Employing staff at a virtual office address is possible in Turkey, but if the structure is not set up correctly your records and your actual situation drift apart, and that gap is what creates problems during an inspection. The root of the issue sits in a single sentence: Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510 defines a workplace as "the places where those deemed insured carry out their work together with tangible and intangible elements." In other words, a workplace is not where an address is declared but where the work is actually performed. If your team will not physically work at the virtual office address, the right instrument is not to obscure that fact but to document remote work through a written contract. This guide covers when the SGK workplace notification is due, why a trade registry filing removes the need for a separate notification, what a remote work contract must contain, which jobs cannot be performed remotely, the rules for address changes, and the cases where a virtual office genuinely is not enough.
Important note: This guide is general information and does not replace personalized legal or financial advice. For notification deadlines, exceptions and the treatment of your specific activity, consult your accountant (mali müşavir) and the Social Security Institution (SGK). Everything below is based on Article 11 of Law No. 5510 and on the Remote Work Regulation (Uzaktan Çalışma Yönetmeliği).
If you have not yet registered your business, our how to start a sole proprietorship guide covers the setup steps and our e-Government sole proprietorship registration guide walks through the online process. This article addresses the question that comes after registration: what your address actually means when you hire your first employee.
Can You Employ Staff at a Virtual Office Address?
Yes, you can employ staff while your registered address is a virtual office, and no separate permission is required for it. When a company formation is notified to the trade registry directorate, Article 11 of Law No. 5510 provides that this notification counts as having been made to the Institution and that no separate workplace notification (işyeri bildirgesi) is filed by the parties; the trade registry directorate must forward the notification to SGK within ten days at the latest. Your SGK workplace file is therefore opened at the address you declared as your registered office, which can be a virtual office address. In structures that are not entered in the trade registry, this automatic route does not apply; the employer must submit the workplace notification, in the form prepared by the Institution, at the latest on the date it starts employing an insured person. The real question is not whether registration can be opened. The real question is whether the registered address and the place where your staff actually work can be reconciled and evidenced. Where your team will not physically be at the address, the instrument that provides that reconciliation is a remote work contract concluded in writing under the Remote Work Regulation. A virtual office gives you the legal address; the contract answers the separate question of where your staff actually work. These are two different layers and one does not substitute for the other.
Grasping this distinction early makes every later question easier. The correct order is this: first decide where your team will physically work, then build your address and contract structure around that reality.
How Does the Law Define a Workplace?
Article 11 of Law No. 5510 defines a workplace as "the places where those deemed insured carry out their work together with tangible and intangible elements." The practical consequence is that a workplace is where the work is actually performed, not where a sign hangs or an address is declared. If a software team works from their homes, the place where the work is performed is technically those homes, while the company's registered office is the virtual office address. This difference between two realities does not, by itself, create a breach, because the Remote Work Regulation, issued under Article 14 of Labour Law No. 4857, governs exactly this situation. The Regulation defines remote work as an employment relationship established in writing, based on the employee performing their work obligation at home or outside the workplace through technological communication tools, within the work organization created by the employer. The decisive phrase is "in writing"; without a contract, the situation you describe has no supporting evidence.
That is why the question a virtual office user must answer is not "is my address valid" but "where do my employees actually work, and how do I document it."
When Is the SGK Workplace Notification Due?
The employer must submit the workplace notification to the Institution at the latest on the date it starts employing an insured person. This is an explicit obligation under Article 11 of Law No. 5510 and it leaves no room for delay. In practical terms, your workplace file must already be open on the day your first employee starts.
For company formations this burden is largely automated. Where the formation is notified to the trade registry directorate, that notification counts as having been made to the Institution and no separate workplace notification is filed; the registry directorate forwards it to SGK within ten days at the latest. In structures without a trade registry entry, such as a sole proprietorship, the employer files the notification directly.
Three situations are worth separating:
- You are forming a capital company and will employ staff from the start. The registry notification counts as filed with SGK and your workplace file opens at your registered address.
- Your company already exists and you are hiring your first employee now. The file must be open as of the date you begin employing an insured person.
- You run a sole proprietorship and are hiring your first employee. You must file the workplace notification at the latest on the start date.
Deadlines for employee-level filings such as the insured entry declaration fall outside the scope of this article; for your own case, consult your accountant and SGK. For the broader registration picture, our tax registration in Turkey guide sets out the first thirty days step by step.
If the Team Is Not Physically There: The Remote Work Contract
If your team will not be physically present at the virtual office address, the relationship you need to establish is remote work, and it is established in writing. Article 5 of the Remote Work Regulation states this without ambiguity: employment contracts relating to remote work shall be made in written form.
There are two ways to establish it. First, the employment relationship can be created directly as a remote work contract. Second, an existing employee's contract can be converted to remote work by agreement of the parties. Article 14 of the Regulation requires the employee's request in this second route to be made in writing. In other words, the conversion runs on documents, not on verbal understanding.
The value of this structure becomes clear here: while your SGK file sits at the virtual office address, the fact that your employee actually works from home is no longer an unexplained inconsistency but a working arrangement defined by contract. Preparing that document at the point of hiring, rather than reconstructing it later, is the correct sequence.
What Must a Remote Work Contract Contain?
Article 5 of the Regulation lists the elements the contract must include: the definition of the work, the manner in which it is performed, the duration and place of the work, matters relating to pay and its payment, the work tools and equipment provided by the employer along with obligations regarding their protection, communication with the employer, and general and specific working conditions. That list is the minimum frame to fill in when drafting.
The Regulation adds three more concrete obligations to this frame:
- Workspace arrangements (Art. 6). Where necessary, arrangements relating to the place where remote work will be performed shall be completed before work begins. The method of covering the costs arising from such arrangements is determined jointly by the employer and the employee.
- Mandatory expenses (Art. 8). Matters relating to the determination and coverage of mandatory expenses directly related to the production of goods or services arising from the performance of the work shall be specified in the employment contract.
- Working time (Art. 9). The time interval and duration of remote work shall be specified in the employment contract. Subject to the limits set out in legislation, the parties may change working hours; overtime is performed upon the written request of the employer and with the acceptance of the employee, in accordance with the legislation.
Occupational health and safety duties do not disappear in remote work. Under Article 12 of the Regulation, the employer is responsible, taking the nature of the work into account, for informing the employee about occupational health and safety, providing the necessary training, ensuring health surveillance and taking the required safety measures regarding the equipment it supplies. The fact that an employee works from home does not lighten this obligation.
Which Jobs Cannot Be Performed Remotely?
Remote work is not open to every activity. Article 13 of the Regulation places three areas directly outside its scope: work with hazardous chemicals and radioactive materials, work involving the processing of such materials or their waste, and work carrying a risk of exposure to biological agents.
In practice this means you cannot employ staff under a remote work contract in laboratory, chemical, waste-processing and comparable high-risk activities. For such an activity a virtual office does not offer a workable employment structure either; you need physical premises suited to the operation. How remote work applies to services provided by public institutions is a separate matter of regulation; ask your legal adviser and SGK whether your activity falls within that scope.
Address Change Rules for the Workplace Notification
The rule that applies to an address change depends on whether the move crosses provincial boundaries. Article 11 of Law No. 5510 treats the two situations separately.
Where the workplace is transferred from its current address to an address in another province, the transferring employer files a workplace notification within ten days following the date of transfer. A move to another province therefore requires a new notification.
Where the workplace is transferred to another address within the boundaries of the same province, written notification of the address change is sufficient. In that case the insurance rights and obligations of the insured persons continue, and no new notification is drawn up.
| Situation | What to do | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Company formation notified to the trade registry | No separate workplace notification is filed | Registry forwards it to SGK within 10 days |
| First employee in a structure without registry entry | Employer files the workplace notification | At the latest on the date employment of an insured person begins |
| Transfer to an address in another province | A new workplace notification is filed | Within 10 days following the transfer date |
| Address change within the same province | Written notification is sufficient | Upon notification; rights and obligations continue |
The trade registry and tax office legs of an address change sit outside this table. We covered the full process in our company address change guide.
How Is the Actual Situation Assessed in an SGK Inspection?
SGK may check whether workplace records match the actual situation, and that check can include an on-site visit to the address. For an employer using a virtual office, the critical point is this: if staff appear on paper to work at the address while they actually work elsewhere, and that is not documented, risk arises. What creates the risk is not the use of a virtual office but the fact that reality cannot be explained.
Both legs of the file therefore need to hold. The first leg is that the address is real: your provider should operate from genuine premises, accept and forward your post and official notices, and have an authorized person available at the address when needed. The second leg is that the place where your staff work is defined in a written contract. When both are in place, the gap between the registered address and the actual place of work is not an inconsistency but a working arrangement the legislation recognizes.
The tax-side on-site check is a separate process. We explained how the inspection you face after registration works in our tax office inspection guide.
When Is a Virtual Office Not Enough?
The honest answer is that a virtual office does not fit every scenario, and forcing it produces both cost and risk. A virtual office is sufficient where the team genuinely works in a distributed way, where no clients are received at the address and where the activity runs digitally. If your team will regularly work together in one place, if you will host clients, suppliers or candidates at the address, if you carry out physical production, assembly or stockholding, or if your activity falls within the categories where remote work is prohibited, a virtual office is the wrong tool. Those cases call for a ready office where the team can actually sit, or for independent premises suited to the operation.
| Your working pattern | Is a virtual office enough? | The right structure |
|---|---|---|
| Whole team works from home or different cities | Sufficient | Virtual office address plus a written remote work contract per employee |
| Founders only, no employees yet | Sufficient | Virtual office address, contract structure at first hire |
| Team works together several days a week | Not sufficient | Ready office or hybrid use |
| Clients, suppliers or candidates received at the address | Not sufficient | Ready office, supported by meeting room use |
| Physical production, assembly, warehouse or workshop | Not sufficient | Independent premises suited to the activity |
| Hazardous chemical, radioactive or biological agent risk | Remote work is prohibited (Regulation Art. 13) | Compliant physical premises |
The main idea of the table is that the decision follows from your working pattern, not from an address preference. Decide first where your team will actually work, then choose the address accordingly. If you are also weighing up using your home, our can you use your home as a company address article compares the tax and privacy dimensions separately.
As Micro Office, we have provided over 500 businesses with a legal business address, mail and official notice management and office solutions at Tekstilkent Koza Plaza in Esenler, Istanbul, since 2008. For businesses with distributed teams you can review our virtual office service page, and for teams that need to be physically together our ready office service page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an SGK workplace file be opened at a virtual office address?
Yes. Where a company formation is notified to the trade registry directorate, Article 11 of Law No. 5510 provides that the notification counts as having been made to the Institution and that no separate workplace notification is filed; the registry directorate forwards it to SGK within ten days at the latest. Your workplace file opens at the address declared as your registered office. In structures without a trade registry entry, the employer files the notification itself. Confirm how the process runs for your own structure with your accountant.
Is it legal to employ staff at a virtual office address in Turkey?
It is legal, but where your staff actually work must be documented. Because the law defines a workplace as the place where insured persons carry out their work, a team that will not be physically present at the virtual office address should be engaged under a written remote work contract. Article 5 of the Remote Work Regulation requires employment contracts relating to remote work to be made in written form. With that contract in place, the gap between the address and the actual place of work is explained as a recognized working arrangement.
When must the SGK workplace notification be filed?
The employer must submit the workplace notification, in the form prepared by the Institution, at the latest on the date it starts employing an insured person. If the company formation was notified to the trade registry directorate, that notification counts as filed with the Institution and no separate notification is drawn up; the registry forwards it within ten days at the latest. Where the workplace is transferred to an address in another province, a workplace notification is filed within ten days following the transfer date. For other deadlines, consult SGK.
What contract do I need for remote employees?
A written remote work contract. It must set out the definition of the work, the manner of performance, the duration and place of the work, matters relating to pay and its payment, the work tools and equipment provided by the employer together with protection obligations, communication with the employer, and general and specific working conditions. The method of covering mandatory expenses directly related to production and the time interval of the work are also specified in the contract. If you are converting an existing contract to remote work, the employee's request must be made in writing.
What must I notify if my virtual office address changes?
It depends on whether the change crosses provincial boundaries. For a transfer to another address within the same province, written notification of the address change is sufficient and the insurance rights and obligations of the insured persons continue. For a transfer to an address in another province, a workplace notification is filed within ten days following the transfer date. Trade registry and tax office filings are handled separately; plan the whole process with your accountant.
Is remote work possible for every type of work?
No. Under Article 13 of the Remote Work Regulation, remote work cannot be performed in work involving hazardous chemicals and radioactive materials, in the processing of such materials or work with their waste, or in work carrying a risk of exposure to biological agents. If you run such an activity you cannot employ staff under a remote work contract and you will need physical premises suited to the operation. Have your legal adviser confirm whether your activity falls within this scope.
Conclusion and Next Step
Employing staff at a virtual office address is possible, and the SGK workplace file is opened at that address. But because the law defines a workplace as the place where the work is actually performed, your decision has to start from your working pattern rather than from an address. If your team will be distributed, a written remote work contract is the backbone of the structure; without it, there is nothing to support the account you would give in an inspection. If your team will be physically together, if you will host clients at the address, or if your activity requires physical space, a virtual office is the wrong tool, and accepting that at the outset is the cheapest decision available.
As Micro Office, we have provided businesses with a legal business address, mail and official notice management and ready office solutions at Tekstilkent Koza Plaza in Esenler, Istanbul, since 2008. Tell us how your team will work and we will clarify together whether a virtual office is enough.
Next step for your hiring decision:
- Contact us for a strategy call - phone or WhatsApp: 0543 347 27 99
- Review our virtual office service page - legal business address, mail and official notice management
- Review our ready office service page - an office where your team can actually work together
- Read our how to start a sole proprietorship guide - the step-by-step process from decision to operation
