Setting up a company in Turkey
You can set up a company in Turkey as a foreigner on the same footing as a Turkish investor: the law gives foreign individuals and foreign companies equal treatment, and the whole formation runs through the Ministry of Trade’s online registry system, MERSİS. The two forms in common use are the limited company and the joint stock company. This guide covers the forms, the tax number you need first, the documents from abroad, the capital rules, registration day and what follows it.
Set up a company in Turkey: the steps at a glance
- Choose the legal form. A limited company (limited şirket, Ltd. Şti.) or a joint stock company (anonim şirket, A.Ş.); a branch or a liaison office if your existing company wants a presence without a subsidiary.
- Obtain a Turkish tax number for every foreign shareholder and manager, and have it entered in MERSİS.
- Prepare the company contract in MERSİS, in Turkish.
- Have documents from abroad apostilled or legalised, translated and notarised.
- Sign the contract and have the signatures certified at the trade registry directorate or, for a joint stock company, at a notary.
- Pay the Competition Authority share and, for a joint stock company, the first part of the capital.
- Register with the trade registry directorate where the company has its seat.
- Complete the follow-up steps: certified books, the tax office visit, the signature circular and the foreign investment forms.
Can a foreigner own a company in Turkey?
Yes, outright. Invest in Türkiye, the Presidency’s investment office, states that Türkiye’s FDI Law is based on the principle of equal treatment: a foreign investor has the same rights and liabilities as a local one, can use any company type in the Turkish Commercial Code and transfers shares under the same conditions. The Ministry of Trade’s own guide puts it plainly: establishing a company by foreign individuals and legal entities is subject to the same rules as domestic investors.
The FDI Law also set up a notification-based system rather than an approval-based one, so a foreign shareholder does not ask for permission to invest; it reports the investment after the fact. The exceptions are sector rules. Invest in Türkiye notes that there are no restrictions on the nationality of shareholders apart from fields such as TV broadcasting, maritime and civil aviation, and banks, insurers and some other joint stock companies need Ministry of Trade permission to be founded at all.
Residence is not a condition either. For both main company forms, the Ministry’s guide says there is no requirement for the directors or board members to be Turkish citizens or to live in Turkey. Staying and working in the country is a separate matter, covered further down.
Choose the legal form: limited company, joint stock company or branch
The Turkish Commercial Code No. 6102 recognises five types of company, but two of them dominate. By the Ministry’s count, about 82% of all companies are limited companies and 13% joint stock companies.
| Form | Shareholders | Minimum capital | When the cash capital is paid | Management |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limited company (Ltd. Şti.) | 1 to 50, individuals or companies | 50,000 Turkish liras | all of it within 24 months of registration | one or more directors, at least one a shareholder |
| Joint stock company (A.Ş.) | 1 or more, individuals or companies | 250,000 Turkish liras | at least a quarter before registration, the rest within 24 months | a board, which may have one member |
| Branch | none (part of the parent) | none | not applicable | a representative resident in Turkey |
| Liaison office | none | none | not applicable | no commercial activity allowed |
The capital figures appear on the Ministry of Trade’s company information page, which gives 250.000 TL for a joint stock company and 50.000 TL for a limited company.
Limited company
The limited company is the usual choice for a trading or service business with one owner or a few. Its shareholders are liable only for the capital they committed, with one exception the Ministry’s guide spells out: they answer for uncollectible public debts of the company in proportion to their shares. Share transfers need the approval of the general assembly, and shares cannot be offered to the public. The capital can be paid in full within 24 months after registration, so nothing has to sit in a bank before the company exists.
Joint stock company
The joint stock company suits groups that expect investors, several share classes or a later listing; it is the only form whose shares can be offered to the public. Shares transfer freely as a rule. The capital is higher, and a joint stock company that adopts the registered capital system starts at 500,000 Turkish liras. At least one quarter of the cash capital is paid before registration.
Branch of a foreign company
A branch is not an independent legal entity: it carries out the parent’s own business, needs no capital of its own, and its profits sent to the head office are subject to dividend withholding tax at a rate of 15 percent, which a double taxation treaty may reduce. The Ministry of Trade registers it as a domestic commercial enterprise and requires a fully authorised representative who lives in Turkey. The parent’s registry records, its articles and the board decision opening the branch must be filed with Turkish translations.
Liaison office
A liaison office lets a foreign company study the market or coordinate with partners without trading. It needs a licence from the Ministry of Industry and Technology, granted on condition that the office does not engage in any commercial activities. Complete applications are concluded in fifteen working days, and the first licence lasts up to three years.
Step 1: Get a tax number before you start in MERSİS
This step catches many founders out. A Turkish citizen is entered in MERSİS with an identity number; a foreigner is entered with a passport number, but the Ministry’s guide says foreigners must first obtain a tax number from the tax office and have it registered in MERSİS through the trade registry office. Invest in Türkiye calls it the potential tax identity number and says it is needed for every non-Turkish shareholder and board member, and also to open the bank account for the capital deposit.
Step 2: Prepare the company contract in MERSİS
MERSİS, the Central Registry System, is where the process starts. A user opens a membership, which costs nothing, and the system walks through the clauses the law requires: name, seat, purpose, capital, shareholders and managers. The contract is prepared in Turkish, and MERSİS assigns the new company its own potential tax number automatically. Founders who do not read Turkish should have the draft checked by someone who does before anyone signs.
Step 3: Documents from abroad
Expect the paperwork from your home country to take longer than the Turkish part. According to Invest in Türkiye, foreign-issued documents must be notarised and apostilled, or ratified by a Turkish consulate, and then officially translated and notarised by a Turkish notary. The usual set:
- passport copies of the foreign individual shareholders;
- for a foreign company as shareholder, its activity certificate and the shareholder resolution approving the investment;
- a notarised power of attorney if a representative acts for you;
- notarised signature declarations and identity copies of the managers.
Step 4: Sign the contract and certify the signatures
The founders sign the contract and a competent authority confirms that the signatures are theirs. For a limited company this happens at the trade registry directorate where the company has its seat; for a joint stock company the founders may also go to any notary, who receives the contract electronically from MERSİS. Founders do not have to be there in person: the Ministry confirms that the establishment can be carried out through a representative holding a power of attorney. The registry application for a limited company follows within thirty days of signing.
Step 5: Pay the Competition Authority share and the capital
Two payments come before registration. The first is the Competition Authority share, 0.04% of the company’s capital, which can be paid at the trade registry directorate together with the other formalities. The second applies to joint stock companies only: at least 25% of the cash capital goes into a bank account opened in the company’s name, and the bank’s certificate joins the file. A limited company can skip this deposit and pay its capital within 24 months of registration.
Step 6: Register with the trade registry directorate
The registry file brings together the certified contract, the signature declarations, the proof of the Competition Authority payment and, for a joint stock company, the bank certificate. Contributions in kind need extra documents, such as an expert valuation. Trade registry directorates sit within the chambers of commerce under the Ministry’s supervision, and Invest in Türkiye says the establishment is completed within the same day once the file is in order. The registry then informs the tax office and the Social Security Institution itself, and the registration is announced in the Turkish Trade Registry Gazette within approximately 10 days.
Step 7: After registration
The company is registered, but a few steps still separate it from normal trading:
- Certified books. The registry approves the commercial books a joint stock or limited company must keep: journal, ledger, inventory book, share ledger and the minute books of the managers and the general assembly.
- The tax office. A tax officer visits the registered seat to prepare a determination report, and the company receives its tax registration certificate and a social security number. Hiring staff needs its own application.
- The signature circular. The people who sign for the company issue it before registry staff on the day of registration; banks ask for it.
- Foreign investment forms. A company with foreign capital files the Activity Information Form, the FDI Capital Data Form and the FDI Share Transfer Data Form electronically through E-TUYS.
- Electronic notification. Trade companies receive official notices at an electronic address created by PTT, which can be looked up in MERSİS; the signatories activate it.
How a Turkish company is taxed
For the 2025 and 2026 periods the Revenue Administration (GİB) lists the general corporate income tax rate at 25%. The same table sets 30% for banks, insurers and other financial companies, and separate rates for export earnings, manufacturers holding an industrial registry certificate and companies newly listed on Borsa İstanbul. Each of those depends on conditions in the law, so ask an accountant before you count on one.
The general VAT (KDV) rate is 20%, in force since 10 July 2023, with rates of 1% and 10% for goods and services on the annexed lists. When the company starts invoicing, the rate that applies to each product or service is a question for your accountant; see VAT in Turkey for firms that handle returns.
Accounts, audit and who signs off
Turkish law reserves two professional titles for this work. Under Law No. 3568, a Serbest Muhasebeci Mali Müşavir (SMMM) keeps the books and prepares the financial statements and tax returns, while a Yeminli Mali Müşavir (YMM) does certification work and may not keep accounting books. Both belong to chambers under the TÜRMOB union, and the law forbids anyone else from using the titles.
Independent audit is a separate layer. Capital companies in certain fields, and those that pass at least two of three thresholds (total assets, annual net sales and number of employees), must have their statements audited. Firms that take on this work are listed under audit in Turkey.
Living and working in Turkey as a foreign founder
Owning a Turkish company, or sitting on its board, does not by itself give you the right to live or work in Turkey. A foreign manager who will work in the country needs a work permit, and a stay beyond a visitor’s period needs a residence permit; both are separate applications with their own criteria, set by the labour ministry and the migration authorities. Check the current conditions with those authorities or an adviser before you plan a move, and allow for them in your timetable. For help with the applications, see the firms offering residency and visas in Turkey.
Mistakes foreign founders make
- Starting MERSİS without a tax number. A foreign shareholder or manager cannot be added until the tax number is registered.
- Leaving the apostilles to the end. Home-country documents, their translations and Turkish notarisation usually set the pace.
- Signing a Turkish contract unread. The contract is in Turkish; have it translated and checked first.
- Forgetting the capital deadline. The unpaid capital of a limited company or a joint stock company falls due within 24 months of registration.
- Skipping the E-TUYS forms. Companies with foreign capital report the investment after registration.
- Treating a company as a residence permit. They are different procedures.
Finding help in Turkey
Accountanty lists 90 firms in Turkey: 80 accounting firms, 5 law firms and 5 corporate services providers. Of these, 84 offer company formation and 50 focus on foreign clients; 58 work in English, 52 in Turkish, 9 in German and 8 in Russian. The firms are based in Istanbul (49), Ankara (28) and Antalya (13). For bookkeeping and returns after registration, see accounting, tax compliance and payroll.
How to choose a formation provider, what to prepare and how to compare quotes is covered on our page on company formation in Turkey, and firms used to clients abroad are gathered under accountants for foreign clients in Turkey. When your plan is clear, send one free quote request: Accountanty reviews it and forwards it to firms that can help you set up a company in Turkey.