The Blue Card is a document issued under the Valuable Papers Act to persons who acquired citizenship by birth but lost that capacity through permission to renounce obtained from the administration, and to their descendants up to the third degree. Blue Card holders, who continue to enjoy in the same way as citizens all the opportunities falling outside the few rights reserved exclusively to citizens, have also been granted certain facilities as regards returning to citizenship. On the other hand, a Blue Card holder whose application is rejected despite meeting the necessary conditions may bring an action for annulment against the ministry that took the decision.
Where a Turkish citizen retains his existing citizenship while seeking to acquire the citizenship of a foreign state, he becomes subject to the provisions governing the multiple citizenship regime. If, by contrast, the foreign citizenship is obtained by taking permission to renounce, the institution of the Blue Card assumes a decisive position. For the detail of this distinction, our note entitled “What Is Dual Citizenship” may be consulted.
Rights of Blue Card Holders and Their Descendants
As noted above, Blue Card holders are persons who have left Turkish citizenship by way of permission to renounce. Proceeding from the assumption that the bond of allegiance between these persons and the state continues, the legislature has enabled them to benefit, save for a limited number of exceptions, from the rights afforded to citizens in the same manner. Those rights are determined, by way of listing the exceptions, in Article 28 of Turkish Citizenship Act No. 5901.
Under that provision, the rights that Blue Card holders may not exercise are grouped under four headings: holding an established post in the public service, importing a vehicle or household goods free of duty, performing military service, and the right to vote and to stand for election. They may benefit from all rights outside these on an equal footing with Turkish citizens.
It should be pointed out that these opportunities are not confined to the cardholder alone; the descendants of a Blue Card holder up to the third degree also enjoy the same rights. Descendants in this position must, however, evidence the bond of descent between themselves and their ascendant.
More detailed information on the conditions for holding a Blue Card and on the application procedure may be obtained from our note entitled “What Is the Blue Card Scheme?”.
Reacquisition of Turkish Citizenship by Blue Card Holders
The conditions for the acquisition of Turkish citizenship by the general route are listed in Article 11 of Turkish Citizenship Act No. 5901 (in short, the TCA). The qualifications required of foreigners who request citizenship without relying on a special ground are as follows:
- Having resided in Türkiye without interruption for five years counting back from the date of application
- Being of full age and having the capacity of discernment according to Turkish law if stateless, and otherwise according to one’s own national law
- Demonstrating by one’s conduct the intention to settle in Türkiye
- Being of good moral character
- Not carrying a disease posing a danger in terms of public health
- Being able to speak Turkish to a sufficient standard
- Having an income or an occupation sufficient to provide for the subsistence in Türkiye of oneself and of those one is obliged to support
- Not being in a situation constituting an obstacle in terms of national security and public order
Article 13 of the same Act introduces an important facility for Blue Card holders who have departed with permission to renounce; it provides that the period of residence in Türkiye shall not be taken into account in their reacquisition of citizenship. Accordingly, five years of uninterrupted residence counting back from the application is not required of Blue Card holders wishing to return to citizenship. The other conditions listed above must, by contrast, be met. These persons are also bound by the procedural rules laid down in the statute concerning the acquisition of citizenship.
Reacquisition of Citizenship by the Children of a Blue Card Holder
Children who were not yet of full age on the date citizenship was lost may leave Turkish citizenship together with their mother and father where the conditions in the legislation are met. For these children, who have no opportunity to express their own will as to the loss of citizenship, the legislature has provided a separate arrangement as regards their return.
A child who loses citizenship as a dependant of the mother or father may reacquire Turkish citizenship by exercising the right of option within three years of the date on which he attains full age. This route requires neither the presence of the other conditions sought for the acquisition of citizenship nor the approval of the Ministry.
The position differs for those who do not exercise the right of option within the three-year period running from attainment of full age. Such persons may acquire citizenship by making use of the procedure afforded to Blue Card holders, which operates without any residence requirement. In other words, once 3 years have elapsed since they attained full age, these children become subject to the same rules as Blue Card holders.
Judicial Remedy Against Rejection of the Application
Citizenship is the result of the legal bond between the individual and the state. It is for the state to determine whether that bond will be established and, if so, on what conditions. Although the administration has discretionary power in this field, there are also certain legal limits with which it is obliged to comply. For detail on the subject, our note entitled “Objection to Administrative Acts and the Action for Annulment” may be examined.
In short, the decision to accept or reject taken by the Ministry assessing the application is in the nature of an administrative act. If the request of a Blue Card holder wishing to return to citizenship is rejected, a right arises to bring an action for annulment against the ministry that took the decision. For matters such as the features of the action to be brought, the time limit for bringing it and the courts with subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction, our note entitled “Action for the Annulment of a Decision Rejecting a Citizenship Application” may be consulted.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Blue Card?
The document issued, upon their request, to persons who were Turkish citizens by birth and lost that capacity by obtaining permission to renounce is called the Blue Card.
May Blue Card holders become Turkish citizens again?
Where Blue Card holders who left citizenship with permission subsequently wish to return, they may reacquire Turkish citizenship once the required conditions have been assessed.
Where is the application made?
Application must be made to the governorships within the country and to consulates abroad.
Is the passage of a long period an obstacle?
No. Blue Card holders may reacquire Turkish citizenship if they meet the necessary conditions, however much time has elapsed.
What happens to the Blue Card once citizenship is acquired?
Where the cardholder reacquires citizenship, the Blue Card is taken back and destroyed by the authority issuing the identity card.
What remedies are available against a rejection decision?
A Blue Card holder whose application is rejected may object to the competent authority that took the decision and may also bring an action for annulment before the administrative court within 60 days beginning from the day the decision is notified.
Is representation by a lawyer mandatory in administrative proceedings?
Save for limited exceptions, there is no obligation of representation by a lawyer, and the position is the same before the administrative courts. That said, the technical structure of administrative law legislation and the final nature of the time limits in the Administrative Procedure Act may produce consequences that are difficult to remedy where the process is conducted by persons who are not lawyers.
Independent Legal Assessment
Although exemption from the residence period requirement makes the process markedly easier for Blue Card holders, it does not mean that the application will be accepted automatically. In practice, a significant proportion of rejection decisions turn on the source of subsistence not being sufficiently evidenced or on the assessment of national security and public order. It is therefore important that the file be submitted together with documents corresponding to every heading the administration will examine.
As regards children, missing the three-year period for the right of option running from attainment of full age causes the process to shift to an entirely different procedure. Diarising this period is a priority matter in a family’s citizenship planning.
In a specific application, we recommend that the following matters be observed:
- Confirming with the civil registry directorate the transaction records on which the permission to renounce and the Blue Card are based
- Having the income or occupation documents relating to the source of subsistence ready at the time of application
- Calculating the three-year right-of-option period for children reaching full age
- Obtaining in advance the official documents evidencing the bond of descent for claims by descendants
- Recording the date of notification of the rejection decision and monitoring the 60-day time limit for bringing an action accordingly
- Where the route of objection is to be used, assessing in advance its effect on the time limit for bringing an action
Independent Legal provides advisory and litigation services in the preparation of citizenship applications and in administrative proceedings conducted against rejection decisions.