Feb 5, 2023

Turkish Citizenship for Syrians - Important Points and Clarifications

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated, during his speech in the Turkish Parliament, that as of December 2023, 238,55 Syrians subject to temporary protection had exceptionally obtained Turkish citizenship.
Yet, to whom and why was citizenship granted? Statistics indicate that the Turkish government cares for about 10 million Syrians, whether on its territory or outside it, while 100,000 Syrians were born on Turkish territory in 2020 alone.

Turkish citizenship law

The decision of exceptional Turkish citizenship granted to Syrians was not a stated law in Turkey before the outbreak of the Syrian crisis and the arrival of Syrians to Turkey, as the laws at that time were limited to granting citizenship to a number of specific cases, the most important of which are:

A foreigner holding a work residence permit and residing in Turkey for five years.
Investing in Turkey with specific conditions.
Buying a property in Turkey worth 400,000$.
Getting married to a Turkish citizen.
Adoption.
Proof of Turkish or Ottoman origins.

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Granting Turkish citizenship for Syrians

With the number of Syrian citizens in Turkey exceeding three and a half million Syrians, most of whom are refugees covered by the protection law, a clear intention has emerged to grant citizenship to a number of Syrians on Turkish territory for resettlement in Turkey. At this stage, the Turkish government initially focused on granting citizenship to university graduates and holders of higher degrees, in addition to businessmen who contribute positively to the Turkish economy.

This decision was a lifeline for many Syrians aspiring to gain more freedom in their movements and investments, which prompted many of them to apply for Turkish citizenship, and many waited for the arrival of a letter asking them to apply for Turkish citizenship with great interest, in order to enjoy its many advantages.

How can Syrians obtain Turkish citizenship?

Because of old decisions and agreements, the doors were closed to the personal ownership of Syrians in Turkey. To date, these decisions are still being worked on, yet Syrians are allowed to own real estate by registering the purchased property on behalf of a company they own, so they can obtain Turkish citizenship through real estate investment.

The law allowed Syrians to benefit from other laws that give them the right to apply for and obtain Turkish citizenship, such as depositing $500,000 in a Turkish bank for three years, getting married to a Turkish citizen, proving Turkish origins, or by obtaining a work permit for five years.

But the most important way for Syrians to obtain Turkish citizenship, on which Syrians have placed their hopes is the exceptional citizenship law.

In one of his speeches in 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed Syrian guests to his country, and expressed the idea of granting citizenship to groups of them, saying: “If the need arises, we will grant Turkish citizenship to the Syrian people. Our ministries are conducting the necessary research in this regard because, among the Syrians there are lawyers, doctors, engineers and nurses, so why not integrate these people into our society so that they can support themselves…”.

Accordingly, many Syrians took the initiative to strengthen their candidacy files for citizenship by registering their data in the relevant departments, as the Turkish authorities took the initiative and chose many files in a way that is sometimes difficult to predict.

Perhaps one of the most important things that Syrians must do to strengthen their files to obtain Turkish citizenship is to register their academic certificates, and to register these certificates in legally approved ways, as the competent authorities are interested in documenting and verifying the certificates and documents submitted to them.

Stages of having Turkish citizenship for Syrians

Syrians in Turkey go through multiple stages of citizenship, as the discussion, explanation and information about these stages differ from one source to another. But there is no doubt that the security study to verify the absence of the criminal record is one of the most important stages of granting Turkish citizenship to Syrians in general, and accordingly a decision is made to grant Turkish citizenship to the candidate or not. Among the most important of these steps in general, which consists of seven stages:

The first stage: registration and approval of the application.
The second stage: Sending the file to the General Directorate concerned with studying the file.
The third stage: a preliminary audit of the file.
The fourth stage: Expanding the stage of checking and archiving and referring the file to the competent authorities for evaluation. This is the most important stage of citizenship and it may take several months before moving on to the fifth stage.
The fifth stage: Entering the file within the list of citizenship approved by the Council of Ministers.
The sixth stage: the stage of deciding on the file.
The seventh stage: Reporting the result through the entity through which the file was applied.

The issue of Turkish citizenship for Syrians and how to obtain it occupies a large part of the interest of Syrian citizens residing in Turkey or abroad as well. Syrians often exchange a lot of true, false and even old information among themselves about citizenship, decisions, and related information.

Advantages of having the Turkish citizenship

It becomes easier to obtain official papers and documents, renew documents, and perform transactions that make a huge burden on Syrians, such as (obtaining or renewing a passport - proof of marriage - registering a birth case... etc.).
The right of working in all public and private sectors without the need to obtain a work permit.
You have the right to benefit from the retirement law when you reach the legal age (60 years) or after completing 25 years of service.
Turkish citizenship grants people who have reached the age of 65 the right to benefit from public transportation services for free, such as (railways, sea lines, and buses).
The right to vote and run for various municipal and parliamentary elections.
The right to own property without the need to open a company and register the property on behalf of the company.
Access to free education and free health services.
Obtaining a Turkish passport.

Advantages of having the Turkish passport

The Turkish passport is ranked 35th in the world, and scored 128 points on the visa-free travel index, as its holder can enter more than 70 countries without obtaining an entry visa in advance, in addition to 51 countries with a visa upon arrival, and 7 countries with an electronic entry visa.

Turkish citizenship is considered one of the strongest nationalities and is sought by many. Among the countries that a Turkish passport holder can enter without a visa are: Qatar, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sultanate of Brunei, Chile, Georgia, Serbia, and South Africa. , Thailand, Northern Cyprus, Ukraine, and other countries.

Among the most important countries that allow entry with an immediate visa issued upon arrival are: Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, and most African countries.

It is also possible to enter more than 7 countries using an electronic visa issued online, including: Australia and the Sultanate of Oman.

If you would like to know more about Turkish citizenship, do not hesitate to contact us via WhatsApp, here. The real estate consultant will contact you immediately.

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