Article 49 TPR appears to grant temporary protection beneficiaries the possibility of “making a request” for family reunification in Türkiye with family members outside Türkiye. While the article provides that PMM shall “evaluate such requests”, the wording of this provision does not indicate strictly a right to family reunification for beneficiaries. It is rather worded as a possibility subject to the discretion of PMM.
According to Article 3 TPR, a beneficiary’s spouse, minor children and dependent adult children are defined as family members. The article also provides that in the case of unaccompanied children, “family unification steps shall be initiated without delay without the need for the child to make a request”.
In practice, Türk Kızılay is the main actor working on family reunification applications, especially reunification of children with their families in Türkiye, while AFAD manages family reunification requests in the border regions. According to Türk Kızlay, it had received 110 requests for family reunification as of December 2022, but only 9 instances were satisfactorily handled. They also provide family tracing and messaging services. Only 8 of 238 family tracing requests were met, and only 33 of 119 family messaging requests were delivered successfully.[1] There is no available data in 2023.
The same exit permission requirement also applies to temporary protection beneficiaries in the process of departing from Türkiye for the purpose of family reunification with family members in third countries. Syrians seeking a family reunification departure from Türkiye must first register with PMM as a temporary protection beneficiary before they can subsequently request and obtain an “exit permission” to leave Türkiye to a third country.[2] IOM supports more than 20 countries including USA, Canada and EU countries in these efforts.[3] In Türkiye, many refugees want to reunite with family members in Europe. IOM conducts family reunification interviews. Often a Syrian family has some members in Germany, with other family members in neighboring countries such as Lebanon and Türkiye. In case of reunification with a family member who resides in Genrmany, family members apply for a family reunification visa through the German Consulates.
[1] Information provided by Turk Kizilay, June 2023.
[2] UNHCR, ‘Üçüncü Ülkeye Yerleştirme’, last accessed 13 July 2022, available here