How it Works

Business setup first, workspace where you need it, and operational support as the company becomes active.

Workon helps foreign founders turn a Turkey market-entry decision into a practical local setup plan. Our process is designed around one simple principle: registering a company is only one part of becoming operational. We therefore coordinate the business setup sequence together with registered address and workspace needs, bank-account application readiness, licensed-professional handoffs and the practical infrastructure required after registration.

The exact route depends on the founder, shareholder structure, business activity, location, work status and sector. Workon does not promise that every bank, authority or regulated process will produce a particular outcome. Our role is to make responsibilities clear, prepare the file, coordinate the sequence and keep the founder informed about what happens next.

How the Workon Process Works

1. Define the Business Model and Local Requirements

We start with what the business will actually do in Turkey. That means clarifying the activity, expected customers and transactions, shareholder and management structure, whether the founders will work in Turkey, where the company will be registered, whether physical workspace is needed and whether the activity may trigger sector-specific permissions.

• Business activity and market-entry objective
• Individual or corporate shareholder structure
• Management, signatory and founder work-status questions
• Registered address and workspace requirement
• Banking, staffing, permit and operational dependencies

This intake keeps the process from becoming a generic checklist. A foreign individual founder, an overseas parent company and a regulated-sector investor can require different documents and different sequencing.

2. Build the Setup Roadmap and Scope

Once the requirements are clear, we map the route from setup to operational readiness. The roadmap separates what Workon can coordinate directly, what requires a licensed professional and what remains under the control of a bank or public authority.

Before implementation, the founder should be able to see the agreed Workon scope, the known Workon fees, the expected third-party or statutory cost categories, the documents that must be prepared and the dependencies that can affect timing. Institution-controlled charges, approvals and processing times may change, so they are not presented as guaranteed outcomes.

3. Coordinate Company Setup and Registration

For founders proceeding with a Turkish entity, Workon coordinates the agreed company-setup workflow and the practical handoffs needed around registration. This can include document sequencing, registered-address readiness, translation/notary coordination where required and Trade Registry preparation together with the relevant professional or institutional parties.

For the dedicated commercial service and current scope, see Company Registration in Turkey.

4. Prepare the Company to Operate

A registered company may still have work to complete before it can operate as intended. Depending on the case, the next layer can include tax-office procedures, corporate bank-account application readiness, KEP or e-signature, employee and social-security registration coordination, founder or employee work authorisation, sector licences, import-export dependencies or other corporate infrastructure.

Workon coordinates the relevant handoffs but keeps professional and institutional boundaries visible. A bank makes its own KYC and account-opening decision. Regulated statutory financial and tax work belongs to appropriately licensed professionals. Legal opinions and representation belong to qualified lawyers. Customs, trademark and other regulated matters are handled by the relevant licensed professionals where required.

5. Match the Workspace to the Business

Workspace is planned as part of the operating model rather than as an unrelated purchase. Some founders need only a professional registered address at the beginning; others need meeting rooms, coworking or a private serviced office from day one.

• Virtual Office in Turkey for registered-address and flexible business-support needs
• Coworking Offices in Istanbul for regular flexible workspace
• Private & Serviced Offices in Istanbul for teams that need dedicated space
• Meeting Rooms in Istanbul for client meetings and scheduled use

Workon operates from business locations in Ataşehir and Ümraniye. See Workon Locations in Istanbul for the current location setup.

6. Continue with Ongoing Local Coordination

Needs often change after launch. A business may hire, change address, expand its workspace, add a regulated activity, prepare a new bank file or require additional corporate documentation. Workon remains a local coordination point for the areas within its scope and connects regulated work to the appropriate licensed professionals when required.

For the broader service map, see Business Services in Turkey.

Who Does What?

What Can Change the Timeline?

There is no single reliable timeline for every foreign-founder case. The route can change because of shareholder type, overseas documents, apostille or legalisation requirements, signatory arrangements, bank KYC, work-authorisation needs, sector permissions, public-holiday schedules or authority requests for additional information.

For that reason, Workon uses a dependency-based process: we identify the next required action, who owns it and whether another step must be completed first. This is more useful than presenting a universal timeline that may not fit the actual case.

Remote and In-Person Setup

Some company-setup steps can be coordinated remotely when the document and representation route allows it, while certain banking, signature, identity or institution-specific procedures may require physical presence or an approved alternative process. The correct route is determined case by case rather than promised universally.

Start with the Right First Step

If you are evaluating Turkey, the most useful starting point is not a form—it is a clear definition of what the business needs to achieve. Tell us the planned activity, shareholder structure, whether you expect to work in Turkey, and what kind of address or workspace you need. We can then map the practical setup sequence and identify which parts Workon can coordinate directly.

Contact Workon to discuss your setup, or read About Workon to understand our role and service boundaries.