Turkey — Quarterly Migrant Presence Monitoring (January-March 2021)

According to the latest available figures from the Turkish Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM), there are more than 4.7* million foreign nationals present in Turkish territory, 3.6 million of whom are seeking international protection. Most are Syrians (3,665,946 individuals) who are granted temporary protection status. In addition, international protection applicants from countries including Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq constitute another group of foreign nationals. According to DGMM, there were 31,334 international protection applicants present in Turkey in 20201, published annually. Moreover, according to UNHCR, there are close to 330,000 international protection status holders and asylum-seekers. Since December 2020 the number of Syrians residing in camps has decreased by 1,250.

In addition, there are 1,045,345 foreign nationals present in Turkey holding residency permits including humanitarian residence holders. The exact number of the humanitarian residence holders is unknown, but it is estimated that there are a few thousand humanitarian resident holders. According to DGMM, 24,578 irregular migrants of different nationalities were apprehended in Turkey at the first quarter. This figure was 122,302 in the previous reporting period (Q4) of 2020.