Turkey hosts the most refugees in the world. According to the UN Refugee Agency, 15% of the world's displaced refugees live in Turkey, which equals 4 million people. Most of them are Syrians, but people from Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq have also found refuge in Turkey.
Turkey hosts the most refugees in the world. According to the UN Refugee Agency, 15% of the world's displaced refugees live in Turkey, which equals 4 million people. Most of them are Syrians, but people from Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq have also found refuge in Turkey. Only 1% of the migrants stay in refugee camps, others live along the Syrian border but the majority live in urban areas. Asylum seekers in Turkey have the right to education, health care and access to social services, as well as to the legal labour market after applying for a work permit. But obtaining a residence permit is fraught with obstacles: the visa regulations for Syrians have been tightened. For many, the only option is to work in the informal sector, where they have to earn their living as waste pickers (see Mehmet), for example, under precarious conditions and without protection.
In addition, inflation and rising rents, as well as the nationalist sentiment against refugees in the context of the election campaign by almost every party, have a negative impact on the coexistence of locals and migrants in Turkey.
Arbitrary arrests, deportations, "voluntary" departures and state interference in the work of human rights organizations are making the situation of refugees increasingly difficult.
With Putin's war of aggression on Ukraine, many Ukrainians as well as Russians left their homeland, many of them for Turkey. The reasons are idealistic, economic and pragmatic. It is possible to enter Turkey without a visa, and direct flights are still possible, while many other countries have closed their airspace for this purpose. With Putin's partial military mobilization on 21st September, even more Russians are fleeing to neighbouring countries. Besides Turkey, Georgia and Finland are the main migration destinations.
While Turkey was previously a holiday destination for many Russians, they are now building a new existence. The purchase of real estate in Turkey by Russian citizens has increased immensely; flats and houses on the idyllic Mediterranean coast are especially in demand. Furthermore, if a foreigner buys real estate worth $250,000, he or she can acquire Turkish citizenship in just three months.
Meanwhile, the price of buying a house in Turkey has increased by 96 per cent in one year, in Istanbul even by 106 per cent. Rental prices have increased by 184,9 per cent. This additional burden alongside the prevailing inflation makes it increasingly difficult for many Turks to afford their rents. Buying a house is not even within their reach. Since the beginning of the war wealthy Russian migrants have been flooding the Turkish real estate market, needing accommodation quickly and willing to pay a lot more for it. Landlords shamelessly take advantage of the situation and raise their rents. Often for Turkish residents the only option is to move to another part of town, away from the city centre.
In addition to the increased number of tenants willing to pay high rents, the short-term rental of flats on platforms such as Airbnb, the COVID pandemic and the fall of the lira are having a negative impact on access to housing.