Ankara eyes changes to residency, citizenship rules

Legislative proposals suggest new guidelines for ID numbers, naturalisation
Wednesday, 26 July 2017 01:38

Turkey’s government on Tuesday submitted new proposals to streamline the country’s residency and citizenship regulations for foreign nationals, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım backed the proposals which will, among other things, enable the Interior Ministry to allocate Turkish ID numbers without searching for residency permits. Diplomatic mission members will be excluded from this decree, the report said.

According to the Anadolu, Tuesday’s legislative proposals would also enable those who lost Turkish citizenship to naturalise without searching for a residence permit, provided they pose no issues for national security. A foreign national who has applied for Turkish citizenship will not be able to be outside the state for more than nine months during his or her application period.

The proposals also suggest changes for foreign nationals trying to gain Turkish citizenship through marriage, stipulating that they should not pose any issues to “public morality", it added.

Turkey hosts some three million Syrian refugees.