Turkish nationals who have registered as belonging to the labour force of the State, and have been in employment for either one, three or four years, acquire certain rights to on going residency/work in the State.
Turkish nationals have rights to enter, reside and work in the European Member States under Association Council Decision 1/80, an EU Law instrument that is binding and directly effective on the Member States. Article 6(1) of Decision 1/80 states as follows:
Article 6
1. Subject to Article 7 on free access to employment for members of his family, a Turkish worker duly registered as belonging to the labour force of a Member State: shall be entitled in that Member State, after one year’s legal employment, to the renewal of his permit to work for the same employer, if a job is available;
shall be entitled in that Member State, after three years of legal employment and subject to the priority to be given to workers of Member States of the Community, to respond to another offer of employment, with an employer of his choice, made under normal conditions and registered with the employment services of that State, for the same occupation;
shall enjoy free access in that Member State to any paid employment of his choice, after four years of legal employment. In order to lawfully work in the State, Romanian and Bulgarian nationals continue to be subject to the requirements of work permits. This requirement will not apply in the case of –
Bulgarian/Romanian nationals already exempt by virtue of their existing residence status (in particular those with a Stamp 4 on their passports) Bulgarian/Romanian nationals who have been working legally (i.e. with work permit or work authorisation) for a 12 month period prior to the 31st December 2006.
Bulgarian/Romanian nationals who are married to an Irish citizen. Where a Turkish national has duly registered as belonging to the labour force of the State, and been in employment for either one, three or four years, they acquire certain rights to on going residency/work in the State. These rights depend on the Turkish national’s past employment circumstances and future employment prospects.