SARDAG Law & Consultancy incorporates Turkish companies for foreign shareholders and advises on the structure before it is chosen. There is no requirement for a Turkish partner: a foreign individual or a foreign company may own one hundred percent of the shares.
Which vehicle
Two forms account for almost every foreign-owned business in Türkiye.
| Limited company (Ltd. Şti.) | Joint stock company (A.Ş.) | |
|---|---|---|
| Typical use | Trading, services, holding a property portfolio, most small and mid-sized operations | Businesses expecting outside investment, share transfers, or a future sale |
| Shareholders | One or more | One or more |
| Share transfer | Requires a notarised transfer and registration — slower and more visible | Simpler, and share certificates can transfer without registry formalities |
| Public tax debt | Shareholders can be pursued personally for unpaid public debts in proportion to their holding | Shareholders are not personally liable for public debt; directors can be |
| Governance | Manager or managers | Board of directors, more formality |
That fourth row is the one most foreign founders are never told about, and it is the strongest argument for the joint stock form where the business will carry meaningful tax or social security obligations. Setting up as a limited company because it is simpler, and discovering the exposure years later, is a recurring pattern.
What incorporation involves
- Tax numbers for the shareholders and directorsEvery foreign individual involved needs one. Where the shareholder is a foreign company, its own documents must be legalised and translated.
- Articles of associationDrafted, then entered into the central registry system. The stated business scope matters: too narrow and you cannot trade freely, too vague and banks and authorities will query it.
- Registered addressA real address is required. Virtual office arrangements are accepted by the registry but increasingly questioned by banks at account opening, which is where they cause trouble.
- Signature declarations and appointmentsDirectors are appointed and their signature authority recorded. Who holds signature authority, and jointly or severally, should be a deliberate decision rather than a default.
- Trade registry filingRegistration with the chamber of commerce and publication in the trade registry gazette. This is normally a matter of days once the file is complete.
- Tax office registration and booksRegistration with the tax office, opening of statutory books, and appointment of an accountant. Turkish practice assumes ongoing professional bookkeeping; this is not optional in the way it is in some jurisdictions.
- Corporate bank accountAlmost always the longest step, and the one no timetable should assume away.
The bank account is the bottleneck, not the company. Incorporation can be finished in days. Opening a corporate account for a foreign-owned company takes longer, requires full beneficial ownership evidence up the chain, and depends on the bank's own policy. Plan the timetable around the account, not the registry. Our guide to Turkish bank accounts sets out what the compliance file needs to contain.
Can it be done remotely?
Yes, under a power of attorney drafted for the purpose and executed at a Turkish consulate. Directors and shareholders do not have to travel for incorporation. The bank may nevertheless want to meet a beneficial owner or a signatory, and some banks are firmer about this for corporate accounts than for personal ones.
Does a company help with citizenship or residence?
Two things are regularly confused here.
Citizenship. Buying property through a company does not satisfy the investment route — the property must be held by the individual applicant. The route that does involve a business is job creation, which requires employing at least fifty people, confirmed by the Ministry of Labour. That is an operating business, not a holding vehicle.
Residence. Owning or directing a Turkish company does not by itself produce a residence permit. Working in your own company requires a work permit, obtained through the company as employer, with its own capital and employment conditions. Anyone describing company formation as a shortcut to residence is glossing over the work permit entirely.
Tax, in outline
A Turkish company is taxed on its worldwide income at the prevailing corporate rate, with distributions to shareholders subject to withholding on top. Turkish-source income earned by the company remains Turkish-source regardless of who owns it — which means the twenty-year exemption on foreign income, which applies to individuals, does not shelter it. Foreign owners planning around that exemption should be clear about which income is theirs personally and which belongs to a company.
Where a foreign shareholder is tax resident somewhere that operates controlled foreign company rules, the Turkish entity may be attributed to them at home. That is a question for their own adviser, and it should be asked before incorporation rather than at the first filing.
What continues after registration
- Monthly and quarterly filings, and annual corporate tax returns.
- VAT registration and periodic returns where applicable.
- Payroll and social security registration once there is a single employee.
- E-invoicing and e-ledger obligations above certain thresholds.
- Statutory books kept properly, and an annual general assembly.
- Ultimate beneficial ownership notifications.
A dormant Turkish company is not a free option. It continues to generate filing obligations, accountancy fees and penalties for missed returns. If a company is no longer needed, close it properly rather than abandoning it.
Three questions before you incorporate. What will this company actually do, and does the tax treatment of that activity suit you? Do the shareholders' home jurisdictions attribute foreign companies back to them? And which bank will open the account, given who owns it? The third question decides your timetable and it is the one most rarely asked first.
Send us what the business will do and we will tell you which structure fits and what the realistic timetable is.
Next step
Tell us your nationality and what the account is for.
Those two answers decide which bank to approach and how the application should be presented. We will tell you what is realistic for your profile before you arrange anything at a consulate.
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