Sick Leave in Türkiye 2026: e-Rapor and SGK Benefits for Foreign Workers

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Sick Leave in Türkiye 2026: e-Rapor and SGK Benefits for Foreign Workers

If you are a foreign national working in Türkiye and insured with SGK, illness that temporarily prevents you from working may entitle you to a cash benefit. A medical sick-leave report does not automatically mean that SGK will pay your full salary or every day of absence.

This guide explains the difference between certified sick leave and temporary incapacity benefit, the qualifying contribution period, payable days, and how to check the report and payment on e-Devlet.

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A routine medical examination​

1️⃣ Who this guide is for​

The main case is a foreign employee who works for an employer in Türkiye, holds the appropriate valid work authorisation, is insured under category 4/a, and has an authorised medical rest report for an ordinary illness unrelated to a workplace accident or occupational disease.

Self-employment under 4/b, temporary postings from another country and bilateral social security arrangements may follow different rules. A work permit and actual SGK registration are separate things to verify.

2️⃣ The report and the benefit are different​

İstirahat Raporu / e-Rapor is the medical rest report stating that you cannot work temporarily and identifying the start and end of that period. It is commonly submitted electronically and may be viewed on e-Devlet.

Geçici İş Göremezlik Ödeneği is the temporary incapacity benefit paid by SGK for qualifying days. Medical certification is necessary, but insurance status and the contribution conditions must also be satisfied. The payment is a social insurance benefit, rather than an automatic promise of full contractual salary.

3️⃣ Conditions for ordinary sickness benefit under 4/a​

✅ Your insured status must not have ended when the certified rest period begins.
✅ At least 90 days of short-term insurance contributions must have been declared during the year before incapacity begins.
✅ The rest report must be issued by a doctor or medical board authorised for this purpose.
✅ The illness must prevent work temporarily, and the relevant records must not contradict the reported absence.

Check 4A Hizmet Dökümü for contribution history. Çalışma Hayatım brings together employment-related information. Neither holding a permit nor receiving wages alone proves that the required contributions were declared.

4️⃣ Which days does SGK pay?​

For ordinary illness, the benefit starts on the third day of incapacity. SGK does not pay the first two days through the ordinary sickness branch. Whether the employer pays those days or supplements the difference between the benefit and salary depends on the employment arrangement and applicable labour rules.

Ordinary 4/a sickness reportDays potentially paid by SGKOther conditions
1 day0There are no days after day two
2 days0The first two days are outside sickness benefit
5 days3The contribution, status and report conditions still apply
10 days8Eligibility and payable days must be confirmed
Accepted workplace accident/occupational diseaseEvery qualifying day from the beginningDifferent rules apply to this benefit branch

An accepted workplace accident or occupational disease is different: the first-two-days exclusion does not apply in the same way. Do not label an occupational injury as ordinary sickness simply to simplify paperwork.

5️⃣ How the amount is calculated​

SGK uses the insurable daily earnings determined under its rules, not necessarily the net salary received in your bank account. The basic rate is one half of the assessed daily earnings for inpatient treatment and two thirds for outpatient treatment.

The amount depends on declared earnings, the legally applicable assessment period, treatment type and payable days. It should not be described as the full daily wage, nor calculated simply by dividing the latest net monthly salary by thirty.

6️⃣ Getting the medical report right​

✅ Attend a provider or doctor authorised to issue the report.
✅ Give the correct Yabancı Kimlik Numarası, your foreigner identity number.
✅ Check your name, identity number and the rest-period dates.
✅ Notify your employer or HR promptly in writing and keep that notification.
✅ Check İstirahat Raporları Sorgulama to confirm that the electronic report appears.
✅ If more rest is medically needed, contact the doctor before the report ends and follow the proper extension procedure.

A report appearing online does not remove the practical need to notify your employer. Keep a copy or reference number rather than relying only on a verbal conversation.

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Discussing care during a medical consultation​

7️⃣ Processing and payment​

For 4/a employees, temporary incapacity processing is handled electronically through e-Ödenek. The employer must provide information about whether the employee worked during the certified period. SGK explains that submission of the employer’s no-work notification is not, in itself, an independent condition for a 4/a employee to receive the benefit, although incomplete or conflicting records can delay processing.

Once processed, the payment is made through the contracted payment/bank arrangements stated by SGK. Check the amount and status in 4A/4B İşgöremezlik Ödemesi Görme. Do not rely solely on a text message or an employer’s estimate of the payment date.

StageWhat to checkWho can address an error
Insurance4A registration, days and earningsEmployer/SGK
Medical reportIdentity, dates and reasonIssuing doctor or healthcare provider
ProcessingReport submission and conflicting work dataHR/SGK
PaymentAmount and status in the 4A/4B enquirySGK and the payment channel shown
ExtensionOngoing medical need and correct continuation reportDoctor before the existing rest period ends

8️⃣ Why payment may be delayed or refused​

Possible causes include fewer than 90 qualifying days, missing 4/a registration, incorrect identity details, an unauthorised report, loss of insured status, gaps or overlaps between reports, work declarations inconsistent with certified rest, incomplete electronic submission, or mismatched provider/employer/SGK data. Check any collection deadline or payment instruction shown for the individual transaction.

If the report is missing, begin with the issuing healthcare provider. If insurance or work declarations are incorrect, contact the employer and SGK. If the payment remains unresolved, take the report and contribution records to the relevant SGK office.

9️⃣ After employment ends, and the separate 4/b position​

SGK explains that, in ordinary cases, insured status for the sickness branch is lost starting from the tenth day after the employment contract ends or the person leaves. Statutory unpaid leave, strike and lockout have specific rules. Reports issued after that insured status has ended do not generate sickness benefit, whether they are an initial or continuation report.

This sickness-benefit rule should not be confused with the separate continuation of healthcare entitlement after a job ends. The two rights are assessed differently.

SGK does not pay ordinary sickness-branch temporary incapacity benefit to 4/b insured self-employed people. Their workplace-accident and occupational-disease benefits follow other conditions, including restrictions linked to inpatient treatment, necessary rest following that treatment and contribution debt.

1️⃣0️⃣ Foreign-worker records and disagreements​

Check declared earnings and days, keep your work permit, identity number, report and employer details, and establish whether a posting or international agreement changes the applicable insurance arrangement. Overseas contribution days are not automatically combined with Turkish days for every benefit.

If your employer has not registered you, gather work evidence and ask SGK or ALO 170 for guidance. Do not treat an unverified employer promise as an approved SGK claim.

1️⃣1️⃣ Practical questions and Turkish phrases​

A photo of the report can notify HR, but also check electronic submission. Working during certified rest can create medical and insurance inconsistencies; return only after the report ends or the proper correction has been made. An employer cannot simply cancel an authorised medical report. Review or correction follows the competent medical and administrative process.

Sick leave is not an unconditional guarantee that employment can never be terminated. Absence duration, the dismissal grounds, employment contract and applicable labour law matter; SGK benefits and employment rights are separate questions.

✅ İstirahat raporum var. — I have a medical rest report.
✅ E-raporumu nereden görebilirim? — Where can I view my electronic report?
✅ Geçici iş göremezlik ödeneğim yatmadı. — My temporary incapacity benefit has not been paid.
✅ Prim günlerim tam bildirildi mi? — Have all my contribution days been declared?
✅ Rapor işlemimi sorgulamak istiyorum. — I would like to check the processing of my report.

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Organising documents and an online application​

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