Turkey

Turkey has long been characterized as a country of emigration due to the large-scale migration of Turkish workers to Western Europe beginning in the 1960s. However, Turkey has also increasingly become a country of immigration in recent years. In fact, migra-tion to Turkey is not a new phenomenon: Migration movements had occurred during the Ottoman period and in the immediate years following the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. Yet, it must be stressed that these migratory movements differ both in terms of nature and scale. While former migration move-ments to Turkey consisted of migrants of Turkish ethnicity from neighboring countries, recent migra-tion to Turkey has become much more diverse. At the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and the European Union (EU), Turkey now faces various migration flows such as transit migrants, clandestine immigrant workers, high-skilled personnel, asylum seekers, and refugees from different countries. Among these migrant groups are also German citizens who have settled in Turkey for various reasons. Because of these new migration flows into the country, as well as the EU harmonization process, Turkey, willingly or not, has been forced to adapt its migration legislation. In rela-tion to this, Turkey has entered into a serious reform process in recent years, and many fundamental legal amendments have been made regarding the status of foreigners in Turkey. The Law on Work Permits for Foreigners (Law No. 4817) and Law on Foreigners and International Protection (Law No. 6458) are of significant importance concerning foreigners’ legal participation possibilities in Turkey. Based on the empirical findings of my Mercator-IPC Fellowship, this report investigates the possibilities of German citizens’ legal membership on the “Turkish side” of the transnational German-Turkish space from the migrant’s perspective. In doing so, this report also reflects upon some general characteristics of the Turkish migration policy.

Migration was a critical policy area for Turkey even before Turkey became an official candidate country to the EU in 1999. Especially, with the end of the Cold War in the 1990s Turkey began to face the challenges of being a country of origin and destination, while acting as a transit country for documented and undocumented migration. Although the foundations of a migration policy were shaped in Turkey prior to the EU accession process, the EU accession process had an important catalyser effect in transforming the migration and asylum policies. This paper presents an overall analysis of the changes experienced in Turkey since 1999 on the asylum field with a projection of three possible scenarios of convergence, cooperation and conflict on Turkey-EU relationship. In that respect, this paper aims to map out the important periods that have influenced the transformation of the asylum policy in Turkey. While locating the important events and drivers at the global, neighbourhood, EU and Turkish levels, this research based on extensive fieldwork interviews presents findings of a EU-Turkey relationship that lies between cooperation and conflict.

Turkey is part of a migration system that is spread over a large geographical area including Europe, Asia, Middle East and North Africa; which is resulting from geopolitical and historical factors and transformed by local, regional, and international events. The migration flows that Turkey experienced have changed throughout the phases of modern Turkey‟s history. In the Early Republican era from 1923 to 1950, as a part of the nation building process, Turkey saw mass emigration of its non-Muslim populations and the arrival of Muslims from the Balkans. In the period from 1950 to 1980, Turkey was mainly characterized as a country of emigration which attempted to recover its economy by sending thousands of migrants to Europe as a solution to unemployment and in order to receive remittances. The period after 1980‟s saw many developments in the migratory movements. One was the increase in the number of asylum seekers from Turkey, due to the military coup and the Kurdish question. Another development in the 1980s was the arrival of economic migrants into Turkey due to the socioeconomic transformation in the region. Thus, standing at the crossroads of three continents, today, Turkey is a country of emigration, immigration and transit migration. At the same time, the prospect of European Union membership has been an important aspect of Turkey‟s historical modernization project and its political relations to the EU have been very influential in the formation of its migration policy making. Within this context and along the guidelines provided by the EUMAGINE project, this report first gives a historical and socio-economic overview of Republic of Turkey and provides an analysis of migration flows and policies in Turkey. Then, the four research areas of Turkey, namely Emirdağ and Dinar in Afyon; VanMerkez in Van and Fatih in Istanbul selected for EUMAGINE research are described.

Turkey receives ever-increasing numbers of irregular migrants from its economically and politically unstable East and South trying to cross its territory towards Europe. Turkey has also experienced dramatic economic and social change. Therefore, with regard to international migration Turkey, once regarded as a sending country, has become a transit as well as a destination country. There are various categories of irregular migrants which may overlap. A smuggled, even a trafficked, migrant may seek asylum in Turkey. An asylum seeker may become an irregular employee. An irregular employee may apply for asylum. Similarly, someone who was heading for Europe through Turkey may get stuck in Turkey and be forced to start employment without a valid work permit. A rise in ‘irregular’ migration is an issue of concern in Turkey. Irregular migration has been perceived as having social, economic and security consequences. Restrictive legislation and reinforced control mechanisms have been introduced by Turkey over the years. International law and EU instruments are part of this legislation. 2003 was a milestone in coping with irregular migration since most of the legislation was adopted in that year and immediately afterwards. It should also be noted that despite Turkey’s restrictionist stance an intensification of global and regional disparities has brought about more irregular migration and, given the magnitude of the problem, the solutions are beyond the control of a single country, requiring international cooperation and coordination.

At the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe, Turkey faces irregular migration flows, both as a country of destination and of transit: the irregular migration flows to the country consist mainly of transit migrants, clandestine immigrant workers, asylum seekers and refugees. In the last decade, the major migration flows into Turkey have come from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, while significant numbers have also arrived from Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, the Russian Federation and Georgia. Migrants from the former countries are mainly transients heading for Europe or other more developed parts of the world. They stay in Turkey only on a temporary basis. Migrants from the latter group of countries are foreign nationals who intend to work illegally in Turkey, for a limited period of time. Turkey’s position over the 1951 Geneva Convention, excluding non-European asylum seekers, further complicates the situation as non-Europeans account for the majority of asylum seekers in Turkey. Another feature of migration to Turkey is the national diversity of the immigrants: authorities in Turkey have identified 163 nationalities that have arrived in the country in the last decade. Clearly, Turkey has become a country with multiple roles in irregular migratory movements. Utilising a relatively revealing data set on the apprehending of irregular migrants provided by the security forces together with the findings of several surveys conducted in the country, this paper, first, documents the irregular migration experience in Turkey over the last 30 years. It also relates the phenomenon of irregular migration in Turkey to the wider context of European international migratory regimes. Then the paper outlines the developments associated with irregular migration in the country. The role of Turkey’s EU affairs within these changes is complex and contradictory, and not yet fully explored. After describing irregular migration, the paper explores, finally, the way in which the political construction of irregular migration is associated with the securitisation and economisation of international migratory regimes in Europe and around its peripheries.

Over the last decade while a shift from migrantion control to migration management has become an integral part of the EU-based political discources and policy practices relating to irregular migration, the issues of transit migration and readmission agreements seem to be high on the agenda. Within this context, the debate over irregular transit migration from Turkey to the EU is a perfect case study for analyzing how the phenomenon of irregular migration is affecting the European migration and border regimes. It is also an interesting case for analyzing the interplay between the migration-related issues and the EU-Turkey membership negotiations in which the whole notion of “migration management” turns into a type of conditionality measure for the progress and completion of the membership talks. This essay aims at elaborating the recent status of irregular migratory flows from Turkey to Europe referring to their changing volumes, trends and patterns. It also aims at relating the irregular migration through Turkey to the recently negotiated Readmission Agreement between the EU and Turkey which targets the return of apprehended irregular transit migrants in the EU member states to Turkey. In doing so, this essay intends to elaborate the ways in which the irregular transit migration in Turkey has impact on the European migration and border regimes.

The EU and Turkey face mounting challenges both in relation to one another and internationally. The EU has recently been confronted with a series of crises, e.g. in the economic and migration dimensions. These developments as well as the Brexit-question are likely to make differentiation a growing phenomenon. On the other hand, Turkey faces polarisation between different political forces, the state and civil society. The neighbourhood is unravelling to the east and south and a power shift is under way at global level. This questions the regional roles of Turkey and the EU. Against this backdrop, FEUTURE’s research aims to: map the dynamics of EU-Turkey relations as to underlying narratives and thematic drivers; substantiate most likely future scenario(s) and assess its implications; draw policy recommendations. FEUTURE provides excellence and pursues an ambitious, inspiring and innovative programme in a three-phased structure of elaboration, exploration and extrapolation. It applies an inter-temporal, interdisciplinary and international approach by analysing drivers within six thematic dimensions (politics, security, economics, energy, migration, identity) and across four levels of analysis (EU, Turkey, neighbourhood, global). http://www.feuture.eu/

With over 4.5 million persons born in Turkey living abroad – for the most part in Europe – Turkey is currently one of the most significant emigration countries in the world. If native-born children of immigrants are included, over 6 million, or more than 8 percent of the country’s population lives abroad. These large numbers are a product of various migratory flows from Turkey which began in the early 1960s with the arrival of Turkish migrants in various Western European countries, and continued with the arrival of Turks in Australia, and the oil-rich countries of North Africa and the Middle East (MENA), and then in the former communist countries such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The emigration history of the last fifty years in Turkey indicates that the migratory flows of Turkish citizens have become a part of various migratory systems. The main aim of this essay is two-fold. First, it attempts to document the dynamics and mechanism of project-tied migration from Turkey to the Russian Federation, particularly focusing on the case of project-tied migrant workers from Turkey to Moscow. Second, it looks at the migratory system between Turkey and the former communist countries of Eastern Europe, Central and Northern Asian countries, with special reference to macro, micro, and meso factors affecting the migration system concerned.

In 2015, there were higher than normal migration flows from Turkey to Greece and then via the Western Balkans to other European Union (EU) countries, leading to what has been termed Europe’s ‘refugee crisis’. The primary research question guiding this study is: How can the fluctuations in migration flows on the Balkans route from January 2015-December 2018 be explained? The core sub-questions guiding this research are: What explanations are there for the sharp decrease in the number of refugees and migrants on the Balkans route even before the EU-Turkey Statement came into effect? What are the decision making factors of refugees and migrants when choosing to leave Turkey before and after the EU-Turkey Statement? To what extent do policy interventions impact refugees and migrants’ decision-making regarding routes and destination choices?

This report provides an overview of Syrian migration to Turkey since the start of the revolt in Syria in March 2011. The number of displaced Syrians crossing the border into Turkey has dramatically risen with the escalating use of violence employed by the Syrian regime ito suppress the revolt. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, 182,621 Syrian refugees were living in Turkey mid-February 2013 (http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php). With the influx of huge numbers of Syrians into Turkey, anti-immigrant, anti-Arab discourses have surfaced among the Turkish public. Furthermore, due to the Turkish governments’ openly hostile position to the Syrian regime, Syrian migration became closely linked with Turkish domestic politics and foreign policy. Those individuals and political bodies critical of the Turkish government assumed an anti-immigrant position accusing displaced Syrians of being armed, sectarian rebels. Therefore, analyzing the Syrian migrant community in Turkey means contextualizing it within the political framework of the host-society.

(En)Turkey has been a country of asylum since Ottoman times. Due to recent economic and political turmoil in its near abroad and beyond, the country now receives thousands of asylum applications each year. And, as witnessed in the last years, there is the potential for a massive influx of refugees to Turkey. Turkey has long lacked a functioning asylum system and corresponding legislation. Although the 1951 Refugee Convention and its Protocol were ratified, with a limitation related to their geographical application, the country adopted a Regulation only in 1994 after facing a massive refugee influx from Iraq. Further there is still no asylum law in force. As an EU member candidate, Turkey is expected to adapt its asylum system to those of the EU, undertaking, at the same time, to take up the acquis in this field. This paper examines what has been done by Turkey and what else is needed.

The EU and Turkey face mounting challenges both in relation to one another and internationally. The EU is confronted with an economic crisis which is likely to make differentiation a growing phenomenon. Turkey faces polarisation between different political forces, the state and civil society. The neighbourhood is unravelling to the east and south and a power shift is under way at global level. This questions the regional roles of Turkey and the EU. Accordingly, FEUTURE – a consortium of 13 experienced universities and think tanks from the EU, Turkey and the neighbourhood – aims to: (1) map the dynamics of EU-Turkey relations as to underlying narratives and thematic drivers; (2) substantiate most likely future scenario(s) and assess its implications; (3) draw policy recommendations. FEUTURE provides excellence and pursues an ambitious, inspiring and innovative programme in a three-phased structure of elaboration, exploration and extrapolation. It applies an inter-temporal, interdisciplinary and international approach by analysing drivers within six thematic dimensions (politics, security, economics, energy, migration, identity) and across four levels of analysis (EU, Turkey, neighbourhood, global). Phases 1 and 2 culminate in an extrapolation phase in which FEUTURE integrates new knowledge and tests the implications of 3 ideal-type future scenarios for EU-Turkey relations: conflict, cooperation and convergence. We engage in a trans-disciplinary exchange within an elite survey and with the knowledge-user community from the four levels of analysis exploiting the full range of virtual and social media as well as traditional means. FEUTURE’s work plan guarantees coherence of its research approach by streamlining work in one conceptual, one synthesis, two organisational and six thematic work packages. Joint WP meetings and three FEUTURE conferences assure intensive horizontal exchange. FEUTURE will achieve academic, practical and structural impact beyond the project.

In 2015, there were higher than normal migration flows from Turkey to Greece and then via the Western Balkans to other European Union (EU) countries, leading to what has been termed Europe’s ‘refugee crisis’. The primary research question guiding this study is: How can the fluctuations in migration flows on the Balkans route from January 2015-December 2018 be explained? The core sub-questions guiding this research are:What explanations are there for the sharp decrease in the number of refugees and migrants on the Balkans route even before the EU-Turkey Statement came into effect?What are the decision making factors of refugees and migrants when choosing to leave Turkey before and after the EU-Turkey Statement?To what extent do policy interventions impact refugees and migrants’ decision-making regarding routes and destination choices?

Since 2014, Turkey has not only hosted the world’s largest refugee population but has also modeled a best practice for the global refugee policy discussion. Turkey’s opening of its health, education, employment, and social services systems to Syrians under Temporary Protection (SuTP) sits at the basis of this successful response. At the start of 2019/2020 school year, 684,253 Syrian children under temporary protection were enrolled in the Turkish schools, while a network of 179 Migrant Health Centers is currently operating in thirty provinces across Turkey. Turkey has been the main funding source of this impressive response, incurring a total cost of more than $40 billion according to official data. In line with the principle of burden-sharing, which is highlighted in the Global Compact on Refugees, the international community has also made resources available to support Turkey in this unprecedented effort; over $4 billion has been mobilized through the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan for Turkey (3RP) since 2015. Within this framework, Turkey’s experience on the key issues such as jobs and employment should be examined as lessons for both refugee hosting countries and donor countries alike. The country has provided Syrians under Temporary Protection the right to access work permits and formal employment. As a result, a total of 132,497 work permits have been issued to Syrian nationals between 2016 and 2019. This is why the United Nations Development Programme in Turkey (UNDP Turkey), as a long standing development partners in Turkey and the coleader of the Refugee and Resilience Response Plan (3RP), and the Atlantic Council IN TURKEY, the Turkey program of the Atlantic Council, a leading Washington-based think tank, have partnered for this research. The Atlantic Council launched its Turkey program in 2018, which grew out of its engagement with Turkey over ten years and is increasingly involved in migration and refugee issues, to contribute to the ongoing policy debate. Building on the experience and expertise of both organizations, our joint policy report, which is to be released after the June 30 Brussels Conference, aims at outlining pragmatic and innovative options at policy and programmatic levels to facilitate refugees’ access to decent employment. Self-reliance and access to formal employment Facilitating self-reliance for such a large number of refugees’ households remains a daunting task, even in the medium to long-term. This is especially the case in a context where increasing levels of unemployment in Turkey compounded by the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have posed a serious challenge to job creation and increased competition for available opportunities. Despite a concerted effort and strong leadership , there have been challenges for refugees to achieve self-reliance, best highlighted by a recent assessment that 1.6 million refugees live below the poverty line. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the vulnerability associated with informal work and casual labor, with many refugees and host communities facing a sudden and unexpected loss of income. The internationally supported cash response to directly assist the most vulnerable (the Emergency Social Safety Net—ESSN—and the Conditional Cash Transfer for Education—CCTE) has been crucial in allowing refugees to meet their basic needs over the past couple of years. However, given the overall cost of such programs in the long-term, access to income and formal employment remains a key challenge. The Exit Strategy from the ESSN program released by the government in December 2018 marks a step towards a conducive policy framework to facilitate refugees’ access to formal employment. Policy options The main findings of the joint report highlight that: 1. The main challenge remains in matching refugees to the labor market by raising enhancing their skills. While international partners have contributed to this end over the past years, it hasn’t been enough for refugees to become employable options for many large Turkish companies—many of the most skilled Syrians fled to Europe. 2. Businesses’ support programs need to go beyond job placement of refugees in small businesses in exchange for business development support and grants. More integrated structural investments at the local level are needed, particularly, in industrial, manufacturing, and agricultural value chains. 3. While the presence of refugees can be seen as an asset to catalyze local development, host communities need to be supported equitably as well. 4. The current priority towards the formalization of existing jobs is paramount to ensuring decent work conditions for refugees, appropriate access to income, and fair competition between job seekers. The recent inspections to raise awareness of employers on employment regulations for Syrian workers have yielded important results in Istanbul, significantly increasing work permit applications by employers. This could be applied elsewhere. Private sector engagement and digital solutions Based on other international experiences, we also identified deepening engagement with the private sector and exploring digital livelihoods opportunities as emerging solutions to this issue. These two solutions are particularly tailored to the challenges of the situation in Turkey, as they can create opportunities for both Turkish companies and individual Syrians, alleviating pressure on the labor market. Digital solutions (such as digital entrepreneurship, e-commerce, or language and translation businesses) are particularly promising as they create new, sustainable job creation dynamics that have the potential to expand both within Turkey to benefit most vulnerable refugees and internationally by accessing new markets. Given the scale of the task at hand, every possible contribution should be maximized to further unleash the resilience and potential demonstrated by Syrian refugees and their host communities. The COVID-19 pandemic is proving to be an important test on the government’s and their international partners’ relevance and flexibility and their ability to quickly step up efforts in that direction. Pursuing these solutions and policy options would help further promote the refugee response in Turkey as a best practice in implementing the key principles of the Global Compact for Refugees.

The EU and Turkey face mounting challenges both in relation to one another and internationally. The EU is confronted with an economic crisis which is likely to make differentiation a growing phenomenon. Turkey faces polarisation between different political forces, the state and civil society. The neighbourhood is unravelling to the east and south and a power shift is under way at global level. This questions the regional roles of Turkey and the EU. Accordingly, FEUTURE – a consortium of 13 experienced universities and think tanks from the EU, Turkey and the neighbourhood – aims to: (1) map the dynamics of EU-Turkey relations as to underlying narratives and thematic drivers; (2) substantiate most likely future scenario(s) and assess its implications; (3) draw policy recommendations. FEUTURE provides excellence and pursues an ambitious, inspiring and innovative programme in a three-phased structure of elaboration, exploration and extrapolation. It applies an inter-temporal, interdisciplinary and international approach by analysing drivers within six thematic dimensions (politics, security, economics, energy, migration, identity) and across four levels of analysis (EU, Turkey, neighbourhood, global). Phases 1 and 2 culminate in an extrapolation phase in which FEUTURE integrates new knowledge and tests the implications of 3 ideal-type future scenarios for EU-Turkey relations: conflict, cooperation and convergence. We engage in a trans-disciplinary exchange within an elite survey and with the knowledge-user community from the four levels of analysis exploiting the full range of virtual and social media as well as traditional means. FEUTURE’s work plan guarantees coherence of its research approach by streamlining work in one conceptual, one synthesis, two organisational and six thematic work packages. Joint WP meetings and three FEUTURE conferences assure intensive horizontal exchange. FEUTURE will achieve academic, practical and structural impact beyond the project.

This report provides a concise overview of the existing conditions for Syrian refugees in Turkey in six areas: healthcare, education, labour, gender relations, civil society and social cohesion.