The refugee process in Turkey

This post about the process of refugees and asylum seekers in Turkey is long overdue, mostly because I’ve been intimidated by it. There are many laws and regulations, so this is the 10,000 foot view of how the process generally works.

There are 2 groups of people that this process applies to:
1.  Asylum seekers. An asylum seeker is a person who has fled their own country and applies to the government of another country for protection as a refugee.
2. Refugees. (United Nations definition) A refugee is a person who is outside their own country and cannot return due to a well-founded fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.

When people who have fled their home country first arrive in Turkey they are asylum seekers. When they arrive, the people are supposed to register with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). When they register, basic information is taken from them and they are given identification papers that allow some level of protection for them to be in Turkey legally.

Asylum seekers will then go through an interview process with the UNHCR, in order to determine whether or not they are a refugee. The asylum seeker tells about the flight from their home country and why they cannot return, and are encouraged to show proof.

As the asylum seeker is going through this process, which can take anywhere from months to years, they are assigned to a satellite city in Turkey. There are 30 satellite cities in Turkey, mainly in the interior and eastern parts of the country. At the satellite city, asylum seekers are required to sign in with the local police either daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on the city. Asylum seekers aren’t legally allowed to work, and the government does not usually provide housing, but we do know that at least one satellite city has provided two buildings for people who are refugees to live in, but that is rare.

As the person is living in the satellite city, the UNHCR is making a decision on their case to either grant or deny them refugee status. If the UNHCR denies them refugee status, the person can appeal twice and present more evidence. If the appeal is denied both times, then the person is no longer legally allowed to stay in Turkey.

If the person is granted refugee status by the UNHCR then the long wait begins for resettlement into another country. From what I’ve seen, the resettlement process can take an extremely long time. I know a man who was given refugee status in the early 2000s and still has not been resettled. Most people get resettled more quickly than this, but long waits for resettlement exist.

People are very excited when they get refugee status because it means that they will get resettled to a different country. However, the wait can be very frustrating and very long. Even while they wait for resettlement they still have to be in their satellite cities.

From what I’ve seen, it is tough to get refugee status from UNHCR. UNHCR seems to do their due diligence to make sure the asylum seeker is truthful about the persecution in their home country. If someone is granted refugee status, then you can be sure that they have suffered a great deal due to persecution.

There are many things that are important that I’ve left out of this post that affect the daily lives of people who are refugees and asylum seekers. I’ll come back and fill in the holes every so often.