Company · Bank account · Business support
Country Manager, Turkey
Selin Arslan
Companies and accounts in Turkey
Istanbul
Team
Merve Demir · Company registration in Turkey
Emre Yildiz · Bank accounts in Turkey
A company isn’t a residence permit
A Turkish company does not by itself give you a residence or work permit: that depends on your role — shareholder, manager or employee. If you need a visa and your clients aren’t in Turkey, a UAE free zone fits better.
Company · Bank account · Business support
Business in Turkey: company and bank account
Turkey makes sense when your business has a link to the country: clients, suppliers, a team or export production. We register companies here — standard ones, in free zones and in technoparks — and open accounts at four banks, including for UAE companies. We take on the most labour-intensive part — legalising and translating the documents to Turkish rules.
- 100%
- Foreign ownership — no Turkish partner needed
- from TRY 50,000
- Ltd. Şti. capital, paid within 24 months
- 4 banks
- Emlak Katılım, VakıfBank, İşbank and Ziraat
- By power of attorney
- Emlak Katılım account and most of the registration — without a visit
Format finder
An account, a Turkish company or a UAE free zone — which do you need?
Not everyone needs a Turkish company: if you only need a payment channel, an account for your UAE company is enough. Four questions show where to start.
01Does the business operate in Turkey itself?
02Where is your company registered now?
03What matters most to you?
04Do you need employees in Turkey?
Answer the questions — we will show what fits and why.
Account in Turkey
An account for your UAE company at a Turkish bank — no company of your own in Turkey
Company in Turkey
Ltd. Şti., A.Ş. or a branch — for operations in Turkey itself
UAE free zone
A company with an office and a residence visa — when your clients aren’t in Turkey
Fits
Account in Turkey
An account for your UAE company at a Turkish bank — no company of your own in Turkey
By power of attorney
opening at Emlak Katılım
6 currencies
at Emlak Katılım
4 banks
to choose from
Why
- The bank will ask about your link to Turkey in its questionnaire — and you’ll have an answer.
- If you only need a payment channel, a Turkish company isn’t necessary: Emlak Katılım opens accounts for UAE companies.
- An account for a UAE company is a second banking channel in another country and another banking system.
- Emlak Katılım offers lira, dollars, euros, dirhams, yuan and other currencies — at a bank in another country.
A UAE company’s documents are attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and legalised at the Turkish consulate — an apostille won’t work. This usually takes 2–4 weeks.
From Hague Convention countries, documents are legalised with an apostille, followed by a sworn translation into Turkish and a notary.
Fits
Company in Turkey
Ltd. Şti., A.Ş. or a branch — for operations in Turkey itself
100%
foreign ownership
from TRY 50,000
Ltd. Şti. capital
3 regimes
standard, free zone, technopark
Why
- Operations in Turkey — clients, suppliers, a team, production — are run through a Turkish company or branch.
- A foreign individual can be the sole shareholder of a Ltd. Şti. or A.Ş. without having a business abroad.
- Turkey offers incentives only under special regimes: in a free zone — on profit from goods produced in the zone and sold abroad; in a technopark — on profit from software, R&D and design until 31 December 2028.
- A subsidiary Ltd. Şti. or A.Ş. — a separate legal entity — can hire staff and hold accounts in its own name.
A free zone trading or consulting licence does not give a profit tax exemption.
Fits
UAE free zone
A company with an office and a residence visa — when your clients aren’t in Turkey
from 5 working days
licence
100%
ownership
usually 2 years
founder’s visa
Why
- Without a link to Turkey, the bank will ask why this particular country — and you’ll have no answer. It makes more sense to keep your base in the UAE.
- No company yet, but you need a base with a visa — a UAE free zone: a licence from 5 working days.
- A free zone company sponsors a visa for the founder — usually for 2 years — while owning a Turkish company does not by itself give either a residence permit or a work permit.
If you need to live and work in Turkey specifically, we assess the requirements separately, based on the person’s role: shareholder, manager or employee.
Turkey
What we do in Turkey
Team
Who handles your matters in Turkey
Project Manager
Merve Demir
Company registration in Turkey
Istanbul
Project Manager
Emre Yildiz
Bank accounts in Turkey
Istanbul
How business with Turkey works
In Turkey you can open your own company or make do with an account for your UAE company. Either way, UAE documents go through consular legalisation, sworn translation and a notary — and this is what drives the timeline.
A business linked to Turkey
Clients, suppliers or a team in the country, export production, software development or R&D. Without a link to Turkey, the bank will ask in its questionnaire why this particular country — and you’ll have no answer.
A second channel for your UAE company
Emlak Katılım opens accounts for UAE companies by power of attorney — a second banking channel in another country and another banking system. If the Turkish company is part of a group, a UAE holding company can become its shareholder.
A UAE apostille won’t work
The UAE is not party to the Hague Convention: documents are attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and legalised at the Turkish consulate. Then come a sworn translation into Turkish and a notary.
The usual route
If you only need a payment channel, we open an account for your UAE company; the main route is Emlak Katılım. If you have operations in Turkey, we register a Ltd. Şti., an A.Ş. or a branch.
Expert tip
Before filing, we check whether the activity needs an industry licence or real premises. And for the Turkish tax number we collect the parents’ names of the director and shareholders right away — without them, the bank will put the application on hold.
Kermen TserenkeevaSenior Lawyer · Company registrationWho does what
UAE documents — on the way to an account or a company in Turkey
Legalisation drives the timeline: the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Turkish consulate, a sworn translation and a notary. Third-party amounts are indicative as of October 2026.
From you: document scans, beneficial owner details and signing the power of attorney. A representative submits the package and signs the bank’s forms — as a rule, you don’t need to travel to Turkey.
From you: details for the articles, signatures as instructed and the capital contribution. We handle most of the registration by power of attorney and confirm in advance whether the bank needs you in person.
Company maintenance
What a Turkish company costs every month — even with no revenue
Third-party costs for a simple business in Istanbul — indicative as of 5 October 2026, excluding VAT. If you only need a payment channel, you don’t need a company of your own: an account for your UAE company is enough.
Basic budget
TRY 9,000–18,000 a month
Online bookkeeping and a registered address, before VAT; our fee is a separate line in the proposal
Fixed costs
- Online bookkeeping with Turkish accountantsTRY 8,000–16,000/mo
- Registered address — a virtual office with mail handlingTRY 1,000–2,000/mo
- Annual chamber fee — 10–50% of the gross minimum wage, by chamber grade, in June and October
- E-signature or financial seal, e-ledgers and e-invoices
Reporting
- VAT — every month by the 28th, including months with no sales
- Corporate income tax at 25% — return by 30 April, advance payments in May, August and November
- Annual general meeting — by 31 March
- E-TUYS — by 31 May; beneficial owner declaration to the tax office — within a month of any change
When they apply
- Employees — payroll, social insurance and the combined return by the 26th
- Licensed activity — industry licences and real premises
A company with no revenue still pays for its address, bookkeeping and reporting: a late return costs from TRY 35,000 in 2026. If operations have stopped, we’ll work out the cost of keeping the company inactive or of closing it.
FAQ
Expert answers
Kermen Tserenkeeva — Company registration
Incentives exist only under special regimes. A standard company operates under the general tax regime. In a free zone, a manufacturer’s profit is tax-exempt — on goods produced in the zone and sold abroad; a zone trading licence does not give this exemption. In a technopark, profit from qualifying software, R&D and design is exempt until 31 December 2028.
Kermen Tserenkeeva · Company registrationWhere we work
Other countries
Not sure which country fits?
Next step
Company, account or both — what do you need in Turkey?
Tell us where your company is registered, what the business will do in Turkey and in which currencies you settle. We’ll tell you whether an account is enough or you need a Turkish company, and draw up a list of documents for legalisation and translation.
Kermen TserenkeevaSenior Lawyer · Company registration