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Turkey became a destination country for immigrants
Mariana Andrei - Coordonator Comunicare
4 August 2014
Turkey shifted from the status of emigration and transit country to the status of destination country for immigrants and refuge for the civil population in the neighbouring conflict areas. In order to adapt to this new situation the political decision makers in Turkey have recently re-assessed the migration system, as shown in an article published by Rebecca Kilberg on the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) website.
In April 2013 the Turkish Parliament adopted the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, which was however implemented only one year later. The new legislative framework aims for a comprehensive management of migration, tackling many of the existing gaps in the previous migration policies, including the incoherent supervision, the lack of a legislative framework for asylum and the excessive bureaucracy for work and residence permits. The European Commission appreciated the progress made with the new law, particularly the regulation of the legal conditions for humanitarian migrants in a country which currently hosts more than 808,000 Syrian refugees (a group estimated to reach one million by the end of the year).
Turkey as a source of emigrants
Its geographic location at the confluence between Europe, Asia and Africa made Turkey the main entrance gateway for migrants from less favoured regions heading to the prosperous West. For most of the 20th century Turkey was an important source of emigrants for Western Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as for the Community of Independent States (CIS). The labour force migration agreements signed at the beginning of the 1960s with Western European countries, particularly Germany, generated a massive migration of Turkish workers - the so called "guest workers". When the demand for foreign labour force dropped in the 1970s, the Turks continued to migrate, this time not for work but for family reunification. Since the beginning of the 1970s Turkish migrant workers headed mainly to the Middle East, Northern Africa and CIS. At present the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that more then 5 million Turks live abroad, the equivalent of 6% of the country's population.
Immigration in Turkey
Turkey encouraged immigration since 1920, by granting citizenship to foreigners of Turkish origin or to citizens from certain Muslim communities outside Turkey. These migrants were relatively easy to assimilate, as many of them already spoke Turkish, practised the same religion and had family relationships in the region. Over the last decades the flows were more diverse and originated from Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Macedonia and Romania. This created a more heterogeneous population and raised integration problems. In 2013 about 2% (1.9 million persons) of Turkey's population were born in another country. Turkey's flourishing economy is one of the main attractions for immigrants. Over the last decade the Turkish economy continued to grow, in the context of other countries being severely affected by the crisis. The European Foundation for Education and Scientific Studies believes that between 2007-2011 about 200,000 Turks who had naturalised in Germany returned to Turkey, in many cases for economic opportunities. The Turkish policy favours the repatriation of those who kept their Turkish citizenship, and former Turkish citizens who waived their Turkish citizenship may apply for a "blue card" which grants them some rights, such as the right of residence and work. Illegal migrants from Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia also take advantage of economic opportunities. Many migrants without documents stay in Turkey to work on the black market. In 2011, the Migration Policy Centre estimated their number somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 persons.
Turkey spent 3.5 billion dollars for refugee camps
The conflicts in neighbouring countries generated significant inflows of humanitarian migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Somalia. The Syrian crisis, which pushed more than 2.9 million Syrians to flee from their country, affected mostly the neighbouring countries as well as Turkey which spent more than 3.5 billion dollars for the refugee camps and associated services. Turkey is one of the original signatories to the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees, with a limitation related to the award of the refugee status only to asylum seekers from European countries. This geographical limitation is maintained in the new law. Consequently asylum seekers from third countries may either qualify for another form of protection or they wait to be returned to their countries of origin. Syrian refugees benefit now from temporary protection, but it is not clear whether Turkey will allow these refugees to stay for an unlimited period of time and to integrate in the Turkish society.
The new law on foreigners and international protection
According to the EU adhesion negotiations, Turkey makes efforts to create a safer border management system and to harmonise its legislation with the legislation of the European Union and the international community. Examples include amendments to the criminal code with sanctions for human trafficking and contraband and aligning the visa types to those issued in the EU.
The new law on foreigners and international protection was adopted in April 2013 and aims to regulate the procedures for aliens' entry, stay and exit from Turkey. This is the first Turkish law which includes provisions on asylum and tackles other major aspects of the migration system - the management of legal, illegal and humanitarian migration and aspects related to immigrant integration. An important amendment brought by the new law is the centralisation of responsibilities for issuing migration policies with the new General Directorate for Migration Management (GDMM). This Directorate will coordinate the enforcement of the new law. GDMM is a central institution within the Ministry of the Interior, which has separate subordinated provincial offices. The GDMM’s responsibilities include developing new legislation and strategies, coordinating and managing efforts to combat irregular migration, standardizing practices, registering asylum applications and determining the refugee status, and ensuring protection for victims of human trafficking, stateless persons, and those who receive temporary protection. The GDMM also serves as the Secretariat of the Migration Policies Board, which operates under the chairmanship of the Minister of Interior. The Board is composed of Undersecretaries from ten ministries, including the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Family and Social Policies.
Humanitarian migration
The law creates a coherent framework as well as the infrastructure for foreigners seeking international protection, although it does not revise the geographical limitation of the countries of origin of asylum seekers qualifying for the refugee status. The novelty consists of adopting three forms of protection: in addition to refugees there are also individuals under subsidiary protection (in the understanding of the author of the article) and conditional refugees (intended to be resettled in a third country). Most Syrian refugees qualify, as per the criteria of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for the status of subsidiary protection defined by the new law. The new provisions also include procedural guaranties specific for the field of asylum, as well as the principle of non-return.
Integration
Although it does not provide details on the integration programmes for immigrants, the new law provides the possibility for GDMM to organise courses and activities for immigrants focused on understanding their rights and obligations, the Turkish culture and traditions and the operation of the institutional system in Turkey.
Residence permits
Other amendments made by the new law refer to the types and methods of obtaining the residence permits. Foreigners who stay in Turkey longer than 90 days need a residence permit, which is valid only if used within six months since its issuance date. Six types of residence permits are defined: short-term, long-term, for family, for studies, humanitarian as well as for human trafficking victims. Permanent residence is awarded to aliens who have stayed legally in Turkey for eight consecutive years. Aliens who have worked for six years without interruptions may obtain indefinite work permits, which also grant the holder a right to stay.
Turkey's new approach to migration management and humanitarian protection was welcomed by the international community. However there are still practical aspects to be solved, related to the law enforcement and the operation of territorial structures, which could take years. Some problems have already been encountered with the issuance of residence permits, and the Department for Foreigners in Turkey warned that persons waiting to apply for residence permits may have trouble leaving or entering Turkey. The law has also drawn disapproval from the international community regarding the geographical limitation on the refugee status.
Source: ]http://migrationpolicy.org/article/turkeys-evolving-migration-identity]
In April 2013 the Turkish Parliament adopted the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, which was however implemented only one year later. The new legislative framework aims for a comprehensive management of migration, tackling many of the existing gaps in the previous migration policies, including the incoherent supervision, the lack of a legislative framework for asylum and the excessive bureaucracy for work and residence permits. The European Commission appreciated the progress made with the new law, particularly the regulation of the legal conditions for humanitarian migrants in a country which currently hosts more than 808,000 Syrian refugees (a group estimated to reach one million by the end of the year).
Turkey as a source of emigrants
Its geographic location at the confluence between Europe, Asia and Africa made Turkey the main entrance gateway for migrants from less favoured regions heading to the prosperous West. For most of the 20th century Turkey was an important source of emigrants for Western Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as for the Community of Independent States (CIS). The labour force migration agreements signed at the beginning of the 1960s with Western European countries, particularly Germany, generated a massive migration of Turkish workers - the so called "guest workers". When the demand for foreign labour force dropped in the 1970s, the Turks continued to migrate, this time not for work but for family reunification. Since the beginning of the 1970s Turkish migrant workers headed mainly to the Middle East, Northern Africa and CIS. At present the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates that more then 5 million Turks live abroad, the equivalent of 6% of the country's population.
Immigration in Turkey
Turkey encouraged immigration since 1920, by granting citizenship to foreigners of Turkish origin or to citizens from certain Muslim communities outside Turkey. These migrants were relatively easy to assimilate, as many of them already spoke Turkish, practised the same religion and had family relationships in the region. Over the last decades the flows were more diverse and originated from Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Macedonia and Romania. This created a more heterogeneous population and raised integration problems. In 2013 about 2% (1.9 million persons) of Turkey's population were born in another country. Turkey's flourishing economy is one of the main attractions for immigrants. Over the last decade the Turkish economy continued to grow, in the context of other countries being severely affected by the crisis. The European Foundation for Education and Scientific Studies believes that between 2007-2011 about 200,000 Turks who had naturalised in Germany returned to Turkey, in many cases for economic opportunities. The Turkish policy favours the repatriation of those who kept their Turkish citizenship, and former Turkish citizens who waived their Turkish citizenship may apply for a "blue card" which grants them some rights, such as the right of residence and work. Illegal migrants from Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia also take advantage of economic opportunities. Many migrants without documents stay in Turkey to work on the black market. In 2011, the Migration Policy Centre estimated their number somewhere between 20,000 and 40,000 persons.
Turkey spent 3.5 billion dollars for refugee camps
The conflicts in neighbouring countries generated significant inflows of humanitarian migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Somalia. The Syrian crisis, which pushed more than 2.9 million Syrians to flee from their country, affected mostly the neighbouring countries as well as Turkey which spent more than 3.5 billion dollars for the refugee camps and associated services. Turkey is one of the original signatories to the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees, with a limitation related to the award of the refugee status only to asylum seekers from European countries. This geographical limitation is maintained in the new law. Consequently asylum seekers from third countries may either qualify for another form of protection or they wait to be returned to their countries of origin. Syrian refugees benefit now from temporary protection, but it is not clear whether Turkey will allow these refugees to stay for an unlimited period of time and to integrate in the Turkish society.
The new law on foreigners and international protection
According to the EU adhesion negotiations, Turkey makes efforts to create a safer border management system and to harmonise its legislation with the legislation of the European Union and the international community. Examples include amendments to the criminal code with sanctions for human trafficking and contraband and aligning the visa types to those issued in the EU.
The new law on foreigners and international protection was adopted in April 2013 and aims to regulate the procedures for aliens' entry, stay and exit from Turkey. This is the first Turkish law which includes provisions on asylum and tackles other major aspects of the migration system - the management of legal, illegal and humanitarian migration and aspects related to immigrant integration. An important amendment brought by the new law is the centralisation of responsibilities for issuing migration policies with the new General Directorate for Migration Management (GDMM). This Directorate will coordinate the enforcement of the new law. GDMM is a central institution within the Ministry of the Interior, which has separate subordinated provincial offices. The GDMM’s responsibilities include developing new legislation and strategies, coordinating and managing efforts to combat irregular migration, standardizing practices, registering asylum applications and determining the refugee status, and ensuring protection for victims of human trafficking, stateless persons, and those who receive temporary protection. The GDMM also serves as the Secretariat of the Migration Policies Board, which operates under the chairmanship of the Minister of Interior. The Board is composed of Undersecretaries from ten ministries, including the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Family and Social Policies.
Humanitarian migration
The law creates a coherent framework as well as the infrastructure for foreigners seeking international protection, although it does not revise the geographical limitation of the countries of origin of asylum seekers qualifying for the refugee status. The novelty consists of adopting three forms of protection: in addition to refugees there are also individuals under subsidiary protection (in the understanding of the author of the article) and conditional refugees (intended to be resettled in a third country). Most Syrian refugees qualify, as per the criteria of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), for the status of subsidiary protection defined by the new law. The new provisions also include procedural guaranties specific for the field of asylum, as well as the principle of non-return.
Integration
Although it does not provide details on the integration programmes for immigrants, the new law provides the possibility for GDMM to organise courses and activities for immigrants focused on understanding their rights and obligations, the Turkish culture and traditions and the operation of the institutional system in Turkey.
Residence permits
Other amendments made by the new law refer to the types and methods of obtaining the residence permits. Foreigners who stay in Turkey longer than 90 days need a residence permit, which is valid only if used within six months since its issuance date. Six types of residence permits are defined: short-term, long-term, for family, for studies, humanitarian as well as for human trafficking victims. Permanent residence is awarded to aliens who have stayed legally in Turkey for eight consecutive years. Aliens who have worked for six years without interruptions may obtain indefinite work permits, which also grant the holder a right to stay.
Turkey's new approach to migration management and humanitarian protection was welcomed by the international community. However there are still practical aspects to be solved, related to the law enforcement and the operation of territorial structures, which could take years. Some problems have already been encountered with the issuance of residence permits, and the Department for Foreigners in Turkey warned that persons waiting to apply for residence permits may have trouble leaving or entering Turkey. The law has also drawn disapproval from the international community regarding the geographical limitation on the refugee status.
Source: ]http://migrationpolicy.org/article/turkeys-evolving-migration-identity]
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