Newsletter-21

319 LABOR LAW any qualification or (iv) the applicant is subject to Law on Foreign Nationals and International Protection (No. 6458). As for the duration of the work permits are concerned, Article 10 limits the duration of the work to a maximum of one year provided that this period does not exceed the duration of their service contract. The Article 10 also entitles foreign nationals who have long term residence permits or already employed with a work permit for a minimum of 8 years to apply for a permanent work permit. It is also noteworthy to mention that the directors (managers) who are shareholders of limited liability companies in Turkey and executive board members who are shareholders of joint stock companies shall be entitled to be employed with a work permit. The work permit may be extended up to maximum of 2 years in the first request of extension. In the subsequent application for exten- sion of work permit, the extension is granted for a maximum of 3 years in each application. Turquoise Card The purpose of the Law is mentioned to promote the access and integration of qualified foreign workforce to enter Turkish workforce based on vocational qualifications, educational background and pro- fessional experiences by introducing “Turquoise Card”, a facilitated work permit system. The holders of Turquoise Card shall be entitled to a permanent work permit whereby their dependents shall be granted long term residency permits 4 . General Exemption The general principles under Article 13 identified cases of exemp- tions for work permits. Foreign nationals who are holders of residency permits are exempted from work permit requirement. One significant introduction by the Law is that the executive board members of the joint stock companies not resident in Turkey and shareholders of companies other than joint stock companies (i.e. 4 Article 11 of the Law.