Statelessness, unlike the mere absence of a passport, means that no state considers the person its citizen under its own law. In Türkiye this status is determined by the Presidency of Migration Management. The Stateless Person Identity Document issued to a person found to be stateless takes the place of a residence permit; it is free of charge and is renewed every two years. The document does not confer Turkish citizenship or a work permit of its own accord.[1–3]
The central question in a statelessness file is not which passport the person holds, but whether any state recognizes the person as its citizen. For this reason, birth, the citizenship of the mother and father, the loss of any earlier citizenship and the legislation of the states concerned are examined together. The failure to obtain a reply from a state's consulate can be an important fact, but it is not, on its own, treated as conclusive proof of statelessness.
How are passportlessness, uncertain citizenship and statelessness distinguished?
A person who has lost a passport may well retain citizenship. An expired document, a travel obstacle or difficulty in contacting a consulate does not end the bond of citizenship by itself. In determining statelessness, the question is whether the states concerned legally regard the person as a citizen.[1, Arts. 3 and 50; 3, Art. 1]
| Situation | Basic question | Possible procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Loss or expiry of a passport | Does the bond of citizenship continue? | Renewal of the document and review of the current migration status |
| Uncertain citizenship | Under the law of which country was citizenship acquired or lost? | Research into records, legislation and the competent authority |
| Statelessness | Does no state regard the person as a citizen? | Status determination under Article 50 of the YUKK |
| Treated as stateless in another country | Does a document or status from that country exist? | Review under the relevant general residence provisions rather than a new determination in Türkiye |
Statelessness and international protection are also not the same status. A stateless person may additionally need protection because of a risk of persecution or serious harm in the country of former habitual residence. In that case, the assessment of the risk should not be postponed until the outcome of the statelessness application is known. The purpose and basis of each application should be shown separately in the file.
Where is an application for the determination of statelessness made in Türkiye?
A person who arrives in Türkiye as a stateless person, or who loses citizenship while in Türkiye, applies to the governorate (valilik) for the determination of his or her status; in practice, the application is made to the relevant Provincial Directorate of Migration Management. The authority to make the determination belongs to the Presidency of Migration Management. The identity document is issued by the governorate on the basis of the necessary favorable opinion.[1, Art. 50; 2, Arts. 47–50]
Under the Regulation, the application is made in person. For a minor, the mother or father may apply; if there are none, an appointed guardian (vasi) or trustee (kayyım) may do so. A lawyer’s provision of legal assistance does not mean that the personal application and the interview are unnecessary. An application made at a border gate or to another public body must also be notified to the governorate without delay.
The application record, the document issued and the file number should be kept. Merely asking for information is not the same as requesting a status determination. The petition should state clearly that the person requests a determination of his or her statelessness, the facts on which the claim rests and the documents in hand.
Which documents and information are examined?
Statelessness may involve the effect of the laws of different countries. The file should therefore contain both documents capable of verifying the person’s life history and a legal assessment. Rather than simply saying “no country accepts me”, the file should explain the person’s links with the states concerned and why those links did not give rise to citizenship.
- Place and date of birth, and the identity and citizenship information of the mother and father.
- Passports, identity cards, civil registry records and residence documents used previously.
- Decisions on renunciation of citizenship, deprivation of citizenship, or the absence of citizenship.
- The citizenship legislation of the states concerned and an explanation of how it applies to the person in question.
- Consulate applications, the replies received and the dates of applications that produced no result.
- Statelessness or international protection applications previously made in another country.
Article 47 of the Regulation provides for a reasonable period to be given for the submission of documents, and for the statement of a person who cannot provide any document concerning his or her identity to be taken as the basis. Article 49 states that the citizenship legislation of the relevant country may be used as evidence where documents cannot be brought. A lack of documents therefore does not automatically render the application meaningless; the research that can be carried out with the information available should be explained.[2]
If contact with the authorities of a country could endanger the person or his or her relatives, this risk should be disclosed from the outset. In files where there is also a need for international protection in particular, document research should be assessed together with security and confidentiality. Legal assistance consists not only of asking for more documents, but also of determining which documents can be obtained safely.
How long do the interview and the decision take?
Under Article 48 of the Implementing Regulation, once the application and registration procedures are completed, the interview is held within fifteen days at the latest, save for compelling reasons. The interview covers matters such as entry into Türkiye, relatives, livelihood, the process by which the person became stateless, any earlier citizenship and the possibility of regaining it. The report is sent for determination together with the governorate’s opinion.[2]
Article 49 of the Regulation provides that the Presidency of Migration Management, obtaining the opinions of the relevant institutions where necessary, completes the determination within ninety days at the latest. This provision does not mean that the application is automatically accepted when ninety days pass. The dates on which the application and the file reached the competent authority, the additional information requested and the steps taken should be tracked together.
Where the administration remains silent, Article 10 of the İYUK and, depending on the nature of the file, other rules on applications are examined. The decision period in the Regulation is not the same as implied rejection and the calculation of the filing period in administrative litigation. The judicial application calendar should not be postponed indefinitely in reliance on an oral statement that “the file is being reviewed”.[4]
What is the difference between the application certificate and the identity document?
For a person whose application has been accepted for processing, an application certificate is issued that is valid until a decision is made and is free of charge. The period of lawful stay spent on this certificate is not included in the calculation of the total residence permit period. By contrast, periods spent in Türkiye on the identity document by a person whose statelessness has been determined are counted, under the Law, when residence periods are added together.[1–2]
| Document | At what stage is it issued? | Basic effect |
|---|---|---|
| Statelessness application certificate | From acceptance of the application until a decision is made | Documents lawful stay during the review period; this period is not counted toward total residence |
| Stateless Person Identity Document | After statelessness is determined | Takes the place of a residence permit; renewed every two years; periods spent on the document are taken into account in residence calculations |
“Acceptance of the application” here does not mean that the claim of statelessness has been accepted on the merits. Likewise, the fact that the period spent on the identity document counts toward residence does not show that all citizenship or long-term residence conditions are automatically met.
Persons treated as stateless by other countries do not benefit from the right to an identity document under Article 50 of the YUKK. The Regulation provides that a new determination application from a person holding another country’s stateless person document or stateless passport is not processed, and that residence requests are examined under the general provisions. If such persons need international protection, that matter is assessed separately.
Which rights does the identity document provide, and which does it not?
The document provides the possibility of lawful residence in Türkiye and contains a foreigner identification number. Article 51 of the YUKK exempts document holders from the reciprocity requirement and guarantees that they will not be deported unless there is a serious threat to public order or public security. If the conditions are met, other residence permits can also be requested.[1]
Work and travel
The identity document is not in itself a work permit. The reference in Article 51 of the YUKK to the former Law No. 4817 is deemed, under Article 26 of the International Labor Law No. 6735, to have been made to that Law. A work permit or an applicable exemption is examined separately, together with the conditions of the occupation and activity.[5]
As to a travel document, Article 51 of the YUKK points to the possibility of benefiting from the provisions of Article 18 of the Passport Law. The Stateless Person Identity Document cannot be used in place of a passport or visa for entry into every country. The destination country’s admission conditions, the travel document and the right of return must be checked separately. Article 28 of the 1954 Convention also regulates travel documents separately.[1–3]
Citizenship and the situation of children
A statelessness document does not confer Turkish citizenship. The fact that Article 32 of the 1954 Convention contains an obligation to facilitate naturalization does not mean that citizenship is granted to the person automatically. The applicable citizenship provisions are assessed separately.
There is an important special provision for children: Article 8 of the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901 provides that a child born in Türkiye who cannot acquire the citizenship of any country at birth through foreign parents is a Turkish citizen from birth. A direct statelessness application should therefore not be considered for every undocumented child; the rules on parentage and place of birth should be examined first. Being born in Türkiye does not, by itself, give every child citizenship.[6]
Can a deportation or detention decision be issued against a stateless person?
The protection in Article 51 of the YUKK is not an absolute rule that the person “cannot be deported under any circumstances”. A serious threat to public order or public security is provided for as an exception. However, such an allegation does not remove the need to examine the risk of death, torture or ill-treatment at the place to which the person would be sent. The principle of non-refoulement applies separately.[1, Arts. 4 and 55]
It must also be made concrete which country would admit the person. The absence of citizenship does not mean that a person may be held indefinitely. The necessity of continued detention, real progress in the removal steps and lighter measures are assessed separately. The judicial review of a deportation decision differs from that of administrative detention.
The official case-law information note on the European Court of Human Rights judgment in Kim v. Russia, no. 44260/13, 17.07.2014, draws attention to the continuation of the detention of a stateless person after there was no realistic prospect of removal, and to the lack of effective review. The account here is confined to the official information note on the judgment. The two-year duration of the events in Russia does not set a detention period for Türkiye; in Turkish law, Article 57 of the YUKK and the other applicable provisions are the basis.[7]
What is to be done in case of rejection, cancellation of the document or acquisition of citizenship?
The rejection of a request for a statelessness determination, or the cancellation of the document, should be examined together with its reasoning. In general, the sixty-day filing period applies to administrative acts; the starting point, service and the effect of any application under Article 11 of the İYUK made in time are calculated separately. Filing an action before the administrative court does not stop the act automatically. If necessary, a stay of execution is requested by explaining the unlawfulness and the damage that would be difficult to remedy.[4]
If there is a separate deportation decision, the special seven-day period applies. An action brought over the identity document dispute does not mean that the other decisions have also been challenged. It must be determined which decision was served, on what date and on whom.
When a person acquires the citizenship of any country, the Stateless Person Identity Document loses its validity. The fact that a later date appears on the card does not change this result. The records must be updated with the new citizenship information, and the legal basis of the continued stay in Türkiye must be determined. Other grounds for cancellation, such as the submission of a false document and a deportation decision based on a serious threat to public order or security, are also separately regulated in the Regulation.[1–2]
Conclusion
In a statelessness file, it must first be determined whether a bond of citizenship really exists, and then the effects of the application certificate, the determination decision and the identity document must be kept apart. Residence, work, travel and citizenship are not matters resolved by the same document. If there is a rejection or a deportation measure, the route of challenge for each decision must be followed separately; the lack of a possibility of removal must not be turned into a ground for indefinite detention.
Related articles: Unaccompanied foreign children; Legal aid, interpreters and representation in migration cases; Restriction records in citizenship applications and rejection on security grounds; Rights and obligations in an international protection application; Service and the seven-day period in a deportation decision; Objection to an administrative detention order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is everyone without a passport stateless?
No. Lacking a passport is different from not holding the citizenship of any state. The bond of citizenship is examined through the documents and the law of the country concerned.
Can a lawyer make a statelessness application alone?
The Regulation provides for an application in person. A lawyer provides legal support and representation; this does not of its own accord remove the requirement of a personal application or interview. There are special representation provisions for children.
Is the identity document subject to a fee, and how often is it renewed?
The Stateless Person Identity Document is free of charge and is renewed every two years. Its continuation depends on the continuing state of statelessness and the relevant conditions.
If no decision is issued within ninety days, is the application deemed accepted?
No. The lapse of the decision period does not create automatic acceptance. The stage of the file and the rules on applying to the administrative courts are assessed together.
Does all the time spent during the application count toward residence?
No. Stay on the application certificate and time spent on the identity document after determination are subject to different rules. The latter is taken into account in calculating the residence period under the Law.
Does the identity document replace a work permit or a passport?
It is not a work permit in itself. For international travel, an appropriate travel document and the admission conditions of the destination country are also required.
Is the deportation of stateless persons entirely prohibited?
The Law provides an exception for a serious threat to public order or public security. However, non-refoulement, individual assessment and judicial review safeguards apply separately.
Can the document still be used if the citizenship of a country is acquired?
The document loses its validity upon acquisition of citizenship. The records and the new legal basis for staying in Türkiye must be updated.
Sources
- Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection, Arts. 3, 4, 20, 50–51, 53, 55 and 57.
- Regulation on the Implementation of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, Arts. 47–50.
- 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, Arts. 1, 16, 28, 31–32; text of the General Directorate of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs.
- Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577, Arts. 7, 10–11 and 27.
- International Labor Law No. 6735, in particular Arts. 6 and 26.
- Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901, Art. 8.
- ECtHR, Kim v. Russia, no. 44260/13, 17.07.2014, official case-law information note, Case-Law Information Note No. 176; limited use within the scope of the information note rather than the full judgment.