SGK General Letter: Applications for Issuance of Documents for Foreign Debt Accrual

Republic of Turkey SOCIAL SECURITY INSTITUTION Presidency General Directorate of Retirement Services Directorate of Foreign Contracts and Retirement Number: E-47658768-203.05.15-137570470 Subject: Applications for Issuance of Documents for Foreign Debt Accrual

On 26.03.2026, the regulation published in the Official Gazette dated 06.11.2008 numbered 27046 regarding the accrual and evaluation of periods spent abroad includes the provision of Article 8 titled "Obligation to Document Insured Periods"; "Those who apply for debt accrual shall fulfill their obligation to document by submitting the relevant documents specified in Article 9 regarding the periods spent abroad that are subject to debt accrual to the Institution according to their situation."

According to this provision, those who wish to make foreign debt accrual according to Law No. 3201 are required to document the periods spent abroad that are subject to foreign debt accrual.

For individuals who wish to accrue debt for periods spent in countries where no social security agreement has been signed and who do not have the necessary documents for debt accrual, those who request the issuance of documents for foreign debt accrual from our foreign representations in countries without agreements must submit the documents that constitute the basis for the issuance of the foreign debt accrual document (passport, work permit, entry-exit schedule, any document proving the periods they worked/resided abroad) to the Social Security Provincial Directorates/Social Security Centers (SGM/SGM), and if they apply, all pages of the submitted documents will be approved by stamping "As Original" and the approved documents will be given to the applicant to be sent to our foreign representations in countries without agreements at their own expense.

The procedures and principles regarding this are regulated in the e-Foreign Debt instructions numbered 2014/13 dated 31.07.2014 and numbered 2015/8 dated 20.07.2015.

The matters included in these e-Foreign Debt instructions have been transferred to the General Circular numbered 2021/2 dated 10.01.2021, and the relevant instructions have been repealed.

The article titled "2.6. Common and Other Matters Regarding the Documentation of Foreign Periods" in the second section of the General Circular numbered 2021/2 states; "(1) Those who wish to request a service document from Turkish representations in countries where no social security agreement has been concluded; must first apply in writing to the social security provincial directorate (SGM) / social security centers (SGM) in the province where they reside, along with the passport, employment contract, work permit issued by the employer, insurance or work documents issued by institutions in the country where they worked, and other documents they have.

SGM/SGM will approve the photocopies of the original documents submitted by the applicants by seeing the originals and stamping and signing each page with the stamp "as seen".

These approved documents will be given to the applicants to be sent to Turkish consulates, labor and social security consultancies, or attachés in the country where they worked.

Additionally, one copy of the passport and any other approved documents will be kept in the files of the relevant individuals.

In the General Letter numbered 35853206 dated 26.11.2021 regarding the request for documents from our foreign representations; "In relation to this regulation, as of 22.11.2021, an application called Foreign Debt Accrual Document Application (YBEBB) has been initiated for the electronic processing of requests for documents for debt accrual between the Ministry of Labor and Social Security and our Institution.

In this context, those who wish to obtain documents for foreign debt accrual will have the documents proving their working and residence periods in the relevant countries and the pages of their passports or the submitted documents showing their entry and exit to the country registered after passing through the document registration will be scanned and uploaded to the system along with the written application.

With the launch of the Foreign Debt Accrual Document Application (YBEBB) program on 22.11.2021; regardless of whether it is a contractual/non-contractual country, the documents submitted by individuals wishing to obtain documents for foreign debt accrual will be returned to the applicant for submission to the foreign representation in the relevant country at their own expense if the foreign representation where the document is to be issued is not integrated into the YBEBB program; as mentioned in the article titled "2.6. Common and Other Matters Regarding the Documentation of Foreign Periods" in General Circular numbered 2021/2.

If the foreign representation where the document is to be issued is integrated into the YBEBB program; as mentioned in the General Letter numbered 35853206 dated 26.11.2021, it will be uploaded to the YBEBB program without any approval process.

In order to ensure the more effective implementation of the application, it has been decided to carry out transactions according to the matters specified below, effective from the publication date of this General Letter: The foreign representation in the country where the issuance of the document for debt accrual is requested will first be checked whether it is registered in the YBEBB program.

Since the foreign representations registered in the program are continuously updated by our Ministry, this control must be performed for each application.

As a result of the control performed; 1. If it is understood that the foreign representation in the country where the issuance of the document for debt accrual is requested is integrated into the YBEBB program: Individuals applying to SGM/SGM for the issuance of the document for debt accrual will be directed to the Foreign Transactions Service of SGM/SGM.

The applicant will be asked to fill out the attached printed application form, and a photocopy of all documents constituting the basis for the issuance of the document for debt accrual submitted with the printed application will be taken by the personnel working in the Foreign Transactions Service.

The stamp "As Original" will be stamped on each page of the photocopies taken, and the date will be written and signed by two personnel, including the personnel who took the photocopy and the chief of the Foreign Transactions Service or the Director/Deputy Director responsible for this service.

After this stage, the documents will be dated/numbered.

The documents that are dated/numbered will be uploaded to the YBEBB program along with the printed application form.

The person requesting the issuance of the document for debt accrual will be informed that they can check whether the requested document has been issued or not by using the "Foreign Debt Accrual Document Inquiry" service through the e-Government application, and if it has been issued, they can apply for foreign debt accrual using the service "Application for Foreign Debt Accrual with Documents Issued in Electronic Environment".

2. If it is understood that the foreign representation in the country where the issuance of the document for debt accrual is requested is not integrated into the YBEBB program: All documents constituting the basis for the issuance of the document for debt accrual submitted by the applicant in the attached printed application form will be photocopied as specified in the first paragraph of Article 1 above and the approval process will be carried out by dating/numbering.

However, the photocopying process will be done in two copies; one copy of the approved documents will be given to the applicant to be sent to the foreign representation in the foreign country that is not integrated into the YBEBB program at their own expense, and the other copy will be kept in the insured file along with the printed application.

3. Other Matters: The approval process carried out by the Institution's personnel is not an approval process regarding the accuracy of the information contained in the submitted documents, but rather consists of taking a photocopy of the documents that constitute the basis for proving the periods subject to debt accrual presented by individuals and making the "As Original" approval indicating that the photocopy was taken from the submitted document.

In cases where the documents submitted by the applicants are photocopies or it is understood that the integrity of the document has been compromised due to reasons such as damage, wear, or tearing, the photocopy will be taken and the situation will be noted in handwriting on the approved document.

Documents given to individuals applying to send to our foreign representations in countries that are not integrated into the YBEBB program will be scanned and uploaded to the Archive Scanning System (ATS), and the paper copies will be kept in the insured file.

Care will be taken to ensure that the photocopying process is legible and of appropriate resolution, and all documents obtained upon completion of the process will be returned to the applicant.

No stamps will be placed on the original copies of the documents submitted by the applicants, and no approval process will be carried out.

The approval processes for these documents must be carried out only by the personnel working in the Foreign Transactions Service of SGM/SGM and by the chief and/or Director/Deputy Director responsible for this service, and necessary measures must be taken to ensure that the required sensitivity is shown in this regard and that there is no disruption in service.

No approval process will be carried out on the photocopy documents submitted by the applicants, and the photocopying process will be carried out by our personnel based on the original documents obtained from individuals.

Applicants will be required to fill out the printed application form attached to this General Letter.

Applications made with a petition other than the printed application will also be accepted.

I kindly request that you be informed and take necessary actions.

Ömer KÜÇÜKEVCİLOĞLU General Director (13.04.2026)