Turkish employment letter and reference translation

The letters Turkish employers write

Several different documents come under this heading, and it helps to know which one you hold.

• Çalışma belgesi. Under Article 28 of the Labour Law, an employer must give a departing employee, on request, a certificate stating the kind of work done and how long it lasted. It is a single page on letterhead with the company seal and a signature.
• Current-employment letter (çalışma yazısı or görev yazısı). Written at your request for a visa application, it confirms that you are still employed, your title and start date, your salary and, for a visitor visa, that leave has been approved and the job is being held open for your return.
• Hizmet belgesi. The service record of a public employee, listing grade (derece), step (kademe), post and dates. Many public institutions now issue it electronically with an e-signature block.
• Referans mektubu. A reference. Turkish employers write them rarely and briefly, usually a paragraph or two from a manager, and rarely on a form.

We translate the letterhead, including the MERSİS and tax numbers printed at the foot of the page, the reference line (Sayı) and subject line (Konu), the addressee, the body, the signatory's name and title, the seal and any handwritten date. The formula İlgili makama becomes “To whom it may concern”, and a letter addressed to the British Embassy is rendered as addressed.

Who asks for it in the UK

• Standard Visitor visa. The Home Office guide to supporting documents recommends a letter from your employer on headed paper detailing your role, salary and length of employment, as evidence that you will return. See translations for a visitor visa.
• Spouse or partner visa. Appendix FM-SE requires a letter from the sponsor's employer confirming the job, the salary, the length of employment and the type of contract; a Turkish letter for a sponsor returning from Türkiye has to cover those points.
• Skilled Worker and Health and Care visas, where the sponsor wants evidence of experience, and the NMC and HCPC, which ask for confirmation of practice hours from previous employers.
• UK employers and screening agencies verifying past employment when a Turkish referee cannot be contacted.
• Universities assessing work experience for postgraduate admission.

What the translation must contain

The visitor-visa guide, quoted below, requires a full translation that can be independently verified, with confirmation of accuracy, the date, the translator's full name and signature and contact details. Our certificate states each item and carries our company address and registry number, so the entry clearance officer can check it. The layout of the certificate is shown on how our certified translation is set out.

On these letters we pay attention to two things. Salary is shown as stated, gross (brüt) or net, and where the amount is written out in words the words are translated too, since caseworkers compare figures and words. Titles are translated with the Turkish original in brackets if the English is an approximation.

Why some letters are queried

Entry clearance officers look for a way to verify the letter. One that gives no telephone number, no address or no named signatory invites a query, and one signed by an HR clerk without the company seal is often treated as weak. Ask your employer for a letter with a direct line and an e-mail address on the letterhead. A letter dated months before the application is another common weakness; a fresh one costs your employer five minutes.

Employer letters are private documents and are not apostilled. Public-sector hizmet belgesi documents can be downloaded from e-Devlet with a verification code, and we translate that code and the e-signature note so the reader can check them.

Price and turnaround

Almost every employer letter is one page and costs £10.00, certification included, with no UK VAT charged; a public-service record with several postings is occasionally 2 pages. Because the file is short we normally return the certified PDF the next working day, and the same day for the fast option if it reaches us before 11:00 UK time. A signed hard copy travels from Ankara by courier for £30; there is no UK office to collect from.