Temporary Protection Procedures and Disputes
Temporary protection is a collective protection regime that is separate from international protection and has its own character. Registration, identity documents, change of province, travel permit documents, access to services, the right to work, deactivation of the record, cancellation and voluntary return procedures are subject to the special rules on this status.
Our legal services in this field cover the following:
- Disputes relating to temporary protection registration and identity document procedures
- Updating the record and correcting registration details
- Requests for change of province of residence and requests based on family unity
- Travel permit documents and restrictions on movement between provinces
- Deactivation, cancellation or termination of the record
- Legal procedures connected with access to education, health and social services
- Work permit and work permit exemption processes
- Legal consequences of voluntary return procedures
- Applications connected with deportation or administrative detention procedures
Unaccompanied Minors and Persons with Special Needs
For unaccompanied minors, persons with disabilities, the elderly, pregnant women, single parents, persons who have been subjected to torture or serious violence and foreign nationals with special health needs, special safeguards appropriate to the type of procedure must be applied. The best interests of the child, family unity, representation, suitable accommodation, access to health services and child protection measures are assessed together.
If the child’s age, identity or family tie is in dispute, civil registry and parentage documents, age determination procedures, international documents and the child’s statement are examined carefully. Where necessary, family law, child protection and immigration law processes are conducted at the same time.
Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking
The access of persons for whom there is a strong suspicion that they are or may be victims of human trafficking to identification and support mechanisms involves special provisions regarding security, health, accommodation and residence. The relevant administrative and criminal processes should be planned separately from one another, with regard to the victim’s will, safety and risk of renewed contact with the perpetrators.
In this field, legal support is provided on access to the victim identification process, protection measures, the link to residence and support programs, assessment of the deportation procedure and coordination with the criminal investigation.
Distinguish Registration Procedures from Cancellation of Status
Temporary protection is not a residence permit
Temporary protection is a regime with its own special conditions. Updating the record, change of address, travel, access to services and the right to work are handled together with the current rules on the status. Holding an identity card does not mean free residence in every province or the right to work in any job without a permit.
A special thirty-day period in cancellation actions
The decision of the Plenary Session of the Administrative Chambers (İDDK) of the Council of State dated 14.05.2025, E.2025/13, K.2025/34, applies the thirty-day period under Art. 80/1(ç) of Law No. 6458 in actions on the cancellation of temporary protection status or the identity document linked to it. One should not wait in reliance on the general sixty-day period.
The decision also considered whether the legal remedy and the special period were notified in comprehensible language. Missing notification, a record that merely appears “inactive” or the absence of an express cancellation decision call for separate review. It cannot be accepted that an earlier time limit for bringing an action will in every case begin anew with a request to reopen the record.
Implied rejection of a request for status is different
A request for temporary protection status or an identity document being deemed rejected through the administration’s silence is not the same act as the cancellation of an existing status. The decision bulletin published by the Council of State (Danıştay) separately states the general sixty-day time limit for bringing an action for these implied-rejection cases. The time limit cannot be calculated without seeing the date of the application, the formation of the implied rejection and any reply given afterwards.
Document the child’s and health needs at the first stage
Being unaccompanied, family members being in different provinces, pregnancy, disability and ongoing treatment should be notified with concrete documents. In the assessment concerning a child, not only the parent’s request but the best interests of the child and the need for representation are taken into account. An urgent health need should not be kept waiting until the legal consultation is completed.
Free will and information in voluntary return
Which status the return document affects, the consequences for re-entry and registration, the situation of family members and whether the statement reflects genuine will are clarified. Keep a copy of the document you sign; ask for translation of the parts you do not understand.
Risk of human trafficking or violence
A secure channel of communication, the risk of contact with the perpetrator, accommodation and the protection of personal data are especially important. A criminal investigation, a victim support mechanism and immigration procedures do not take each other’s place; they are planned together to the extent the file requires.
Information Needed for the First Consultation
Prepare all pages of the decision, the notification record, your current status, earlier applications and a short chronology of events. If a transfer or application deadline is approaching, mention it in your first message. The file-specific document list and the method of representation are settled in the consultation.