Why Turkish Employers Are Turning to Pakistani Workers in 2026

Türkiye is short of skills, not short of job seekers

Türkiye's unemployment rate is around 8–10%, which looks like a surplus of workers rather than a shortage. But that figure hides the real situation: the employment rate is just under 50%, and the gap is in exactly the jobs employers need to fill — skilled factory workers, construction trades and production-line staff. Graduates without specialist skills struggle to find work, while factories, textile mills and building sites report jobs staying open for months.

On top of that, the minimum wage rose by 27% in January 2026 for employers hiring foreign workers too. Work permit salary minimums are set as multiples of the legal minimum wage — 1× for general jobs, 2× for specialists and so on — and must be kept for the whole permit. For employers used to hiring locally, the numbers on foreign recruitment have changed, but so has local workers' willingness to do hard, shift-based work.

Why recruit from Pakistan?

Pakistan offers three practical advantages that Turkish employers new to hiring abroad usually notice quickly.

First, a large and reliable supply. Pakistan has many manual and semi-skilled workers, and the supply does not run dry after a few rounds of hiring as it does in some smaller source countries. Second, after decades of work in the Gulf, Pakistani workers are used to what Turkish factories and building sites need: long shifts, overtime and long periods away from home on a fixed contract. Third, skills carry over — Pakistani welders, machine operators and construction workers train on equipment and methods close enough to Turkish standards that they get up to speed quickly on site.

Turkish sectors where Pakistani workers do well

Based on how this route is developing and on experience in similar markets, these are the best-fit sectors:

• Textiles and weaving: Machine operators, line workers and quality checkers for Türkiye's textile centres around Bursa and İzmir — among the country's biggest employers of foreign manual workers.
• Construction: Helpers, mason's assistants, steel fixers and site workers for housing and infrastructure projects.
• Manufacturing and fabrication: Welder's helpers, fitter's helpers and production operators for light industry and car-parts manufacturing.
• Logistics and warehousing: Pickers, packers, loaders and licensed forklift operators for Türkiye's growing distribution sector.
• Hospitality: Kitchen helpers and housekeeping staff for hotel groups in Istanbul and Antalya, after a language check.

What Turkish employers should budget for

A Pakistani worker in Türkiye is paid under the same minimum wage and work permit salary rules as any other foreign worker — there is no way around Turkish wage law, and employers should not expect one.

The value lies elsewhere. The first factor is availability: a job filled at the legal minimum is better than an empty job at any price, and Turkish textile and construction employers increasingly have to choose between foreign workers and idle capacity. The second is retention: workers on fixed overseas contracts have good reason to finish their term, which cuts the turnover and retraining costs that come with short-stay local hires in hard jobs. Third, overtime and shift flexibility are agreed in the contract from the start, which is not always true of local hires when labour is scarce.

Before a Turkish employer begins

Timeline: realistically 10 to 14 weeks from first contact to arrival, including finding candidates, medical clearance (GAMCA where needed), Protector of Emigrants clearance from Pakistan's BEOE, and the Turkish work permit through the Ministry of Labour and the Presidency of Migration Management.

Paperwork: the employer's work permit application must be filed and approved before travel and visa steps can start in Pakistan. The salary offered must be at least the required multiple of the 2026 minimum wage for the job category.

Housing and orientation: as with any overseas deployment, clear arrangements for housing, transport and a basic introduction make a big difference to how quickly a new worker becomes productive.

Choosing a partner: work with a BEOE-licensed Pakistani recruitment agency registered with the Protectorate of Emigrants — this protects both employer and worker legally, and it is usually the first thing serious Turkish employers ask about before choosing a partner abroad.