Almost 200 foreign health staff employed in Turkey

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

A total of 443 foreign health staff, including 347 doctors and 79 nurses, have applied for work permits in Turkey, a Health Ministry official has said.

More than 400 foreign health workers have received permission to work in Turkey and 188 of them started to work in private hospitals, a Health Ministry official said yesterday.

A total of 443 foreign health workers, including 347 doctors and 79 nurses, have applied for permission to work in Turkey since the regulation that allowed foreigners to work abroad came into force as of 2012.

The Health Ministry allowed 425 foreigners to work in Turkey and said they can start working at health institutions in Turkey as soon as they take work and residential permits, according to İrfan Şencan, General Manager of the Health Ministry’s Health Services Department. Only 188 out of 425 health workers started working in hospitals by taking residence and work permits.

Foreign health workers can get the equivalence from the Higher Education Board (YÖK) with the condition of working in the private sector. However, Turkish citizenship is a must to become a public servant, which is why they cannot work in public hospitals. The workers also have to pass a Turkish language test within a year, although foreigners who have graduated from universities in Turkey do not have to pass language test.

On Oct. 27, Health Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu called on Greek doctors who are reportedly seeking jobs abroad to work in Turkey.

“Some 7,000 doctors in Greece are seeking jobs abroad and we need them. [Turkey’s] doors are open to Greece’s 7,000 doctors. I invite them to serve this country and nation with their knowledge,” Müezzinoğlu said.