Some states require those they admit to citizenship to sever their previous bond of nationality. Turkish citizens who build a working life abroad are from time to time confronted with this choice. In order to limit the loss of rights such a situation would produce, the legislature has made departure from citizenship by permission subject to a separate regime and has granted a series of privileges to those who use this route.
The Blue Card is the document that evidences the special position of persons who have left citizenship with permission. Holding the document is not a precondition for benefiting from the rights granted; those who have departed with permission to renounce enjoy the same opportunities even if they hold no card. The “Blue Card Holders” status created under this arrangement ensures that, save for a limited number of exceptions, the rights afforded to citizens in fields such as inheritance and the acquisition of immovable property are preserved. Permission to renounce Turkish citizenship is granted by decision of the Ministry to a person found to meet the conditions required by the legislation.
Former citizens benefiting from this status enjoy the same legal opportunities as Turkish citizens, apart from rights attached exclusively to citizenship such as the right to vote and to stand for election and the obligation to perform military service. There is no difference between them as regards entry to and exit from the country, residence in Türkiye, the acquisition of immovable property and the inheritance rights arising from it.
Readers seeking detail on the application conditions, the procedure and the rights granted may also consult our note entitled Reacquisition of Turkish Citizenship by Blue Card Holders.
What Permission to Renounce Means
Turkish citizens may, provided they meet the required conditions, bring the bond of citizenship to an end by requesting permission from the competent authority. This possibility is not, however, open to everyone at all times; a request for permission to renounce may be made only where the situations listed in the statute have arisen. The conditions required are set out in Article 25 of Turkish Citizenship Act No. 5901:
Turkish Citizenship Act No. 5901, Art. 25
“(1) Persons who request permission to renounce Turkish citizenship may be granted permission to renounce or a certificate of renunciation by the Ministry if they meet the following conditions.
a) Being of full age and having the capacity of discernment.
b) Having acquired the citizenship of a foreign state or there being credible indications that it will be acquired.
c) Not being among the persons sought on account of any offence or of military service.
ç) Not being subject to any financial or criminal restriction.”
The four conditions listed in the provision must be met together. For further detail, our article entitled Renunciation of Turkish Citizenship by Acquiring the Citizenship of Another State may be examined.
Legal Nature of the Blue Card
The Blue Card is an official document issued to persons who were Turkish citizens by birth and lost that capacity by obtaining permission to renounce, and to the descendants of such persons up to the third degree.
The function of the document is confined to evidencing the fact of departure from citizenship by permission. In other words, the Blue Card is declaratory rather than constitutive; entitlement does not arise upon issue of the card but already exists upon the granting of permission to renounce. Nevertheless, obtaining the document is of practical benefit in avoiding delay or hesitation in official transactions, banking procedures and similar dealings.
Who May Benefit from the Blue Card?
Under Article 28 of the Turkish Citizenship Act (in short, the TCA), descendants up to the third degree may obtain a Blue Card in addition to persons who acquired citizenship by birth and lost it by way of permission to renounce.
TCA Art. 28(4) empowers the President to determine, where deemed necessary, up to which degree beginning from the third degree descendants shall benefit from the rights set out in that article.
In Turkish law, the acquisition of citizenship by birth, that is to say originally, rests on two bases. On the basis of descent, a child born to a Turkish mother or father within or outside a marital union is a Turkish citizen from the moment of birth, irrespective of the place of birth. On the basis of place of birth, a child born on Turkish territory who cannot acquire the citizenship of any state by birth because the mother and father are foreign nationals is deemed a Turkish citizen from birth.
By contrast, persons who acquired citizenship subsequently, by such means as naturalisation, adoption or the exercise of the right of option, fall outside the scope of the Blue Card.
The expression descendants up to the third degree covers children, grandchildren and the children of grandchildren. In order for these persons to obtain the document, they are first expected to evidence the bond of descent between themselves and their ascendants. It is further required that the ascendant with whom the bond of descent is established both acquired citizenship by birth and lost it by way of permission to renounce.
TCA Art. 27(2) governs the position of children who are not of full age. Provided that the mother or father who loses citizenship makes the request and the other parent consents, minor children are also deemed to have departed with permission together with their parents; a Blue Card may accordingly be issued in the name of those children as well.
Since the status rests on departure by permission, departures occurring without a certificate of renunciation being obtained are not assessed within this scope. Persons whose bond of citizenship continues, those who have departed from citizenship in other ways and those who have been deprived of citizenship may not request a Blue Card.
Opportunities Granted by the Status and Rights Outside its Scope
Blue Card holders benefit from the opportunities provided for in Article 28 of Act No. 5901. Save for provisions concerning national security and public order, the rights afforded to Turkish citizens apply in the same way to these persons. The matters falling outside the scope are grouped under four headings:
- There is no possibility of voting or of standing as a candidate in elections.
- No obligation to perform military service arises.
- The right to import a vehicle and household goods free of duty may not be exercised.
- Public service posts of a principal and permanent nature may not be held.
For a detailed assessment of these headings, our note on Property and Inheritance Rights of Blue Card Holders in Türkiye may be examined.
The Competent Authority for Permission to Renounce and the Blue Card
Termination of citizenship by permission to renounce begins with the person concerned preparing the necessary documents and making an application. If a deficiency is identified in the file, the applicant is contacted and the documents to be completed are notified. During the procedure, an archive search is also conducted ex officio in respect of the applicant before the General Directorate of Security, the Department of Anti-Smuggling Intelligence, Operations and Data Collection and the Ministry of National Defence. At the end of the examination, permission to renounce is granted by decision of the Ministry to a person considered to meet the conditions required by the legislation.
Conversely, the Ministry may also reject the request to renounce of persons found not to meet all of the required conditions.
The Judicial Remedy Against a Rejection Decision
The granting of permission to renounce and the consequent issue of a Blue Card are among the acts shaped within the framework of the administration’s discretionary power. The decision taken by the administration upon the application is, by its nature, an administrative act. Since rejection of the request is of the same legal nature, the route of bringing an action for annulment before the Administrative Courts is open against that decision.
For detail on the subject, our article entitled Objection to Administrative Acts and the Action for Annulment may be consulted.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is representation by a lawyer mandatory in this process?
Turkish law allows parties to defend and represent themselves in person before the courts; save for limited exceptions, representation by counsel is not an obligation. On that basis, there is likewise no obligation to work with an administrative law lawyer before the Administrative Courts. That said, the multi-layered structure of administrative law legislation and the fact that the time limits laid down in the Administrative Procedure Act are both short and final may, in files conducted by persons who are not lawyers, lead to errors of form or substance that cannot afterwards be remedied. In order that rights are not forfeited in administrative proceedings governed by detailed rules, it is appropriate to obtain support from lawyers practising in the field of Administrative Law before any step is taken.
May Blue Card holders acquire a vehicle?
Provided that certain conditions are satisfied, Blue Card holders may purchase vehicles known as MA-plated vehicles or convert vehicles they bring from abroad to MA plates.
To which register are the records transferred?
The records of persons registered in the MERNİS database who lose the Turkish citizenship they acquired by birth through permission to renounce are transferred to the register of Blue Card Holders without any change to their Republic of Türkiye identity numbers.
Where and how is the document obtained?
The document is issued where persons registered in the register of Blue Card Holders make the request in person. For this purpose, an application must be made, together with two photographs and an identity card or passport issued by the authorities of the foreign state of nationality, to district civil registry directorates within the country and to diplomatic missions abroad.
Is a fee payable for the document?
Since the Blue Card is included within the scope of the Valuable Papers Act No. 210, the valuable paper charge determined each year by the Ministry of Finance is collected. (The amount applicable for 2023 is TRY 83.)
Does the card have a period of validity?
The Blue Card has no period of validity.
What happens to the children of persons entered in the register?
Upon notification made on the basis of a birth certificate issued by official authorities, the child of a person registered in the Register of Blue Card Holders is also entered in the same register. A Blue Card may additionally be issued for such registered children upon application by their parents.
Who obtains the card on behalf of minors?
The card of persons who have not completed eighteen years of age may be obtained by the mother, father or guardian and by the persons authorised to have the child registered in the family register.
Does loss of the card give rise to an obligation to publish a notice?
Whether to place a newspaper notice or to notify the police authorities in respect of a lost card is left to the choice of the person concerned. This is because the lost card becomes legally invalid the moment a new one is issued.
Independent Legal Assessment
Although permission to renounce and the Blue Card scheme may at first sight appear to be an administrative formality, in their consequences they amount to a change of status directly affecting a person’s rights of property, inheritance and residence. The problem most frequently encountered in practice is that the departure takes place without permission being obtained, closing off the possibility of benefiting from the status from the outset.
When mapping out the course to be taken in a specific file, we recommend that the following matters be assessed in advance:
- Establishing with certainty whether citizenship was acquired by birth or subsequently
- Examining whether the departure rests on a certificate of renunciation, distinguishing it from deprivation or other cases of loss
- Obtaining the consent of the other parent in due form in respect of children who are not of full age
- Checking military service and criminal records and financial restrictions before the application
- In applications by descendants, calculating the degree and preparing in full the documents relating to the chain of ascendants
- In the event of a rejection decision, recording the date of notification so that the time limit for bringing an action is not missed
Independent Legal provides advisory and litigation services throughout the process, from applications for permission to renounce citizenship to disputes connected with Blue Card status and administrative actions for the annulment of rejection decisions.