Turkey to toughen measures on citizenship application for foreigners

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Jul 2023 21:42

According to the Turkish Interior Ministry, about five million migrants are currently residing in the country, and 1,169 districts had banned registration of foreigners.

Illustrative: A man holding a Turkish flag stands at the Oncupinar border crossing with Syria, Jan. 28, 2018 (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on Saturday, citing sources, that Turkey plans to toughen its measures to make it harder for foreigners to obtain Turkish citizenship.

This is owed to the fact that Turkey wants to hasten its ascension to the EU, the report states, noting that asylum seekers are the most salient aspect of the visa problem.

"There are people who get Turkish citizenship and go to Europe. The European Union also has a lot to do. It is not something that cannot be done provided that Turkey defends its borders well, ensures that migrants are kept out of the EU, and makes progress," a source was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

According to the Turkish Interior Ministry, about five million migrants are currently residing in the country, and 1,169 districts have banned the registration of foreigners.

In May, the Turkish government enacted amendments to the citizenship law, thus changing the requirements to obtain nationality.

Turkish citizenship can now be obtained if an applicant purchases property in the country worth at least $400,000 or has a deposit of the same amount in a Turkish bank.

Applicants are further required not to sell the property or withdraw the deposit for at least three years.

Earlier this month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish citizens would soon sense considerable changes occurring from the measures being taken against illegal migrants.

On July 10, he said that Sweden's accession to NATO is contingent on Turkey's accession to the European Union.

"We want all the promises made to us to be implemented... Turkey has been made to wait for 50 years at the door of the EU. I say to these countries that keep us waiting, I will say this in Vilnius: first, open the doors for Turkey to the EU, then we will open the way for Sweden [to NATO], as they did earlier with respect to Finland," Erdogan said to a reporter before heading to Vilnius for the NATO summit.

In 2016, Turkey and the EU struck a refugee deal that was meant to accelerate the accession process and allow for visa-free travel between Turkey and the Schengen Zone.

However, talks have been stalling since 2016 after the EU accused Turkey of human rights violations and non-observance of the rule of law in the country.