Service credit for Turks living abroad allows people who worked outside Turkey to qualify for retirement benefits in Turkey. Under Law No. 3201, the service credit scheme enables periods worked abroad to be counted toward Turkish social security service time. After documenting those periods and paying the required contributions, applicants can be recognized as insured and become eligible for retirement without having to return to Turkey and complete additional work days.
Overseas Service Credit
Service credit for residents abroad has been revised in recent amendments: contribution rates were increased and the way credited periods are accepted into insured service was adjusted. The changes allow credited foreign service periods to be registered under a different insurance category than the contributor’s previously accumulated Turkish service time. Turkish citizens who worked abroad can claim service credit by deducting those foreign working periods from their total required contribution period, once they document them and pay the applicable amounts to the Social Security Institution (SGK).
Partial crediting of foreign work periods is also possible. Applicants may choose to credit only the minimum time required for retirement — that is, they can partially claim enough days to reach the earliest eligible pension threshold. The minimum period to secure a pension is generally 3,600 days of contributions, so applicants commonly credit foreign periods up to the point where their total contributions reach 3,600 days.
Which Periods Spent Abroad Can Be Credited?
Not all time spent abroad can be deducted from Turkish insurance records. Specific criteria determine what counts. Time abroad spent for vacation or other non-income-generating reasons cannot be credited. The situations that do permit crediting are:
- The person must have been insured through Turkey during the period for which crediting is requested.
- If the person went abroad to work, they may also include up to one year of unemployment that occurred before finding that job; this pre-employment unemployment period can be credited.
- If the person became unemployed after finishing work abroad, they may include up to one year of post-employment unemployment as creditable time.
- Periods spent as a homemaker can be credited against insured periods regardless of marital status. If crediting homemaker time, the uninsured periods are also taken into account for the calculation.
Conditions for Applying for Overseas Service Credit
Eligibility conditions for foreign service credit include:
- The applicant must have been a Turkish citizen during the period being credited.
- At the time of applying, the person must be a Turkish citizen or a person born Turkish who later lost citizenship by leaving with official permission.
- The foreign working periods presented for credit must be documented.
- Applications to the Social Security Institution must use the official Overseas Service Credit Request Petition.
How to Document Work Periods in Countries with Agreements
Documentation for work in countries that have agreements is essential to have those days deducted from Turkish insured service. For deduction, applicants need references from the foreign employers or the local social security unit they were affiliated with.
If the country where the person worked is party to a bilateral agreement with the Turkish Social Security Institution, the documentation requirements vary depending on whether the employer was selected through a Turkish process or was a foreign institution. Commonly accepted documents from agreement countries include:
- A service statement from the foreign social security institution to which the worker was affiliated.
- If the foreign workplace is a public or official institution, applicants are often directed to municipal offices without additional certification. Documents requested include service records, tax office documents on employment periods, and unemployment documentation from employment agencies.
- Occupation-specific evaluation reports from relevant professional chambers or organizations when applicable.
- Payroll or salary documentation from the foreign employer.
- Documents issued by the relevant foreign tax office and service records from cooperating institutions.
How to Document Work Periods in Countries without Agreements
Documenting work in countries that have no social security agreement with Turkey is more difficult. In such cases applicants typically must obtain official confirmations from Turkish diplomatic missions abroad and other accredited offices. Required steps and documents include:
- An official service document from the Turkish consulate in the country where the work was performed.
- Service certificates obtained via labor and social security attachés or advisers, explicitly stating the documents will be used for overseas service credit.
- Service records and release documents (bonservis) issued by the foreign employer.
- Notarized translations of passport entries that show the relevant working periods.
Calculation of Overseas Service Credit
Calculation of the amount due is based on the number of credited days multiplied by the chosen daily earnings base; the resulting amount is then multiplied by the statutory contribution rate. Previously this rate was 32%; an August 2019 regulation raised the effective rate substantially. As a result of the change, payments for overseas service credit increased significantly. Under the latest adjustments, the minimum daily credit amount and the maximum daily credit amount are set by regulation and updated periodically; applicants should confirm current figures at the time of application.
When Must Overseas Credit Payments Be Made?
Payment deadline for the calculated overseas credit amount is within three months after the applicant is notified of the amount. After the SGK completes the calculation and issues the notification, the notified sum must be paid within three months. Failure to pay within this period results in loss of the application right; applicants who do not complete payment cannot reapply for the same periods. Installment plans are not available for the notified amount — the full amount is due in a single payment. There is no final application deadline for overseas crediting, but applicants who are below retirement age are advised to accumulate the necessary payment funds first and then submit the application.
Status of Overseas Service Credit
The insurance category applied to credited foreign service used to depend on the insurance type the person held while working in Turkey. Under earlier rules, credited periods continued under the same insurance category; if no Turkish insurance type existed, the person could be classified under the Bağ-Kur category.
A legislative change in August 2019 standardized the insurance category for overseas service credit: regardless of the applicant’s previous Turkish insurance type, overseas service credit is now recorded under the Bağ-Kur scheme. This change means applicants who credit foreign service will be treated as Bağ-Kur insured for the credited periods.