One of the records to which the administration resorts in respect of foreign nationals assessed to have supported themselves by means regarded as unlawful during their stay in Türkiye is the Ç-116 restriction code. Commonly referred to in practice as the prostitution code, this record forms the first link in a chain leading to the person’s removal from the country and to a long-term bar on entry.
As a rule, a deportation decision is also taken in respect of a foreign national for whom the code has been entered; consequently, the person concerned may not enter Türkiye for 5 years. Several legal options are open to the foreign national: submitting a petition of objection to the administrative authority, bringing an action for annulment before the administrative court, or securing entry into the country by way of an annotated visa even where the record has not been lifted.
In this briefing note we examine, with a practical eye, the legislative provision on which the code rests, the factual grounds on which it is entered, the routes that may be followed to have it removed, and the time limits applicable to those routes.
Definition of the Ç-116 Code and the Consequences It Produces
Ç-116 is an administrative record that secures the removal from the country of a foreign national found to have obtained a livelihood from sources not regarded as legitimate, and prevents that person from entering again. The record is created by the provincial directorates of migration management and bars the foreign national from entering the country for a period of 5 years.
The Grounds on Which the Code Is Entered
The Ç-116 code rests on an assessment that the foreign national has been supporting themselves from unlawful sources. Once the administration reaches that conclusion, it both takes a deportation decision and applies the five-year bar on entry.
The basis of the code in the legislation is the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458. In listing the foreign nationals in respect of whom a deportation decision is to be taken, the relevant subparagraph of the Law provides as follows:
Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458, Art. 54
“A deportation decision shall be taken in respect of the following foreign nationals: (…) ç) Those who have supported themselves by illegitimate means during their stay in Türkiye (…)”
Looking at practice, it is apparent that this code is applied predominantly on the ground of prostitution and similar acts. There are, in particular, instances in which proceedings have been taken against foreign women found during inspections of bars, night clubs and similar entertainment establishments, the conduct being characterised as prostitution within the scope of Ç-116.
Routes That May Be Pursued to Have the Code Removed
There are two principal legal routes for having the Ç-116 record set aside: an objection application addressed to the administrative authority and an action for annulment brought against the administrative act. Alongside these, obtaining an annotated visa and thereby securing entry into the country, even where the record has not yet been lifted, is regarded as a separate possibility.
Removal of the Record by Administrative Objection
A petition seeking removal of the code may be submitted within 60 days, running from the day following the day on which the decision is served on the foreign national. That request is addressed to the Presidency of Migration Management. The period for the receiving administration to reply is 30 days; where no reply at all is given within that period, or where a reply of unclear content is given, the objection is deemed to have been rejected.
If the objection is upheld, the record is deleted. If the request is rejected, the foreign national may proceed to litigation. The point to be underlined here is this: it is not a requirement to have applied first to the administrative authority in order to bring an action for annulment. The foreign national may go directly to court without pursuing the objection stage at all.
NOTE: An objection made to the Presidency of Migration Management suspends the 60-day period prescribed for bringing an action until the application is concluded.
Removal of the Record by an Action for Annulment
The second route available to a foreign national in respect of whom a record has been created is to bring an action for annulment before the administrative court. The action is brought within 60 days from the day following service of the code, against the Presidency of Migration Management.
Where an objection has been made to the administration and that objection has been rejected, an action for annulment again comes into play. In that event the calculation is made as follows: the number of days elapsing between service of the code and the date on which the objection was made is deducted from the 60-day period for bringing an action.
To make this concrete, in a file where the objection was made on the 17th day counting from the day following service, 43 days remain for bringing an action, running from the day following service of the decision of rejection.
Although in practice the code is seen to be entered mostly on the ground of acts akin to prostitution, the courts require concrete evidence both for the creation of the record and for a deportation decision to be taken. The allegation that the foreign national has supported themselves by illegitimate means is expected to be established by tangible material.
Indeed, statements appearing in police reports such as “it was assessed that she was present at the premises for the purpose of prostitution” or “it was assessed that she was in the house for the purpose of prostitution” are abstract assessments carrying no evidential value; a code cannot be entered nor a deportation decision taken on the strength of such formulations. Acts established in this manner are seen to have been set aside as a result of actions for annulment. (Istanbul 1st Administrative Court, E. 2018/3110, K. 2019/963, dated 28.03.2019.)
A stay of execution may also be sought in the action for annulment to be brought. If the request is granted, the effects of the record are suspended until the proceedings are concluded. For the court to make such an order, implementation of the act must be liable to cause damage that is difficult or impossible to make good, and the act must be manifestly unlawful. The petition must give reasons showing that both of these conditions are met in the particular case.
Just as important as bringing the action within the statutory period is constructing the petition soundly in law. For if the unlawfulness of the acts taken in respect of the foreign national cannot be demonstrated in the annulment proceedings, the action may be dismissed. It is therefore appropriate to obtain support from the very outset from a lawyer experienced in the field of immigration law.
All the types of restriction code and the details of the action for annulment are addressed in our study entitled restriction codes for foreign nationals.
Entry into the Country with an Annotated Visa
A foreign national subject to an entry ban on account of Ç-116 may come to Türkiye by obtaining an annotated visa. This type of visa affords the possibility of entering the country even where the record and the entry ban have not yet been lifted.
An annotated visa is a type of visa issued exceptionally by the administration in connection with specific purposes such as work, study, medical treatment, trade or family reunification.
The conditions of application and the details of the subject are examined in our study entitled what an annotated visa is and how it is obtained.
Setting Aside the Deportation Decision
A deportation decision is taken at the same time in respect of a foreign national for whom a Ç-116 record has been created. In this situation it is not enough to pursue removal of the record alone; annulment of the deportation decision must also be sought. An action against the deportation decision is brought within 7 days of service of the entry of the code and of the deportation decision, before the administrative court of the place where the governorship that took the decision is located.
The bringing of that action suspends the deportation proceedings. A foreign national who receives the decision must therefore go to court without delay. Otherwise, if the administration completes the deportation proceedings, the person may be removed from the country without waiting for the 7-day period for bringing an action to expire.
In an action brought seeking annulment of the deportation decision, removal of the restriction code may also be made the subject of the claim. If the court finds that claim well founded, both the record and the deportation decision are set aside.
All the details of the action for annulment to be brought against a deportation decision are examined in our study entitled how a deportation decision is annulled.
Objection Application Against the Administrative Detention Decision
Since a deportation decision has also been taken in respect of the foreign national for whom a Ç-116 record has been created, the person is transferred to a removal centre so that the removal proceedings may be completed, and is held there under detention until those proceedings are finished.
For the foreign national to leave the centre, an objection must be made against the administrative detention decision. The objection is addressed to the magistrate’s court for criminal matters of the place where the deportation decision was taken. If the application is upheld, the person leaves the removal centre.
The details of an objection against an administrative detention decision are addressed in our study entitled objection against an administrative detention decision in a removal centre.
How Long the Process Takes
An action for annulment brought seeking removal of the record is concluded on average within 1 year. The time taken to conclude objection applications addressed to the Presidency of Migration Management is generally in the range of 1 to 3 months.
Court Fees and Litigation Costs
The fees and costs payable in an action to be brought for removal of the record stood on average at TRY 4,000 for 2023.
These items are redetermined each year. The tariff of fees and costs for actions for annulment applicable as from 10.07.2023 should be taken as the basis.
Court with Jurisdiction and Venue
In disputes concerning the removal of a restriction record, the Ankara administrative courts have subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction. By contrast, in actions seeking annulment of deportation decisions taken on the basis of the code, the administrative courts of the province in which the governorship that took the deportation decision is located have territorial jurisdiction.
Conclusion
A Ç-116 record leads to the removal from the country of the person against whom it is applied and to that person being unable to enter Türkiye for five years. In order to avoid consequences of this severity, applications directed at removal of the record and at the deportation decision must be made without delay. With a view to conducting the process swiftly and soundly, it will be helpful to work with a lawyer specialised in the field of immigration law.
Independent Legal Assessment
What proves decisive in Ç-116 files is how concrete the factual basis relied upon by the administration is. A significant proportion of the reports encountered in practice consist of nothing more than sentences of assessment; yet such sentences are not, on their own, capable of sustaining an allegation of an illegitimate livelihood. The second critical point is that two separate acts are subject to two separate time limits: 60 days are prescribed for the restriction record and 7 days for the deportation decision, and in practice the shorter period is often overlooked.
When drawing up a road map in a particular file, the following headings should be given priority:
- Documenting the date of service and separately diarising the 7-day deportation period and the 60-day period for the code
- Deciding whether to lodge an objection with the administration or to go straight to court, taking into account the suspensory effect on the period
- Setting out the request for a stay of execution in the petition, giving concrete substance to the criteria of damage difficult to make good and manifest unlawfulness
- Submitting the objection to the magistrate’s court for criminal matters at the same time for a person held in detention
- Seeking removal of the restriction record in the deportation action as well, so that both outcomes are obtained in a single set of proceedings
Independent Legal provides advisory services and conducts litigation throughout the whole process, from an objection against a restriction record to the annulment of a deportation decision.