Lawyer in Turkey: June 2015

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Flexible rules regarding deportation of illegal stay from Turkey

Since April 2014,(law 6458) rules regarding deportation of illegal staying or working foreigners are been changed in favor of the foreigner. A foreigner who is present in Turkey (to live or work) without official authorization papers is been appointed illegal.

The good faith of the illegal foreigner is been rewarded with the current amendment. This foreigner will not get an entrance ban if he leaves the country on his own initiative provided that he pays the imposed fine at the customs. The imposed fine is determined on the circumstance of the case, like exceeded era in Turkey or working without a work permit.


The main difference with the current amendment is the entrance ban that will not be imposed on the illegal staying foreigner who leaves the country on his own initiative. The legislative entrance ban is normally a maximum period of 5 years. But with the amendment the restriction will just be 3 months transition period abroad Turkey, unless the person did apply for a work permit or residence permit within the transition period that is been accepted. In that situation the person will be allowed to enter Turkey without waiting for the 3 months.

The important issue is that the illegal foreigner has to use his own initiative. If the public authorities take measures to deport the person of question, then this person will still have a risk to get an entrance ban for a maximum of 5 years. Once there is a threat regarding the public safety, the entrance ban will be increased with a maximum of 10 years. 

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Minimum Wages Turkey 2015 (2nd period)

The Turkish government adjusts the minimum wages twice a year. This happens every year on the 1st of January and the 1st of July.

Recently, the Turkish government  has announced the minimum wage for the 2nd period of 2015, (1st July 2015 - 31 December 2015).

Hours full employment
The statutory working hours of a full-time employment has a maximum of 45 hours a week. If the number of hours exceeds the maximum, then we are talking about overtime.
We are talking about overtime, when you have to work more than your usual working hours.

Mostly working time is is from Monday to Friday and the half of the day on Saturday. This can change when your manager works with shifts.

The wage has to be paid on the agreed payment period, f.e. weekly, monthly or every 4 weeks. 

The gross salary may consist of:
  • the basic salary in your employment contract has been agreed;
  • the allowances for performance, shifts, irregular hours, standby duty and working conditions;
  • the fixed bonus for the sales you make any payment and you will receive;
  • the rewards of third parties caused by the work.
The total of these amount may not be less than the minimum wage.

Minimum wage amount
To avoid problems in the future with the tax authorities, we recommend to check the paid amounts with the wage slip. These must be exactly the same.
If you pay in cash, let your staff monthly sign the wage slip (your accountant will create the slip monthly).




MINIMUM WAGE AND THE TOTAL COSTS FOR EMPLOYER
Period 01.07.2015 - 31.12.2015
Gross Salary1.273,50
Social Insurance Employee SGK 14%178,29
Unemployment insurance 1%12,74
Income Tax 15% (*)72,26
Cost of living allowance (agi)90,11
Stamp tax 7,59% (*)9,67
Total Deductions272,96
Net Salary1000,54

TOTAL COSTS  EMPLOYER 
Gross Salary1.273,50
Employer contribution Social Insurance SGK 15,5%197,39
Unemployment insurance 2%25,47
Total costs employer1.496,36

Source: www.csgb.gov.tr
The minimum page for the first period of 2015 was previously announced on our website.


Apartments staff
The legislation distinguishes apartments staff. There are more than 200,000 people who are registered as apartment staff (kapıcı). The government has made ​​an exception for this group allowing an exemption from income tax (gelir vergisi) and withholding tax (withholding tax). The exemption creates a higher net income. The total cost to the employer will remain the same.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Pets in a Residential Park

This time I like to write over a subject of a different nature related to real estate in Turkey.
I like to withdraw your attention to animal rights, moreover pets in a country where tolerance against these beings appears to be very low. The development of animal rights compared to most Western European countries regrettably remains behind.

To what extent is a pet allowed in a residential park? Is a majority decision of the owner’s association valid regarding evacuation of a pet? Can a supervisor from a municipality decide about the evacuation of a pet? What are the rights of animals in Turkey?

To be clear: Pets can not be evacuated either by a majority vote of the owners association or by a decision of the Municipality. The court is the determining authority on evacuation of pets from their homes in a residential park. In other words; an owner’s association or supervisors from the Municipality (the so called 'Zabita’) do not have any authority. Any homeowner can decide whether he keeps a pet in his apartment and how many.

An owners association can only set up house rules regarding pets that stay in common areas, like the garden, the cellar, stairs or hallway. For example, that dogs should be on leash in the garden or that they are not allowed at the pool.

An evacuation of a (domestic) animal can only be accomplished through a court procedure. During a judicial process is assessed to what extent the environment or neighbors have burden (like noise or odors) from the animals and whether it is tolerable. Hereby the circumstances of the case should be examined under the Animal Law compared to the Apartments law and the provisions of the neighbors rights contained in the Civil Code.

The Animal Law, entered in 2004 (law number 5199) is unfortunately little known among the judges. This law explicitly states that animals in need of care and help can not be evicted from their home. In other words, the evacuation of animals that are accustomed to a home life or old or sick is punishable under this Act.


But what about the pet rights compared to the provisions of the management plan?
For the reader who has no idea what a management plan is; the management plan of a residential park is registered at the Tapu office with stringency to all of the owners at the residential park. The management plan is deposited during the building of the residential by the contractor. A management plan consists of board rules, the rights and duties of all of the owners. A management plan may contain different rules, like the allowance of pets in the park. The deposited management plan is often confused with the house rules decisions taken by majority. House rules are based on majority decisions and these decisions are by definition not binding and may be destroyed or withdrawn at any time.

Even if a management plan of a residential park stipulates an adverse condition related to (domestic) animals, this does not mean that a pet should be simply evacuated from a residential park due to. The court is the determining authority on evacuation of animals from apartments in a residential park. Still, considering the provisions of the Law of the Animal rights, I remain adamant that pets who are accustomed to a home life can not be evacuated unless there are reasons of urgency.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Application of Residence Permit online

The Turkish authorities has developed a new system for residence permit (ikamet) application .
The application for residence permits (ikamet) has been developed in order for the foreigners who already hold residence permits (short-term, student and family residence permits) to carry out extension procedures regarding residence permit electronically.

https://e-ikamet.goc.gov.tr/

With the online procedure, the local offices are no longer in use. All applications should be made online.
In case of that this is your first application, the first application procedure is explained on the same website.

If you want to extend an ikamet you can send your application by registered post to the relevant provincial office. Of course it is possible to go down as well. Addresses of provincial offices are listed on the mentioned website.


All previous amendments concerning the living permit remain valid. The law protection of foreigners (Law 6458) remain valid.