Foreign workers who work illegally in Turkey under tourist visas stay in the country for 90 days -- tourist visas limit a visit to Turkey to 90 days -- then go abroad for a few days before returning to Turkey and continuing to work. According to the new law, foreigners will not be able to return to Turkey until they spend at least 90 days in their home country, which means they will have lost their jobs in Turkey by the time they are able to return.
The law is of particular concern to foreign women coming from Moldova, Romania, Ukraine and Russia who are commonly employed illegally in the service industry as maids or caregivers for children, medical patients and the elderly.
As Turks are not interested in working as caretakers or maids according to the Turkish Employment Organization (İŞKUR), foreign workers from Turkey's neighboring countries are often employed in this sector. Most of these employees work illegally under tourist visas and are deprived of social security.
For the most part, they are forced to work for very low wages and sometimes go unpaid yet tend to accept even the harshest working conditions.
