Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has issued an order to step up measures against illegal migration and prepare steps to make the process of obtaining Turkish citizenship more complicated, Turkey's TV100 broadcaster reported, citing sources
ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st July, 2023) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has issued an order to step up measures against illegal migration and prepare steps to make the process of obtaining Turkish citizenship more complicated, Turkey's TV100 broadcaster reported, citing sources.
On Monday, the Turkish Interior Ministry said that nearly five million migrants were living in the country and that 1,169 districts had banned the registration of foreigners. Erdogan said earlier in the month that the citizens of Turkey would soon feel the changes occurring as a result of the operations against illegal migrants.
In line with Erdogan's directives to crack down on illegal immigration, steps are being prepared to make it more difficult to obtain Turkish citizenship, the report said. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya briefed the president on the government's recent measures against illegal migration, including large-scale operations carried out across Turkey, particularly in Istanbul. He presented a detailed report on the fight against illegal migration and measures against asylum seekers who violate public peace, the broadcaster added. Yerlikaya stressed that new and decisive steps must be taken to solve the problems.
The minister, as quoted by the broadcaster, said that some malpractices in obtaining Turkish citizenship were evident, so the application process had been temporarily halted.
In May 2023, the Turkish government passed amendments to a law concerning citizenship. The amendments provide new rules for applying for citizenship. Now, Turkish citizenship can be obtained if an applicant has purchased a property in the country worth at least $400,000 or has a deposit of the same amount in a Turkish bank. In addition, applicants are required not to sell the property or withdraw the deposit for at least three years.
