International Protection Applications and Actions
International protection covers the assessments relating to the statuses of refugee, conditional refugee and subsidiary protection. The application is made by the person themselves to the competent authority. Legal support may be provided at the stages of explaining the status and procedure before the application, preparing for the interview, presenting documents, translation problems, reviewing notifications and using the routes of recourse against negative decisions.
Our work in the field of international protection is as follows:
- Legal assessment of personal risk and country-of-origin conditions
- Information on the application process, registration and the personal interview
- Organizing documents on identity, family, health, education and earlier applications
- Applications against a finding that the application is inadmissible
- Legal review of the accelerated assessment procedure
- Administrative and judicial routes against the decision rejecting the application
- Procedures in which an application is deemed withdrawn
- Disputes over the termination or cancellation of status
- Procedures relating to designation of province, reporting, signature and residence obligations
- Assessment of the situation of family members and of family unity
- Applications connected with the non-refoulement principle
An international protection application and a residence permit application are not the same legal institution. The purpose of a protection application is not merely to stay longer in Türkiye; it is that the person cannot return to their country or that returning would pose a serious risk to them.
Stateless Person Status
The determination of statelessness of persons who are not considered a citizen by any state, the issuance of documents and the rights and obligations attached to the status are subject to a separate administrative process. Stateless person status is assessed on the foreign national’s identity, previous citizenship, relationship with the authorities of the country and the official documents submitted.
The determination of statelessness, the rejection of an application, the status document, travel, work and other administrative procedures are handled according to the characteristics of the file.
Application, Interview and Rejection Decision Are Separate Stages
Asylum request and international protection
Requests referred to in everyday language as asylum are assessed, in terms of the status to be applied in Türkiye, through the distinction between refugee, conditional refugee and subsidiary protection. Temporary protection, by contrast, is a separate regime.
Personal account and the integrity of the file
An international protection request rests on the person’s own circumstances. Recount the events in chronological order, explaining where and by whom what was done. Do not fill in details you do not remember with guesses; state translation errors or differences from an earlier statement together with the reason. The purpose of an attorney’s support is to prepare a truthful account within the legal framework and with documents.
Objection to the Commission: Ten days
Under Art. 80/1-a of Law No. 6458 and Art. 99 of the Implementing Regulation, an objection to the International Protection Evaluation Commission (Uluslararası Koruma Değerlendirme Komisyonu) may be filed within ten days of notification in suitable decisions. Decisions on administrative detention, inadmissible applications and accelerated assessment fall outside this administrative route of objection.
Application to the court: Fifteen or thirty days
Decisions on inadmissibility under Art. 72 and on accelerated assessment under Art. 79 are challenged before the administrative court within fifteen days of notification. For other administrative decisions and acts under Art. 80 there is a thirty-day period; a special judicial route is reserved for detention under Art. 68.
An objection to the Commission does not stop the time limit for bringing an action. Under Art. 101/3 of the Implementing Regulation, the right to apply to the court is preserved; at the same time, once it is understood that an action has been filed, the Commission suspends its review. Do not miss the time limit for bringing an action while waiting for the Commission’s reply.
Residence, signature and reporting obligations
Making a protection application does not remove address or reporting obligations. Violations without an excuse may have consequences such as the application being deemed withdrawn or the rights attached to the status being affected. If you cannot fulfill an obligation for health, family or another compelling reason, notify the situation in good time with documents.
Resettlement in a third country is a separate process
A protection application in Türkiye does not give a visa or a guarantee of resettlement in another country. The conditions and consequences of the statuses of refugee, conditional refugee and subsidiary protection are separate. Determining statelessness also requires a legal review different from a protection request.
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.