Press Release dated 16.07.2023 by the Directorate of Immigration Management in Türkiye regarding the Allegations that '39 Districts in Istanbul are Closed to Residence Permits for Foreigners'

April 2024

Directorate of Immigration Management in Türkiye released a statement in order to accurately inform the public about the allegations shared on some social media accounts that "39 districts in Istanbul are closed to residence permits for foreigners."

According to this statement;

In order to prevent spatial concentration, the Directorate of Immigration Management periodically conducts density analyses regarding the foreign population in both neighbourhoods and districts in our provinces and measures are taken to dilute it.
In this context; Istanbul was closed to registration procedures for Syrians under temporary protection in 2019.
In January 2021, Fatih and Esenyurt districts of Istanbul were closed to new residence permit applications.
As a result of the evaluation made in October 2022, in addition to Fatih and Esenyurt districts, Avcılar, Bahçelievler, Başakşehir, Bağcılar, Esenler, Küçükçekmece, Sultangazi and Zeytinburnu districts were also closed to new residence permit applications.
As of July 1, 2022, 1,169 neighbourhoods in all our provinces, in a total of 63 provinces where the foreign density exceeds 20% compared to the Turkish citizen population, have been closed to new foreign registration, and the number of closed neighbourhoods in Istanbul is 54.

As can be understood from the statement, the claims that 39 districts in Istanbul are closed to residence permits do not reflect the truth, and 10 districts are currently closed to new residence permit applications. Monitoring and evaluation studies regarding spatial concentration continue.