WHAT IS DEPORT AND HOW TO GET IT ANNULLED

1.    What does “deport” stand for ?

We can define deport as a foreigner who is forced to leave the country and sent to his/her native land, transferred to another country or to a whole another country and to be banned to re-enter Turkey with a deportation decision.

2.  Who can be deported ?

Generally speaking, removal decision is made as a result of a foreigner's visa violation, acts against laws and morals, working without a work permit and posing a danger to national security and health. In Article 54 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458, the cases in which a removal decision will be made are regulated. According to the provisions of this article, a removal decision is made in the cases listed below.

a) are deemed to be removed pursuant to Article 59 of the Turkish Penal Code No 5237;

b) are leaders, members or supporters of a terror- its organization or a benefit oriented criminal organization;

c) submit untrue information and false documents during the entry, visa and residence permit actions;

56 Law on Foreigners and International Protection

ç) made their living from illegitimate means during

their stay in Turkey;

d) pose a public order or public security or public health threat;

e) has overstayed their visa or the visa exemption period for more than ten days or, whose visas are cancelled;

f) residence permits are cancelled;

g) overstayed the expiry date of the duration of their residence permit for more ten days without an acceptable reason;

ğ) are determined to be working without a work permit;

h) breach the terms and conditions for legal entry into or exit from Turkey;

ı) are determined to have entered into Turkey de- spite an entry ban to Turkey;

i) international protection claim has been refused; are excluded from international protection; application is considered inadmissible; has withdrawn the application or the application is considered withdrawn; international protection status has ended or has been cancelled, provided that pursuant to the other provisions set out in this Law they no longer have the right of stay in Turkey after the final decision.

j) fail to leave Turkey within ten days in cases where their residence permit renewal application has been refused.

It should be noted that these justifications are not limited and the authority authorized to make the decision has a wide authorization in deportation decisions. This authorization is sometimes misused, but it is open to appeal.

It is crucial on what grounds the decision was made in the annulment of the deportation decision. Because, according to the justification, a short-term entry ban may be imposed after the deport decision or even worse, entry to the country may be banned for life.

In some cases, a restriction code may be placed on the deported person stating the reason for the deportation. The restriction code is an issue related to the ban on entry into the country. It is an administrative action separate from the deportation decision.

If such a situation is in question, it is necessary to examine the type of restriction code and the reason why it was set before an application is made to remove the deportation process. These restriction codes can be informative or restrictive.If the restriction code is restrictive, the actions to be taken may be a little more complicated and difficult. For these reasons, it is of great importance that the process is carried out with the help of a specialist lawyer. Otherwise, foreigners who have been given a deportation decision are faced with irreversible loss of rights.

3. What are the situations in which a deport decision cannot be made?

Under Article 55 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458, cases where a deportation decision cannot be made are regulated. According to the provisions of this article, a deportation decision cannot be made in the cases listed below.

a) when there are serious indications to believe that they shall be subjected to the death penal- ty, torture, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in the country to which they shall be returned to;

b) who would face risk due to serious health condition, age or, pregnancy in case of travel;

c) who would not be able to receive treatment in the country to which they shall be returned while undergoing treatment for a life threatening health condition;

ç) victims of human trafficking, supported by the victim’s assistance program;

d) victims of serious psychological, physical or sexual violence, until their treatment is completed.

Foreigners in the situations listed in this article may be asked to reside at a certain address and to make a notification within the required time and procedures.

4.What are the deportation process and procedures with the implementation of the deport decision?

The foreigner may have been caught by foreign law enforcement, about whom the reasons for deportation occurred. The situation may have been reported to the law enforcement officers upon noticing the situation by an official institution. Or, the foreigner can voluntarily inform the law enforcement authorities that he wants to leave the country.

The foreigner who has been caught or who has been voluntarily applied to law enforcement is taken to the hospital for the examination procedures. It is then taken to a predetermined place by the Provincial Immigration Administration. Here, the documents that will be the basis for the deportation decision are prepared.

At this stage, the foreigner can also hire a lawyer before the decision is made, have a lawyer meet with the Provincial Immigration Administration so that the deportation decision does not be made or make him object to the decision by obtaining the necessary documents. It will be much more useful to take this process through a lawyer so that there would be no loss of rights about the foreigner and the proceedings can be made in a short time.

Upon completion of the documents, the foreigner is sent to the removal centre. If the foreigner sent to the removal center has completed the transactions and has not filed a lawsuit regarding the cancellation of the transaction, he/she is sent back to his/her country or to another country desired by the foreigner.

5. Who can be sent to a removal center for administrative detention?

Of those for whom a deportation decision has been taken;

1. Bear the risk of absconding or disappearing,

2. Breached the rules of entry into and exit from to Turkey,

3. Have used false or fabricated documents have used false or fabricated documents,

4. For those who pose a threat to public order, public security or public health, administrative detention decision is taken by the governorship or alternative obligations are brought to administrative detention.

Foreigners for whom administrative detention decision has been taken are brought to the removal center by law enforcement. As a rule, the period to be spent in the removal center for administrative detention cannot exceed 6 months. However, this period may be extended for another 6 months in certain circumstances. During the administrative surveillance period, an evaluation is made by the governorship on whether to continue the surveillance every month.

If the administrative detention is not deemed necessary, the administrative detention shall be terminated immediately. The result of the monthly evaluation and its justifications are communicated to the foreigner or, if any, his legal representative or lawyer.

6. How to appeal against the administrative detention decision?

It is possible to apply to the criminal judge of peace against the administrative detention decision. The application is examined within 5 days by the Criminal Judgeship of Peace and a final decision is made. However, it should be noted that this application does not stop the administrative detention. Even if the application is rejected, the person who is taken into administrative detention or his legal representative or lawyer may apply to the criminal judge of peace again, claiming that the conditions of administrative detention have disappeared or changed.

7. What is a summons to leave the country? Is it different from the deportation decision?

If the foreigner who meets the necessary conditions for a deportation decision applies to the law enforcement authorities and requests deportation, he/she may not be sent to the removal center by providing a summons to leave the country instead of deportation.For these foreigners, a legal procedure called a summons to leave the country is in question, which is much better. The foreigner, about whom an invitation to leave procedure has been carried out, is given a minimum of 15 days to leave Turkey. The upper limit of this period is 30 days. It is not necessary for the foreigner to have applied to his own law enforcement units for a summon to leave the country. Under normal circumstances, a person who has been found to have a visa violation and for whom a deportation decision has been made by the administration may also be invited to leave. This is at the discretion of the administration.

However, if the foreigner has applied to the law enforcement authorities himself, there is no rule that the provisions of the institution of summons to leave the country will be applied to this foreigner. Here, the special situation, history, etc. of the foreigner whose deportation conditions have been fulfilled. subjective characteristics are taken into account. If the person to be deported is one of the persons for whom administrative detention decision will be taken, the procedure of summons to leave the country will not be applied.

8. Can a foreigner re-enter Turkey before the entry ban expires?

Foreigners who are deported with the decision of deportation are also banned from entering the country for a certain period of time. This period varies between 1 month and 5 years. It is possible for the foreigner who has been deported to return to Turkey before this period expires. By obtaining an annotated visa, it will be possible to enter the country without waiting for the expiry of the period. Foreigner who has a deportation decision; Due to marriage, for education purposes, by obtaining a work permit or by means of a valid visa for treatment, they can re-enter Turkey without waiting for the entry ban to expire. However, it should be noted that it is not possible for every foreigner to remove the entry ban by obtaining these visas.If the foreigner has been deported due to prostitution, illegal entry, conditional entry violation, being involved in a judicial crime, being invited to leave the country but did not leave despite being given time to leave the country, or if he has been deported due to membership in a terrorist organization and committing a crime against the state, obtaining a legitimate visa and entry with a legitimate visa is impossible.Foreigners in these situations can only request the annulment of the deportation decision through filing an administrative lawsuit.

9.How to get the deportation decision annulled?

Apart from obtaining an annotated visa, another way that can be followed against the deportation decision is to appeal against the decision. The appeal is made through litigation. Deportation decision is an administrative action. A lawsuit must be filed with the administrative court for the annulment of administrative proceedings. Here, there is a 7-day period of deprivation in order to file this lawsuit, which is an objection to the deportation decision. He must file this lawsuit within 7 days from the notification of the deport decision. In other words, until the court makes a decision, the person cannot be deported and can continue to stay in Turkey.

Previously, the previous restraint codes are also valid in the previous case to the administrative court to be used at the same time. It is of great importance to have a lawyer who specializes in training about all return.

You can contact us if you want to get more information and consultancy services from our article, which we aim to provide information about partially answering the questions asked about these types of cases being heard in our office.

Durmus Tolunay Ceviz

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