Turkey grants work permit to nearly 98,000 in Jan-Oct

Turkey granted work permits to almost 98,000 foreign nationals in the January-October period, labor, social services, and family ministry announced on Tuesday.

According to the ministry data, 97,991 foreigners acquired work permit out of 122,115 applications in the 10-month period.

The Syrians topped the list, followed by the Georgian, Kyrgyz, Ukrainian, Chinese, and Turkmen nationals.

Turkey received work permit applications from foreigners across 165 countries in this period, including Mexico and Japan.

In 2017, the ministry -- receiving and evaluating applications quickly via a web portal -- issued 87,182 work permits while 59,873 others were issued in 2016.