Although Türkiye is party to most relevant human rights instruments, of the core statelessness conventions it has only acceded to the 1954 Convention. Data on stateless populations in the country is insufficient and incomplete, and there has not been a mapping study on statelessness in Türkiye. Despite having established a statelessness determination procedure (SDP) leading to a dedicated status, there is no publicly available data on the number of applications, grants, and refusals. While the SDP is relatively accessible, there is a lack of awareness of the procedure and the available information is not detailed, which may hinder access. The burden of proof in the procedure is shared, but there is no standard of proof set in law and the evidentiary requirements can be difficult to meet. A person recognised as stateless is issued a Stateless Person Identification Document granting a renewable right to stay, the right to apply for a travel document and a work permit, access to education and to the healthcare insurance scheme. There is no official temporary protection regime in Türkiye for people fleeing the war in Ukraine, although they may apply for international protection and residence permits Türkiye has introduced a temporary protection regime for people fleeing the war in neighbouring Syria.
Immigration detention is provided for in law, but in practice authorities usually detain people only for the purpose of deportation and avoid routinely detaining asylum-seekers. Alternatives to detention and procedural safeguards are established in law, but there are gaps in systematic and effective implementation. There are no publicly available mechanisms to identify statelessness in removal centres and statelessness is not considered a factor increasing vulnerability.
There is no facilitated route to naturalisation specifically designed for stateless people, who must fulfil the standard, strict criteria to apply for nationality, and are only exempt from presenting certain documentation. There are relatively good safeguards to prevent childhood statelessness for foundlings and in the context of adoption, and there is a provision that allows otherwise stateless children born in Türkiye to apply for nationality. However, an application and several documents must be submitted, which is particularly concerning as there are reported barriers to birth registration in Türkiye. Few measures have been put in place to reduce statelessness in recent years, although Türkiye has facilitated the granting of nationality to Meskhetian Turks. There are provisions on deprivation of nationality as a national security measure, which do not include safeguards against statelessness. Positively, renunciation and derivative loss of nationality can only occur if the person holds another nationality.
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