Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced that 731,146 Syrian refugees cannot be located at the addresses where they were registered. This number represents approximately 23% of the total Syrian refugee population in Turkey, which stands at around 3.1 million. The Turkish government has issued warnings in Arabic, Turkish, and English to refugees, instructing them to update their addresses within 90 days. The deadline is at the end of August, after which violators will have an additional two months to correct their status and register their new addresses. Failure to do so will result in automatic deregistration by the Turkish state, meaning they will lose their protection status and be considered “illegal migrants.” The Turkish government has warned that if refugees do not complete this information update, they will not be able to access free services such as education or healthcare unless they reside at their registered addresses. Those wishing to move to a different apartment or city must apply to the relevant immigration authority. If they fail to do so, they will be automatically deemed fugitives, their registrations will be canceled, and they will no longer enjoy refugee rights.
Turkey is investigating whether refugees have benefited from any services in recent years, such as hospital visits or receiving aid from the Red Crescent or enrolling children in schools. In the absence of such records, it assumes that the refugee has left the country unofficially and illegally. According to official data, 203,978 refugees have updated their addresses so far. Another 130,430 people have scheduled appointments to do so. However, no trace has been found of the remaining 396,000 refugees. In June, the Interior Minister announced that 658,463 Syrian nationals had returned to their homes. Turkey has been implementing stricter measures against human traffickers since 2015 to reduce the number of refugees in the country. As of August 2024, 7,176 human traffickers have been arrested, and 10,482 others were arrested in 2023. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Turkey had been the country hosting the largest number of refugees worldwide for several years. The official number of refugees in Turkey has decreased by 634,000 over the past three years: in 2021, the number was 3.73 million, and by August 1, 2024, it had dropped to 3.1 million. According to official data released in December 2023, approximately 238,000 Syrian refugees have obtained Turkish citizenship.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan mentioned that 110,000 Syrians had received citizenship in December 2019. He said, “We are in a position to increase the citizenship process for others, in addition to these 110,000 citizens. Why? Because these people should not live in my country illegally as migrants. When they get citizenship, they can find jobs and work in any institution or organization.” Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, a member of the Planning and Budget Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, announced on November 9, 2023, that the number of Syrian citizens in Turkey is approaching 238,000. He stated, “As of November, the number of Syrians granted Turkish citizenship has reached 237,995, with 156,987 of them being over the age of 18.”
As of July 20, 2024, 3,540 Syrians with temporary protection cards have been deported to northern Syria. Turkey also deported 840 refugees in that month. Turkish authorities have forcibly detained more than 125 Syrian families, including children and women, in deportation centers in Kayseri, Turkey, in preparation for their deportation to Syrian territory. This follows the recent deportation of 120 Syrians through border crossings to northern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory also reported that Turkey is forcibly deporting more than 100 Syrians daily through border gates, mostly those with Turkish residence permits (Kimlik), “aiming to settle them in areas under its control in the Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, and Peace Spring regions, to legitimize its presence in the areas it has captured through military operations.”
On July 17, civil society organizations from Syria urged the European Union to halt funding and support for human rights violations against Syrian refugees in Turkey. The organizations expressed their deep concern about the sharp rise in anti-refugee sentiment in Turkey and the accompanying violence against them. The organizations’ statement added: “All that the EU has done—by financially supporting Turkey in its efforts to rely on external parties to stop refugees—is to turn a blind eye to the actions carried out by the Turkish government and civilians. In response to the recent and serious escalation in anti-refugee actions in Turkey, the signatory organizations call on the EU to act swiftly to protect Syrian refugees’ rights by adopting the recommendations outlined below.” The statement was signed by organizations including: “Our House, International Service for Human Rights, Justice for Life Organization, Syrian Center for Justice and Accountability, Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression, Syrians for Truth and Justice, and Ornamu for Human Rights.”
From all of this, it is evident that Syrian refugees in Turkey are used as a tool by the Turkish government when seeking aid and benefits from some European countries, while at other times, the Turkish government demands the deportation of these Syrians to their home country under claims of deteriorating economic conditions in the country. Despite the extremely poor living conditions faced by Syrian refugees in Turkey, the Turkish government acts solely in its own interest, disregarding the plight of the fleeing people.
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