The TPR provides a registration procedure and envisions the issuing of Temporary Protection Identification Documents (Geçici Koruma Kimlik Belgesi) to beneficiaries upon registration.[1] This card serves as the document asserting the concerned person’s status as a beneficiary of temporary protection.
Article 25 TPR explicitly excludes temporary protection beneficiaries from the possibility of long-term legal integration in Türkiye. According to Article 25, the Temporary Protection Identification Document issued to beneficiaries does not serve as residence permit as such, may not lead to “long term residence permit” in Türkiye in accordance with Articles 42 and 43 LFIP.
Temporary Protection Identification Documents list a Foreigners Identification Number (YKN) assigned to each beneficiary by the Directorate General of Population and Citizenship Affairs. In Türkiye, all legally resident foreign nationals are assigned YKN which serve to facilitate their access to all government services. International protection applicants and status holders within the framework of LFIP are also given such YKN. Currently, YKN assigned to all categories of legally resident foreign nationals, including temporary protection beneficiaries, categorically start with the digits of 99.
A verification and update process of data of Syrians under temporary protection was completed at the end of 2018, in close cooperation with UNHCR.[2] The process called ‘address verification,’ is about identifying whether the person is present in the province where they are registered. If not, their registration is deactivated, but not cancelled. UNHCR reported that 96% of the verification objective in Türkiye was met through this exercise.[3] However, in April 2022, the PPM announced that Syrians who received an appointment for address verification online via Goc-Net or by calling 157 have to visit their registered PDDM within 45 days of receiving the SMS notification and update their personal information such as date of birth, marital status, and address. To change their address, the applicant must provide an electric or gas bill from their new residence. If the applicant does not have a registered address, they have to first register their address with the mayoralty and then visit their registered PDMM to verify their address. If a person needs or desires to reside in a city or neighbourhood other than their city of registration but was closed to registration due to deconcentration policy after February 2022, they can still be registered in one of these cities or neighbourhoods if they can submit a rental agreement or bill dated prior to February 2022; otherwise, they have to register in their city of registration.[4] The number of temporary protection holders whose address verification took place was 986,852 in 2023 and 2,015,955 in 2022[5].
The Directorate of Migration Management announced that the travel permits of individuals under temporary protection who are in Istanbul but registered in a different province will not be extended as of September 24, 2023, except for those registered in the earthquakes affected zone and holding travel permit[6]. It was stated that those who are found to be in Istanbul “without legal right to stay here” will be taken to Temporary Accommodation Centres[7]. It is known that during police checks, people whose IDs were registered in another province were sent to the removal centres or temporary accommodation centres and from there they were sent to the cities where their IDs were registered[8].
In 2019, it was stated that Syrians would be deported if they failed to go to the provinces where they were registered. However, it was legally impossible to deport many of the people, so PMM had difficulty imposing a sanction. Plus, it is difficult to prove that administrative detainees were coerced into returning voluntarily, despite their claims.[9] Forms for voluntary return have to be signed under the supervision of the Red Crescent and UNHCR, but in the majority of cases, this is not the case. If the Syrian applicant cannot be located at the specified address, their identification documents may be revoked. When they visit PDMM, their IDs get reactivated, but those who were unable to visit PDMM loose their IDs. In some cases, they are not aware that their IDs are not active. Syrian-led NGOs and activists estimate that 150,000 IDs have been revoked as of April 2022.[10]
[1] Article 2 TPR.
[2] PMM, ‘Türkiye’de Geçici Koruma Kapsamında Bulunan Yabancıların Kişisel Verilerinin Doğrulanması’, 22 March 2018, available in Turkish here
[3] UNHCR, Türkiye: Operational Update 2018 Highlights, available here
[4] Hayata Destek Online, ‘Adres Kayıt ve Güncelleme İşlemleri Nasıl Yapılır?’, 12 April 2022, available here
[5] PMM, Faaliyet Raporu 2023, available here
[6] T.C. Istanbul Valiliği, İstanbul İlinde İkamet Eden Geçici Koruma Kapsamındaki Suriye Uyruklu Yabancıların Kayıtlı Oldukları İllere Dönmeleri Hakkında Duyuru, 28.07.2023.
[7] PMM, İstanbul’da Bulunan Geçici Koruma Kapsamındaki Suriye Uyruklu Yabancıların Kayıtlı Oldukları İllere Dönmeleri Hakkında Duyuru, 21.09.2023
[8] BBC Turkiye, Düzensiz göçmenlere yönelik kontroller arttı: ‘Aylardır evden dışarı çıkmıyoruz’, 19.12.2023, available here & Information provided by stakeholders, March-April 2024.
[9] Information from a stakeholder, April 2022.
[10] Ömer Sönmez, ‘Algazi: The annulment of the identity of 150 thousand Syrians marks a change in policy’, Rudaw, 28 April 2022. Available in Turkish here