CURRENT SITUATION IN TURKEY ON DUAL NATIONALITY

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1 CURRENT SITUATION IN TURKEY ON DUAL NATIONALITY Distinguished participants, First of all, I would like to express that it is a great pleasure for me to attend this seminar and to get an opportunity to address you. Initially I will try to present the basic principles of Turkish Nationality Regulations and then dual nationality in practice. Population movements or migration into a country play a significant role in the development of the citizenship concept in a country and in the formation of policies in this regard. Many reasons cause people to migrate from their homelands to more advanced countries. These reasons could be desires to have better living standards, economical problems, famine, regional and civil wars, political and ethnic oppressions. In this sense, it can be stated that citizenship policies have formed and developed as a response to the population movements towards a country. Likewise population movements from Turkey to outside have been effective in the formation and development of the Turkish citizenship policy. Like in other countries, the life of Turkish emigrants is the most important determinant of tolerance of dual citizenship within Turkey. While initially Turkey was only a sending country, afterwards Turkey is no longer only a sending country but also a transit country and even a receiving country. Approximately, 3.1 million Turkish citizens were living in Europe. Together with another 530,000 Turkish citizens living in other parts of the world, Turkey s emigrant population numbers an approximate 3.6 million. The principle of prevention of statelessness and the principle that nationality must not be imposed on anyone involuntarily are basic principles of nationality law. But dual nationality in terms of comparative law, it would appear that different domestic systems approach the issue with differing policies. The law currently regulating the acquisition and loss of Turkish citizenship was put into effect in 1964 (Law No. 403 Turkish Citizenship Law 1964). Originally, this law did not allow for dual citizenship. However, after changes to the law were accepted in 1981, dual citizenship became legal so long as the person acquiring a second citizenship informed the government; otherwise they can be stripped off their Turkish citizenship. For instance, Turkish nationals acquiring another foreign nationality upon their will without obtaining the required permission or those persons abroad avoiding to perform military service within 1

2 statutory limits despite official notification and so on may receive the sanction of dismissal. (Article 25). The core reason for supporting dual citizenship is to enable Turkish people living abroad to achieve political and economic rights. Through dual citizenship; people have at least voting rights in local elections, in order to participate in the solutions to the problems facing their localities. In turkey the current citizenship law dates from 1964 and has been modified since its first enactment. In principle, whether the child is born in Turkey or outside, the acquisition of citizenship for children of Turkish mothers or fathers is automatic. Likewise children of non- Turkish citizens born in Turkey become Turkish citizens automatically, if they cannot get the citizenship of their parents. The present Turkish Nationality Act is comprised of three main parts:[9] 1) "Acquisition of Turkish nationality" (Articles 1-18), 2) "Loss of Turkish nationality" (Articles 19-37), and 3) "Evidence and Legal Remedy" (Articles 38-41). Naturalization of immigrants is possible after five years of residence in Turkey. But there are some conditions about this. The conditions for application are the following: the individual should be an adult with the intention to settle in Turkey who speaks sufficient Turkish, has good moral conduct, causes no serious danger to public health, and has a profession that should provide for their livelihood and that of their dependents. Therefore, the Turkish Citizenship Law is predominantly ethno-centric when it comes to acquisition of citizenship by birth, but allows immigrants to naturalize following five years of residence if they satisfy the criteria. The procedure for naturalization goes through the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the office of the Prime Minister. The decision to grant citizenship is given by the Council of Ministers. Article 66 of the 1982 Constitution states that: "Every person tied to the Turkish state with the bond of nationality is Turkish. The child of a Turkish father or mother is Turkish. Nationality is acquired under the conditions prescribed by law and only lost under the circumstances specified by law. No Turkish person may be denaturalized, unless he/she commits an act not in conformity with allegiance to the state. No one may be barred from having recourse to legal remedies against decisions and acts concerning denaturalization." 2

3 There are three distinct procedures that may be specified as regards the acquisition of Turkish nationality in the Turkish Nationality Act: 1) Statutory acquisition of nationality (Article 1-5), 2) Acquisition by means of naturalization (Articles 6-11), and 3) Acquisition by means of opting (optional acquisition) (Articles 12-13). In the acquisition of the nationality; above three procedures are categorized by the Turkish Nationality Act on the basis of whether the will of the respective person plays a role or not. For example, under the following circumstances, Turkish nationality is acquired automatically as a result of the command of statute: 1) Acquisition of nationality by means of birth (Articles 1-2 and 4), 2) Acquisition of nationality by means of adoption (Article 3), and Turkish nationality is here acquired automatically upon the realization of conditions given by the statute, regardless of the presence of the will or petition of the respective person. The nationality acquisition of foreigners who marry Turkish nationals shall be subject to the same procedure without any discrimination as to sex. Individuals married to Turkish citizens may naturalize after three years of marriage if they fulfill conditions given by the statute. Those who lose their citizenship due to marriage can become Turkish citizens. In order to acquire Turkish nationality on the basis of marriage, the marriage must have existed at least for three years and the couples must de facto live together, and the marriage must be continuing. (Article 5). Different conditions must be fulfilled for naturalization and acquisition by means of ordinary naturalization is the general procedure that one must usually follow. As far as the acquisition by means of naturalization is concerned, there needs to be the approval of the official authority specified by law to acquire Turkish nationality in addition to the will or demand of the respective person. Ordinary Naturalization is stated in Article 6. Different conditions must be fulfilled for acquisition by means of ordinary naturalization: full age of the applicant minimum residency requirement of five years intention of settling in Turkey good moral standing no sickness or disease that threats the public 3

4 adequate command of Turkish language being able to support oneself and one s dependents. And the decision given by the Council of Ministers. Turkish Nationality Act is generally based on the ius sanguinis, because it comes to granting citizenship by birth. However, it cannot be argued that it is ethno-cultural because it allows for foreigners living in Turkey to naturalize following five years of residence. In this sense, exceptional naturalization is stated in Article 7. Conditions must be fulfilled for acquisition by means of exceptional naturalization: Those who settled in Turkey with the intention of marrying a Turkish citizen. Those that would be beneficial to Turkey s development in science, technology, art and economics. The children of full age of those who have lost Turkish Citizenship. Those who have married Turkish citizens and their children who have reached full age. Those that are Turkish origin and their wives/husbands and children of full age. Those whose acceptances are deemed essential by the cabinet. Only certain categories of persons listed in Article 7 can benefit from exceptional naturalization. Furthermore the conditions of Article 7 are much easier to meet, as compared to ordinary naturalization (conditions of Article 6). For instance, residence in the country for a period of five years and confirmation of the intention to settle in the country are not required under the exceptional naturalization procedure, even though they are the conditions that must be fulfilled under the ordinary naturalization procedure. As regards re-naturalization, those who have previously lost Turkish nationality apply to claim Turkish nationality back without having to fulfill a residence requirement. Optional acquisition is stated in Article In the optional acquisition (acquisition by means of opting), the acquisition of Turkish nationality depends entirely on the will (demand) of a respective person. The respective person changes his/her nationality with his/her own will by having recourse to the opportunity given by the statute. The right of option produces a legal result, if the persons, who are entitled to do so, state their intention to acquire Turkish nationality to the authorized bodies within the prescribed time limit. 4

5 Loss of Turkish nationality can also be considered under three categories depending on the role of the respective person's will in the loss of nationality: 1) Possibility of renouncing one's own nationality as a matter of a subjective right: Here, the respective person may automatically renounce his/her own nationality without having to go through any other procedure. Among the cases of loss of nationality under this category, marriage (Article 19), recourse (Article 28) and loss of nationality by way of opting (Article 27) are provided for in the Turkish Nationality Act. The respective person may renounce his/her own nationality with marriage that stated in article 19. In the loss of Turkish nationality by way of marriage on the basis of the will of a person, the respective person acquires a foreign nationality by issuing a statement of renunciation of Turkish nationality pursuant to Article 42 of the Turkish Nationality Act. This right is only vested in a Turkish woman marrying foreign man as a matter of privilege. Recourse is stated in article 28. Recourse provides a possibility for a woman who previously became a Turkish national upon marrying a Turkish man to return later on with her will to her previous nationality upon dissolution of this marriage and to renounce her Turkish nationality accordingly. Optional loss of Turkish nationality is stated in article 27. Loss of nationality by way of opting is a right that can only be enjoyed by the persons specified by the statute (Article 27). 2) Demand for permission to renounce Turkish nationality and permission of the authorized body: Under this category, both the will of the person and that of authorized body must be present for the loss of nationality. Those persons who wish to renounce Turkish nationality but cannot enjoy the possibilities available under the above categories can renounce Turkish nationality using this procedure. For the loss of nationality under this procedure, the authorized body (the Committee of Ministers) must give permission in addition to the demand of the person for renouncing his/her nationality (Articles 20-23). Further, a person wishing to acquire another state's nationality may also realize his/her wish by retaining his/her Turkish nationality (permission for dual nationality) (Article 22/3). The existing text of the Article 21 is as follows: "The wish of renouncing Turkish nationality or of acquiring another state's nationality shall be submitted through a letter of application to the highest administrative authority of the place where the respective person resides in Turkey, or to the relevant Turkish consulate abroad. 5

6 The documents completed by these authorities shall be sent to the Ministry of Interior to finish the required procedure." According to article 21, a request to be allowed to renounce Turkish citizenship or become a citizen of another country should be submitted to the highest local governor's office of his/her residence in Turkey or to a Turkish Embassy abroad. The statement of "or [wish] of acquiring another state's nationality" has been added following the first sentence of Article 21 in Thus, it is now recognized that it is possible to retain the nationality of another state in addition to demanding the renunciation of Turkish nationality. With this addition, beyond de facto cases of dual citizenship, it has become open for Turkish nationals to claim dual citizenship actively. Further, as a result of changes made by the Act No. 2383, a provision has been added to Article 22, which provides that "a certificate of permission may be issued by the Ministry of Interior for the person wishing to acquire another state's nationality in conformity with the principles specified by the Council of Ministers". Thus, it is made clear that it is the Ministry of Interior which is authorized for issuing permission for dual nationality. This amendment is complementary to the change in Article 21. Renunciation certificate and renunciation is stated in article 22. According to the existing text of Article 22: "If the person wishing to renounce nationality is also the national of another state, he is presented with a renunciation certificate at once. If the person wishing to renounce nationality is not the national of another state, he is presented with a certificate of permission by the Ministry of Interior, and a renunciation certificate when he/she produces a certificate showing that he has acquired the nationality of the respective state." 3) Loss of Turkish nationality upon the decision of an authorized body: Here the respective person s will is not taken into account in this category of loss of nationality. In other words, a person losses Turkish nationality against his/her will. The following legal sanctions are provided for in the Turkish Nationality Act under this category: annulment of the naturalization decision (Article 24), dismissal (Article 25), and discharge (Article 26). Annulment of the naturalization is stated in article 24. According to article 24 in relation to the annulment of the naturalization decision, the Committee of Ministers cancels the decision that it has previously taken due to mistakes or defects in the original naturalization decision. Under this procedure, the naturalization decision is annulled because 6

7 of the respective person having hidden important points having an impact on the naturalization decision or due to that person's false statement. Dismissal and discharge are the sanctions to be faced by those who commit actions not in conformity with the allegiance to the state. What these actions are, are stated separately for the sanctions of dismissal (Article 25) and discharge (Article 26). Since the terms "can be given" and "can be discharged" are used in the relevant articles, the enforcement of these sanctions depends on the margin of appreciation of the Council of Ministers. The results of the sanction of "discharge" (çıkarma) are heavier (Article 35). Dismissal is stated in Article 25. For example according to Article 25 Turkish nationals who voluntarily acquire foreign nationality without obtaining the required permission may be faced with the sanction of dismissal. Discharge is stated in article 26. Those Turkish citizens living abroad who commit crimes and stage activities against the Turkish Republic and who do not return to Turkey within three months after receiving the notification to come back can be stripped of Turkish citizenship with a decision of the Interior Ministry. According to article 26 those who are outside the borders of Turkey and who have been charged with endangering the internal or external security of the country will be stripped of citizenship unless they return within three months during regular periods and one month under emergency rule. Thus Turkish nationals carrying out activities against the internal and external security of the state as well as its economical and financial security may receive the sanction of discharge. The persons losing Turkish nationality is stated in Article 29. According to Article 29: "The persons losing Turkish nationality in accordance with this Act shall be treated as foreigners as of the date of loss of nationality. Thus, the repealed Article 29 used to treat everybody losing Turkish nationality as a foreigner without discriminating among the reasons for losing Turkish nationality. Considering the issue from the perspectives of the Turkish nationality law and practice, it is possible to talk about the existence of the dual citizenship. The prevention of dual nationality in Turkish nationality law is neither a principle nor a goal. With the amendment, it is in principle recognized that Turkish citizens can voluntarily (upon their will) acquire a foreign nationality without loosing the Turkish nationality. So, in case of Turkish citizen without receiving prior permission from Turkish authorities for dual citizenship could stripped of his/her Turkish citizenship. 7

8 Turkey approves double citizenship provided its citizens obtain prior permission before becoming the citizen of another country. Thousands of Turks living abroad who have become citizens of their host countries while maintaining their Turkish citizenship. It is a fact that dual citizenship is legal in Turkey as long as the person acquiring a second citizenship asks for permission from the council of ministers. Thank you for your kind attention. 8