Over 4 million foreigners in Türkiye, minister says

ANKARA

Türkiye is currently home to more than 4 million foreigners, including 2.78 million Syrians under temporary protection, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on April 16.

In a post shared on X, Yerlikaya said between Dec. 9, 2024, and April 13, a total of 175,512 Syrians voluntarily returned to their country.

The highest number of crossings was recorded at the Cilvegözü border gate in the southern province of Hatay, totaling 87,867. Additionally, the Öncüpınar crossing in the nearby province of Kilis accounted for 63,532 returns, while Yayladağı in Hatay saw 10,151 crossings.

Yerlikaya said a total of 915,515 Syrians have returned to Syria since 2017.

Of the 4.04 million foreigners currently in Türkiye, approximately 1 million hold residence permits, and 178,399 are under international protection, according to the ministry’s data.

Türkiye hosts the world’s largest population of Syrian refugees. The government has recently expanded border crossing capacities to facilitate returns amid a surge in departures following the toppling of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

A notable increase in returns is expected to begin in June, coinciding with the end of the school year.

“Tens of thousands of Syrian families currently residing in Türkiye have children enrolled in schools here, so they have to wait for the closure of the academic year,” Yerlikaya told private broadcaster NTV earlier.

The minister said a similar boost in capacity to accommodate the anticipated surge in border crossings could be expected during the summer months as well.