A foreign investor can open a jewellery business in Turkey; there is no restriction specific to the sector. Four things must be in place before the shop can trade: a registered company, a Jewellery Trade Authorisation Certificate, a municipal workplace licence, and a work permit for any foreign person working in it. Where the documents are complete the shop opens in about twelve weeks. What sets the pace is the work permit and the shop fit-out.
Which structure to use in Turkey
Where the foreign investor will work in the shop personally, a limited liability company is the structure to use. The company applies for the work permit as the employer. A sole proprietor must instead obtain an independent work permit in their own name, and that permit is rarely granted for retail activity.
| Structure | Work permit route | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Limited liability company | Company applies, standard permit | Recommended |
| Joint stock company | Company applies, standard permit | Possible, capital TRY 250,000 |
| Sole proprietorship | Independent work permit | Rarely granted for retail |
The Jewellery Trade Authorisation Certificate
The certificate is mandatory for any business selling processed gold at retail, and it is issued per shop. The application is made online to the Provincial Directorate of Trade for the district where the shop is located, and a complete application is decided within ten days. A foreign applicant registers on the system with a passport number.
| Condition | Applies to |
|---|---|
| Registration with the professional chamber | The business |
| Tax registration, no overdue tax debt | The business |
| Jewellery activity in chamber and tax records | The business |
| Mastership or Jeweller Level 4 certificate | Owner, representative or full-time employee |
| Over eighteen, not bankrupt | Owner and authorised representatives |
| No conviction for the listed offences | Owner and authorised representatives |
The conduct condition covers prison sentences totalling more than five years for intentional offences, and convictions for listed offences such as fraud, theft, forgery, bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, terrorist financing and smuggling. A court ban from trade also disqualifies. For a foreign investor the condition is evidenced by an apostilled criminal record certificate from the home country.
A business that sells only silver, sells no gold, or only manufactures or trades wholesale does not need the certificate. The obligation attaches to the retail sale of processed gold.
Annual fee. The fee is TRY 30,000 per shop per year, and TRY 60,000 in metropolitan-province districts with more than 30,000 residents. It is paid before the certificate is issued or renewed.
The qualification. A mastership certificate or a Jeweller (Retail) Level 4 vocational qualification is required. It need not be held by the owner; a full-time employee holding it is sufficient. Graduates of a jewellery-related programme at a Turkish or equivalent foreign institution are exempt. Where the foreign investor will sit the examination, preparation should start in the first week; this step takes two to six weeks.
After issue. The certificate cannot be transferred. Any change in its details must be filed within ten days. If a breach is not remedied, or is repeated in the same year, the certificate is cancelled and the same owner cannot obtain a new one for two years.
Work permit and capital
The foreign investor can manage the shop under a standard work permit applied for by the company as employer. A work permit replaces the residence permit, so no separate residence application is made; the foreigner identification number issued with it is used for electronic government access, the criminal record check and banking.
| Criterion | Requirement in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Paid-in capital | At least TRY 500,000 |
| Foreign partner’s shareholding | At least 20 per cent |
| Turkish employees | Five per foreign national, from month seven |
| Exemption | A foreign capital share of USD 100,000 or more removes the three rows above |
| Declared gross salary | TRY 165,150 |
The legal minimum capital for a limited liability company is TRY 50,000, and a company formed with that amount registers without difficulty. The work permit application, however, is refused for financial insufficiency. Capital should be set at formation to meet the permit criteria; increasing it later costs both time and money.
Keeping the foreign capital share at USD 100,000 or more is the most practical route: the capital, shareholding and Turkish employee criteria then do not apply at all.
Process and timeline
The steps run in this order because each authority checks the previous one’s record: the certificate needs the chamber and tax records, and the work permit needs a registered company.
| Step | Authority | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Apostille, translation and tax number | Consulate, tax office | 1–3 weeks |
| Company formation | Trade registry | 1–2 weeks |
| Bank account and premises inspection | Bank, tax office | 1–3 weeks |
| Chamber registration | Chamber | 1 week |
| Qualification certificate | Certification body | 2–6 weeks |
| Work permit application | Ministry of Labour | 4–6 weeks |
| Authorisation certificate application | Provincial Directorate | 10 days |
| Security fit-out and workplace licence | Municipality | 2–3 weeks |
| Cash register, invoicing, stock and compliance setup | Tax office | 1 week |
The qualification step can start in the first week and runs in parallel with the others. The usual sources of delay are apostille and consular formalities abroad and the bank’s risk review. The foreign manager may not work in the shop until the work permit is issued.
Banks treat jewellery retail as high risk for money laundering, so account opening takes longer and calls for a fuller file than an ordinary trading company. The source of the capital, the investor’s source of wealth and a short business plan are requested. Approaching two banks in parallel shortens the stage.
Tax in jewellery: the special VAT base
This is the main difference from ordinary retail. On gold jewellery, value added tax is charged not on the full sale price but only on the part of the price above the bullion value of the gold.
- Deliveries of gold bullion are exempt from value added tax
- For gold jewellery and gold coins, the base is the sale price less the bullion value of the gold they contain
- The bullion value is calculated from the Borsa Istanbul closing price on the last business day, adjusted for the item’s fineness
- Labour, margin and precious stones are within the base and are taxed at the standard rate
- The special base must be shown correctly on each receipt and on the return; the point-of-sale software must compute the gold content per item
- A customer trading in old gold against new jewellery is two transactions: a purchase and a sale
Used gold bought from private customers is documented with a purchase voucher and the seller’s identity details. Stock is tracked by weight and fineness rather than by unit; because the gold price affects both the stock value and the tax base, the stock system and the accounts must draw on the same daily price source.
Cash limit. Any collection or payment above TRY 30,000, including with private customers, must go through a bank or a licensed payment institution. Splitting an amount into several payments does not avoid the rule, and a breach is penalised on both sides. The bank account must therefore be operational before trading starts.
Ongoing obligations for a jewellery business in Turkey
A jewellery business carries two layers of ongoing rules: the anti-money laundering regime, and the Ministry of Trade’s jewellery rules. A breach of the second can cost the certificate.
- Jewellers are obliged parties under Law No. 5549
- Customer identification is required for a single or linked transaction of TRY 185,000 or more, and for all customers in a continuing relationship
- Suspicious transactions are reported to the Financial Crimes Investigation Board; a customer who refuses identification is itself reportable
- Identification and transaction records are kept for eight years
- No other commercial activity at the premises, and no products that are not jewellery
- No holding customers’ items in custody, and no buying or selling on behalf of others
- Every advertisement shows the certificate number and the business name as on the certificate
- Laboratory-grown stones are labelled as such on tags, invoices and advertising, and displayed separately from natural stones
The permitted additional activities are jewellery repair, semi-precious stones, watches, standard unprocessed precious metals and State Mint products. The Ministry inspects together with the State Mint, which tests fineness; breaches carry administrative fines under Law No. 6585.
At the licensing stage the municipality and the police check physical security: an alarm, recording cameras, a steel safe and secure shutters. Insurance for stock, robbery and fire is not a legal requirement, but landlords and banks commonly ask for it.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign national open a jewellery shop in Turkey?
Does every jewellery business need the authorisation certificate?
What if the investor has no jewellery qualification?
Can the company be formed with TRY 50,000 of capital?
Is a separate residence permit needed?
How is value added tax calculated on a gold sale?
Can customers pay in cash?
Can other products be sold in the shop?
How long does it take to open?
Ozbek CPA handles entry into the jewellery sector for foreign investors from start to finish: setting the structure and the capital against the work permit criteria, forming the company, opening the chamber and tax records with the jewellery activity, preparing the authorisation certificate application and the work permit file, setting up sales and stock systems that compute the special value added tax base, and running the monthly filings and compliance. The licensing and security side, and the legal handling of criminal record documents, are managed together with legal counsel. See also our pages on work permits and limited liability company formation.
