International migration has had a profound impact on T\u00fcrkiye over the last decade. Regional conflicts, foremost among which being the Syrian Civil War, and widespread instability have triggered numerous waves of forced migration into T\u00fcrkiye. In addition to economic growth, the various work, investment, and education opportunities offered by T\u00fcrkiye have attracted many more to relocate to the country voluntarily. The number of regular migrants hosted by T\u00fcrkiye reached 4.6 million by the end of 2023. This total included 3.2 million Syrian nationals with temporary protective status, 1,113,761 foreign nationals living in T\u00fcrkiye with residence permits, and 262,638 nations of other countries with international protective status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Official figures from 2023 show a decrease of 200 thousand residence permits compared to the previous year. While the number of Russian and Ukrainian nationals legally residing in T\u00fcrkiye fell by approximately thirty percent toward the end of 2023 following the crisis that embroiled both countries. Meanwhile, the number of Syrian nationals with temporary protective status decreased by roughly half a million over the previous two years. Factors contributing to this decline include repatriation to Syria, the acquisition of Turkish citizenship, and relocation to third countries. As of 2023, a total of 600 thousand individuals were reported to have voluntarily returned to Syria, including forty to forty-two thousand returnees following the T\u00fcrkiye\u2013Syria earthquakes of 6 February 2023. An additional 238 thousand Syrian nationals were granted Turkish citizenship. While the number of Syrians resettled to third countries from T\u00fcrkiye through various programs exceeded sixty thousand in 2023, the number of individuals applying for international protection during the same year dipped to around nineteen thousand\u2014a forty-percent decrease compared to the previous year. Afghans (13,068), Iraqis (2,776), and Iranians (1,416) constituted the top three applicant nationalities, respectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The primary focus of T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s humanitarian efforts in 2023, including those dealing with migration, revolved around the emergency response and recovery operations undertaken to relieve the massive devastation wrought by the T\u00fcrkiye\u2013Syria earthquakes. While the epicenter of the first two earthquakes was in T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Kahramanmara\u015f province, both T\u00fcrkiye and Syria suffered staggering losses, with a combined death toll of fifty-eight thousand across both countries. Considering that roughly fifty percent of T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Syrian population living in the country under temporary protection resided in the eleven provinces affected by the earthquakes, roughly 1.8 million of the total sixteen million affected individuals were either Syrian refugees or migrants of other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The earthquakes inflicted severe psychological trauma upon T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s immigrant and native populations, leaving many displaced, their sources of livelihood destroyed, and their access to basic public services, including education, seriously disrupted. To facilitate the movement of Syrian refugees living in the earthquake zone, authorities temporarily suspended the domestic travel restrictions placed on them and introduced legislation allowing them to travel to Syria and return unhindered within six months. However, subsequent studies examining the situation of refugees and immigrants living in the affected region revealed that their status had only become more precarious as a result of the social and economic hardships they experienced following the disaster. Already displaced individuals lost their homes once again, faced ostracism as a result of mounting disinformation and hate speech, and were impeded from accessing information and essential public services. All of these factors only heightened the need for sustainable protective measures. Immigrants from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Somalia reported facing social tension, difficulties finding work and housing, and rising rent prices after the earthquakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Immediately following the earthquakes, volunteers from throughout T\u00fcrkiye and the greater world poured into the earthquake disaster zone, where they took part in search and rescue, emergency assistance, and relief operations led by AFAD, the Turkish Red Crescent (henceforth TRC), and other humanitarian organizations. Having been completely devastated by the earthquakes, the affected areas\u2019 social networks and economies needed to be rebuilt from the ground up. As such, organizations and individuals from all segments of society and walks of life pooled their resources to see to the housing, educational, healthcare, psychological and financial needs of all those affected, including those of refugees and immigrants. The Turkish government, joined by various UN agencies, the EU, the IFRC, and domestic NGOs, spearheaded a coordinated, multi-pronged humanitarian response. The following is a non-exhaustive list of the projects that were part of this response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Efforts to stem irregular migration were another major issue on T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s 2023 immigration policy agenda. An excess of 247 thousand irregular migrants were apprehended in 2023, a figure similar to the previous year. Topping this list were migrants from Afghanistan, followed by those from Syria. In addition to enhancing border security by building walls, electro-optical surveillance towers, and thermal camera outposts, mobile immigration patrols were deployed throughout T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s cities were increased to identify irregular migrants living with expired visas or residence permits. By December 2023, mobile immigration checkpoints had been established in all of T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s metropolitan cities. Of the roughly 143 thousand irregular migrants identified by these checkpoints, forty-seven thousand were moved to immigration detention centers to prepare them for their eventual deportation. Efforts continue to be taken to curb migrant smuggling and human trafficking, both of which, in addition to being major sources of irregular migration, pose significant threats to human safety worldwide. Government-led operations ended in the arrest of more than ten thousand migrant smugglers in 2023, the highest figure in the past decade. T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s coast guard report that more than fifty thousand irregular migrants were rescued and 152 migrant smugglers indicted as a result of their maritime operations. Beyond this, 211 instances of human trafficking were identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In line with T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Strategy Document and National Action Plan on Irregular Migration 2021\u20132025, several projects were launched to enhance border governance, root out irregular migration at its source, expedite voluntary repatriation, and foster international collaborative initiatives. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Moving on to regular migration in T\u00fcrkiye, efforts are underway to develop systematic, data-driven policies, strengthen institutional capacities and inter-agency cooperation, restructure the national asylum system, and support migrants\u2019 social and economic integration. These works involve key actors, such as T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Presidency of Migration Management and TRC, as well as the IOM, UNHCR, ICMPD, local governments, and domestic NGOs. The following is a non-exhaustive list of projects either initiated or ongoing in 2023:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The year 2023 also saw T\u00fcrkiye play an increasingly active role in shaping the agenda on international migration. As part of T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s efforts to develop bilateral and multilateral migration agreements, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) organized venues where multiple stakeholders could discuss and share information on effective migration management. Notable projects included the Vienna Migration Conference, which sought to develop sustainable solutions to global displacement, and MAGNET: Migration Management Authorities Networking Event<\/strong>, which aimed to enhance multi-actor operational cooperation in migration management (Presidency of Migration Management, ICMPD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside traditional methods for managing regular and irregular migration, new practices that externalize migration processing became increasingly widespread around the world. One notable example of such practices was the establishment of Safe Mobility Offices in South and Central American countries that cater to individuals seeking humanitarian protection and other legal migration pathways to the USA, Spain, and Canada. Albeit temporarily halted by the Albanian Constitutional Court, the Italy\u2013Albania Deal sought to allow Albania to house up to thirty-six thousand migrants arriving in Italy by sea while their asylum applications were processed. This deal, like the controversial Tunisia\u2013EU memorandum that sought to prevent irregular migration into Europe, is anticipated to be a focal point in next year\u2019s discussions on how the EU\u2019s New Pact on Migration and Asylum will shape international migration trends. The most significant development toward the end of 2023 was the forced displacement of approximately 1.8 million Palestinians as a result of Israel\u2019s indiscriminate carpet bombing and intensification of the sixteen-year unlawful blockade of the Gaza Strip following Hamas\u2019 7 October attempt to break the inhumane siege imposed on ordinary Gazans by the Israeli state. This ever-deepening humanitarian crisis and potential forced displacements are expected to remain at the very fore of next year\u2019s discussions on migration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for T\u00fcrkiye, the post-earthquake era has highlighted the importance of implementing development-oriented migration policies that aim to enhance migrants\u2019 resilience toward crises, that facilitate their ability to become self-sufficient, and that lead to their long-term socioeconomic empowerment. It is therefore important to implement mechanisms that, like the T\u00fcrkiye Compact proposed by the UN Development Programme, not only promote new employment opportunities for migrants and local communities but also increase socioeconomic inclusivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1 <\/strong>G\u00f6\u00e7 \u0130daresi Ba\u015fkanl\u0131\u011f\u0131. (2023). \u0130\u00e7i\u015fleri Bakan\u0131 Ali Yerlikaya: \u201cD\u00fczensiz g\u00f6\u00e7menlere ve g\u00f6\u00e7men ka\u00e7ak\u00e7\u0131l\u0131\u011f\u0131 organizat\u00f6rlerine asla ge\u00e7it vermiyoruz\u201d<\/em> https:\/\/www.goc. gov.tr\/icisleri-bakani-ali-yerlikaya-duzensiz-gocmenlere-ve-gocmen-kacakciligi-organizatorlerine-asla-gecit-vermiyoruz<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 <\/strong>T\u00fcrkiye B\u00fcy\u00fck Millet Meclisi (TBMM). (2023). T\u00fcrkiye B\u00fcy\u00fck Millet Meclisi Genel Kurul Tutana\u011f\u0131, Tutanak Dergisi 28. D\u00f6nem 2. Yasama y\u0131l\u0131 37. Birle\u015fim <\/em>https:\/\/tbmm.gov.tr\/Tutanaklar\/Tutanak?Id=a5c9f9d4-4774-4c7c-ab7b-018c71cda4cc&BaslangicSayfa=64&BitisSayfa=64<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3 <\/strong>International Organization of Migration (IOM). (2023). MPMT\u00fcrkiye Migrants\u2019 Presence Monitoring Situation Report (November2023) https:\/\/reliefweb.int\/report\/turkiye\/mpm-turkiye-migrants-presence-monitoring-situation-report-november-2023<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 4 <\/strong>2023 T.C. Cumhurba\u015fkanl\u0131\u011f\u0131 Strateji ve B\u00fct\u00e7e Ba\u015fkanl\u0131\u011f\u0131. (2023). Kahramanmara\u015fve Hatay Depremleri Raporu<\/em>. s. 9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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