Syrians in Turkey

In the wake of increased measures against illegal migrants in Istanbul, the Interior Ministry's provincial migration administration has issued an ultimatum to Syrians under temporary protection to leave Istanbul by Sept. 24 if registered in other provinces.

While referring to the Istanbul governor's statement that there were 1,305,000 migrants in Istanbul, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on May 5 said that 500,000 Syrians are currently registered in the metropolitan city alone and that the others were residing foreigners, such as students and employees in foreign companies.

To date, more than 193,000 Syrians have become Turkish citizens, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu has said, accusing Europe of overlooking the migration issue.

He noted that around 3.7 million Syrians live in Turkey under international protection and more than 700,000 Syrian children were born in the country.

As the civil war in Syria marks its 10th year, Turkish officials reiterated the calls for "international solidarity and burden-sharing" for displaced Syrians.

A comprehensive survey about the Syrian immigrants presented to a sub-commission of Turkish Parliament has shown that Syrians were happy in Turkey, and half of them were willing to stay rather than go back to their homeland.

Turkey is currently hosting 5 million migrants, 3.6 million of whom are Syrian nationals, the general director of the country's migration authority said on June 16.

Turkey currently hosts 3.58 million Syrians, while over 400,000 have returned to their country, according to official Interior Ministry figures released on May 5. 

Turkey's Interior Minister said on Wednesday that around 100,000 Syrians living without approval in Istanbul had left it since early July, when the government set a deadline for Syrians not registered in the city to leave for other provinces.

Turkey on Oct. 25 rejected the allegations by Amnesty International that Syrians in Turkey were forcibly repatriated, threatened, and mistreated, calling the claims "unreal and fictional". 

Turkish authorities estimate the number of Syrian refugees in Turkey will exceed 5 million in 2028.