Provision of information on the procedure
According to Article 70 LFIP, during registration, applicants must be provided information regarding the international protection procedure, appeal mechanisms and time frames, rights and obligations, including the consequences of failure to fulfil obligations or cooperate with authorities. If requested by the applicant, interpretation shall be provided for the purpose of interactions with the applicants at registration and status determination interview stages.
The PMM also operates a hotline service called Foreigners Communication Centre (Yabancılar Iletisim Merkezi, YİMER), which provides uninterrupted service 24/7 in Turkish, English, Arabic, Persian, Russian, German, and Pashto. The Foreigners Communication Center can answer all questions asked by foreigners about visas, residence permits, international protection, and temporary protection; it also serves as a hotline for identifying victims of human trafficking, victims of migrant smuggling, and foreign nationals during sea rescue operations. According to the YIMER’s website, as of May 2023, the hotline had received nearly 19,522,114 calls since it started in 2015.[1] Additionally, 115 migration “kiosk” devices have been installed in 81 provinces and 7 airports[2]. The kiosks are expected to assist satisfy information demand by minimising line-ups at PDMM offices and optimising their counselling function.[3] To date, a total of 21 Migration Advisory Centres have been established in 16 provinces. In the upcoming period, it is planned to increase the number of Migration Advisory Centres. In 2023, the existing Migration Advisory Centres have served 991,708 people, and since their inception, a total of 4,220,586 people have accessed the service[4].
In addition, UNHCR has set up a platform (“Help”[5]) which provides information in English, Turkish, Arabic and Farsi. The Izmir Municipality has been operating Fellow Citizen Communication Center as from 2023 with the financial support of UNHCR and a Refugee Help Desk providing information to applicants on various issues[6]. Mainstream NGOs such as SGDD-ASAM, Support to Life, Human Resource Development Foundation (İnsan Kaynağını Geliştirme Vakfı, IKGV), YUVA also provides assistance and counselling. Refugee Rights Turkiye has an online portal providing information on registration, legal assistance, access to rights, detention, unaccompanied children etc. in 10 languages.[7]
TV Project[8] aims to provide reliable andeasily accessible resource for refugees in Türkiye Implemented by ASAM through its YouTube channel in 7 languages (Turkish, English, Arabic, Farsi, French, Somali and Ukrainian). Through the project, refugees living in Türkiye have been informed about their rights, helping build resilience at different levels in conjunction with their access to protection assistance.
[1] YIMER 157 website. Available in Turkish at: https://yimer.gov.tr/.
[2] Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi İnsan Haklarini İnceleme Komisyonu Göç Ve Uyum Alt Komisyonu Tutanaklar, 5.10.2023, available here.
[3] IOM, ‘IOM and PMM Will Establish 115 Information Kiosks For Migrants Across Turkey’, 2022, available here.
[4] PMM, Faaliyet Raporu, 2023, available here.
[5] UNHCR Help, available here.
[6] UNHCR, EGE BÖLGESİ, 2021 Yılına Genel Bakış.
[7] PMM, ‘Announcement’, February 2023, available here.
[8] UNHCR Türkiye Factsheet -September 2023.