Turkiye started to grant indefinite residence permit to Crimean Tatar Turks

[dBSPL]

Long-term residence permits started to be granted to the Crimean Tatar Turks, who were included in the "Turkish Lineage" status of Meskhetian, Gagauz, Uyghur, Bulgarian and Greece Turks, by the Directorate of Migration Management of the Ministry of Interior.

In order for a non-Turkish citizen to obtain a long-term residence permit, it is required to reside in Turkiye for 8 years without interruption. In line with the decision of the Migration Policy Board dated February 15, 2017, a long-term residence permit can be granted to Bulgarian, Greek, Meskhetian and Uyghur Turks without the aforementioned time requirement.

In this context, the Directorate of Migration Management has completed the studies on the new status to be given to the Crimean Tatar Turks. Crimean Tatars were also included in the "Turkish Lineage" status held by Meskhetian, Uyghur, Bulgarian and Greece Turks.

In addition, the efforts for the permanent settlement of Meskhetian Turks, who lost their homeland with the Soviet assimilation and deportation policies, continue in Turkiye. In this direction, thousands of Ahıska Turks families were granted citizenship, real estate and lands.

Efforts are underway to include the Crimean Turks, who had to leave their homeland due to Russia's annexation of Crimea within the Ukraine war, to be included in this coverage and to grant citizenship.

Currently, at least 10% of Turkiye's population is thought to be the families of North Black Sea/Crimean Turks and Circassians who mostly had to leave their homeland during the period of Tsarist Russia and Soviet Russia.