank KYC and source-of-funds file.
• Set up tax, e-documents, payroll and monthly close.
• Treat work and residence permissions as separate projects.

Foreign-investor pitfalls

• Assuming ownership automatically grants work or residence rights
• Sending money without classifying it as capital, debt or another flow
• Leaving group services and licences without agreements
• Ignoring transfer-pricing and withholding consequences
• Failing to update banks and authorities after ownership changes

What Law 4875 adds to the formation analysis

Türkiye's Foreign Direct Investment Law establishes equal treatment as the general principle and uses notification rather than a general pre-approval regime. It does not remove sector licences in banking, payments, energy, media or other regulated activities, and it does not create a blanket tax exemption.

The law also addresses transfer, expropriation and foreign-personnel matters. Company law, beneficial-ownership reporting, tax, work permits and foreign-exchange rules remain separate compliance workstreams.

Legal and tax workstreams