The Minister of the Interior of Turkey, Mustafa Çiftçi, announced on 25 June that 1.425 million Syrian refugees had returned to their country between 2016 and 2026, whilst there are currently 3.6 million foreign nationals with legal residence in Türkiye, of whom 2.2 million are Syrians living as refugees in the country under the state’s temporary protection scheme.
In a statement quoted by the Turkish news channel NTV, Çiftçi stated that as of today 3,632,064 foreign nationals are living in Turkey with residence permits, of whom 2,264,983 are Syrian nationals, who therefore remain the largest group of foreign nationals in Turkey. Nevertheless, the minister pointed out that, between 2016 and 2026, 1,425,000 Syrians “returned to their country voluntarily, safely and with dignity”.
Çiftçi also referred to the fight against irregular migration and human trafficking: “To protect our borders, we have so far completed 1,329 kilometres of border security walls and are continuing work on a further 110 kilometres. We protect our borders day and night with electro-optical towers, thermal cameras, watchtowers, patrol vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles. Our Coastguard Command also ensures the security of our coasts and borders with 323 vessels and 23 aircraft along our 4,500 kilometres of coastline,” he stated.
Almost 400,000 foreigners arrived in Turkey last year
According to a recent report by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK), the number of people arriving in Türkiye from abroad rose significantly in 2025, whilst the number of those leaving the country fell. The data shows that 393,829 people immigrated to Turkey last year, representing a 25.2% increase compared with the previous year.
Of the total number of immigrants registered in 2025, 91,952 were Turkish citizens returning from abroad, whilst 301,877 were citizens of other countries who moved to live in Turkey. Istanbul was once again the country’s main destination for immigrants, accounting for 42.2% of all arrivals from abroad in 2025; it was followed by Antalya – which accounted for 9.1% of the total – and Ankara, with 6.7%.
As regards foreigners who immigrated to Turkey last year, citizens of Turkmenistan represented the largest group, accounting for 23.4% of the total; followed by citizens of Azerbaijan, at 8.3%, then those from Uzbekistan (6.9%), Egypt (6.1%) and Afghanistan (5.8%).
The International Organisation for Migration itself notes in its reports that the five main communities of foreign nationals with residence permits (ikamet in Turkish) currently living in Turkey come mainly from Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran and Syria; however, this last group – comprising some 80,000 Syrian nationals – refers only to those living with a standard residence permit, not as refugees.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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