Foreigners wishing to marry in Turkey will now have to obtain a legal residence permit in order to apply for marriage, according to a letter sent by the Interior Ministry’s General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs to all provincial civil marriage registration offices.
The measure, according to Turkish media reports, aims to curb the rise of “marriages of convenience” whereby foreign nationals seek to obtain Turkish citizenship through pre-arranged marriages. The letter alludes to the fact that in the last 20 years there has been a growing abuse of the right to obtain a residence permit through marriage to a Turkish citizen, which many foreign migrants take advantage of in order to be able to live in the country legally.
“Marrying a Turkish citizen appears to be an easily exploitable method of obtaining a residence permit and acquiring Turkish citizenship, and is one of the most commonly used methods, which represents a threat to national security and sovereignty because of its potential to allow malicious individuals to easily stay in our country,” explains the text of the letter sent to the marriage bureaus.
“In order to ensure public order and effectively combat irregular migration, in marriage procedures of a Turkish citizen with a foreigner or between two foreigners, the marriage application will be accepted only if the foreign citizen possesses a valid passport (or equivalent document) and has a valid residence permit in Turkey. This directive should be communicated to all marriage registration offices in your province,” the letter explains.
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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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