Number of foreigners seeking work permits on the rise, ministry says

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Chinese, Russian and Ukrainian workers top the list of foreigners in Turkey who obtained a work permit last year, according to data from the Labor Ministry.

Some 1,648 Chinese, 1,432 Russian and 1,278 Ukrainian workers were granted work permits in 2011. A total of 16,890 foreign workers, 7,106 of whom were women, were granted work permits in 2011, up from 14,201 in 2010. More than half of the foreign workers with work permits hold college or higher degrees. Of the foreign workers who obtained work permits last year, 2,103 of them work in education, 2,002 of them work in hospitality, 915 of them work in entertainment, creative and performance arts and 917 of them work in air transport sectors.

Most of these workers are between the ages of 25 and 35 and are mostly employed in Istanbul, Antalya and Ankara respectively.