Overview Turkey

last update: January 2012

For many refugees and migrants Turkey is a transit country. Many refugees are pushed back illegally across the borders to Iran, Irak and Syria or imprisoned and deported if they are caught without papers by the police. The – land and sea - borders into the European Union, to Bulgaria and Greece, are being controlled more and more. So that the European border police again push people back to Turkey illegally. Ill-treatment in prisons and indefinite time of imprisonment is very common.

10 000 people seek asylum in Turkey every year. However they apply for asylum with the UNHCR and not with the turkish government, because Turkey does not have a real asylum system yet. The government is working on it. There will be changes in 2013.

At the moment 5000 accepted refugees are resettled by the UNHCR to countries like the USA and Canada. However many people have to wait for a very long time for the UNHCR to make a decision in their case, e.g. up to 6 years and some never get resettled. (At the moment e.g. Afghan people have a very bad chance to get resettled from Turkey!)

The government does not provide any housing or financial help. It is impossible to get a legal work permit. Refugees applying with UNHCR are forced to live in smaller cities far away from Istanbul or Ankara. So, it is difficult to find work illegally.

Many refugees and migrants registering with the UNHCR suffer from the long time they wait for a decision and the lack of financial support or possibilities to work, so very often they continue on their way to the European Union.