While Article 6 TPR provides that all persons within the scope of the Regulation shall be protected from refoulement, the overall framework laid down by the TPR fails to explicitly guarantee the right of access Turkish territory for prospective beneficiaries. Persons approaching Türkiye’s borders without a valid travel document may be admitted to territory within the discretion of the provincial Governorate.[1]
Furthermore, either the Presidency has the discretion to order “limitations” or “suspension” of existing temporary protection measures in place “in the event of circumstances threatening national security, public order, public security and public health”, including the possibility of the imposition of “additional measures concerning the mass movement of people both along Türkiye’s borderline and beyond Türkiye’s borderline”.[2] This formulation appears to indicate that the Turkish Government may choose to seal Türkiye’s borders to persons seeking temporary protection in Türkiye, either for a specific period or indefinitely, where considerations of national security, public order, public security and public health are deemed to require so.
The Turkish-Syrian land border has been restricted due to various restrictions. In 2018, Türkiye built a 764km concrete wall along the border, with cameras and lighting systems.[3] In 2019, Türkiye opened the “Olive Branch” border-crossing point in Afrin, reinforced with new technology.[4] In 2020, Türkiye began using surveillance balloons to patrol the border[5].The physical barrier has not completely stopped arrivals, although it has exacerbated difficulties in crossing the Turkish-Syrian border. Refugees have reportedly had to climb the border wall,[6] or to bribe border guards to enter Türkiye.[7] There are also reports of tunnels and that the wall has increased smugglers’ prices.[8] PMM figures for 2024 refer to a total of 225,831 apprehended irregular migrants countrywide, of whom only 50,641 were Syrian nationals.[9]
Allegations of pushbacks and violence along the Turkish-Syrian border persisted, although the rhetoric used by Turkish authorities changed in 2021. Despite the construction of a wall on the eastern border, some people managed to cross and enter Türkiye. When caught, they were pushed back, however the majority of attempts were labelled as “blocking” by Turkish police, rather than “pushing back.” Applications for temporary protection are not accepted at the border.[10] In 2024, as in 2023, stakeholders in Hatay reported cases of unlawful deportations carried out under the label of “push-backs.” Syrians without any form of registration were often returned irregularly to Syria without the initiation of any formal deportation procedures. In cases involving vulnerable individuals, such as a mother with a newborn child, police officers reportedly issued a written document instead of enforcing the return. One such document stated that, based on a decision by the Provincial Governor’s Commission dated 24 February 2020, the individual was supposed to be subjected to a push-back procedure; however, given the recent childbirth, it was assessed that the return could not be carried out. The document advised the individual to approach the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management (PDMM) to initiate temporary protection registration. This document, stakeholders argue, indirectly confirms that police officers have been carrying out unlawful deportations under the guise of preventing entry to its territory —an action that constitutes a violation of both Turkish and international law.[11]
Türkiye’s handling of the situation and concerns for the human rights of migrants and refugees continued in 2024. These incidents are further described in Access to the territory and pushbacks. Human Rights Watch,[12] claimed that the Turkish armed forces and gendarmerie, which are responsible for border security, have been indiscriminately shooting and mistreating Syrians along the Syrian-Turkish border with providing details of two specific incidents happened in March 2023, and it has been failed to effectively prevent or investigate. Another claim is that in July 2023, up to 2,000 Syrians were returned to the northern Syria without any individual assessment regarding their health conditions, family ties etc., some of the deportees had been living in Türkiye for a number of years, and carried temporary protection ID cards.[13]
[1] Article 17(2) TPR.
[2] Article 15 TPR.
[3] Daily Sabah, ‘Türkiye finishes construction of 764-km security wall on Syria border’, 9 June 2018, available here; Hürriyet, ‘Türkiye improves border security with smart system’, 6 January 2019, available here.
[4] CNN Turk, ‘Suriye sınırına akıllı güvenlik’, 13 January 2020, available in Turkish here ; Hürriyet, ‘Turkish surveillance balloon patrolling Syria border’, 21 July 2020, available here
[5] Middle East Monitor, ‘Türkiye to open border gate with Syria’s Afrin next week – minister’, 5 March 2019, available here
[6] Hürriyet, ‘Footage shows Syrians scaling Turkish border wall with ladders’, 7 September 2018, available here
[7] International Crisis Group, Mitigating Risks for Syrian Refugee Youth in Türkiye’s Şanlıurfa, February 2019, available here, 5-6.
[8] Information received from stakeholders from Ankara and Şanlıurfa, March 2020.
[9] PMM, Irregular migration statistics, available here
[10] Information provided by a stakeholder, June 2023.
[11] Information provided by multiple stakeholders March and May 2025.
[12] HRW, ‘Türkiye’nin Sınır Görevlileri Suriyelileri Öldürüyor, Onlara İşkence Ediyor’, 27.04.2023, available here
[13] Middle East eye, ‘Hundreds of Syrians left in limbo after being deported from Turkey’, 12.08.2023, available here