1.3 million legal foreigners live in Istanbul: Official
ISTANBUL
Nearly 1.3 million legal foreigners are living in Istanbul, the city with a population of 16 million, the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management has announced.
Around 746,000 foreigners with residence permits and 548,000 Syrians with temporary protection legally reside in Istanbul, the directorate said in a written statement.
“Foreigners who reside legally in the province can access the rights and services within the scope of the relevant legislation,” said the directorate, underlining that illegal immigrants who do not have the legal right to reside cannot benefit from any public service.
The directorate also pointed out that as soon as illegal immigrants are detected by security units, necessary judicial and administrative proceedings are initiated against them and deportation is carried out.
“During the inspections carried out in Istanbul since January, legal action has been taken against 94,708 illegal immigrants and 19,032 people have been directly deported to their countries.
Under the coordination of the directorate, 66,524 illegal immigrants, who were prosecuted, have been transferred to removal centers in other provinces,” said the directorate.
It was also noted that 7,975 business signboards belonging to foreigners in Istanbul were inspected for compliance with the legislation, 5,768 workplace signs were brought into compliance with the standards, and transactions regarding 2,207 business signboards continue.
“All details and up-to-date information are shared with the public,” the directorate said in the statement, adding that the statistics of foreigners in the country can be accessed from the website of the Directorate General of Migration Management.
