Determining freely the conditions for admission to citizenship forms part of the sovereign authority of States. Under Turkish law, those conditions are set out in the Turkish Citizenship Act No. 5901 and in the Population Services Act No. 5490. Within the framework of these provisions, foreign nationals may acquire Turkish citizenship where certain conditions are met. Although applications made in accordance with the legislation would be expected to be granted, in practice files are encountered that are refused on the ground of discretionary power. Where that occurs, two avenues are open to the applicant: to challenge the decision by a petition submitted to the administration, depending on the type of application, or to bring an action for annulment before the Administrative Court seeking that the decision be set aside.
Decisions of admission or refusal given by the administration upon applications by foreign nationals for citizenship are, by their legal nature, administrative acts. Accordingly, as with every administrative act, an action for annulment may be brought against such decisions where they are alleged to be unlawful, and the act in question may be set aside with retroactive effect. Below we examine the process in full, from the application procedure and the commission’s examination to the objection mechanism and the time limits for bringing an action.
Routes for Acquiring Turkish Citizenship
The Turkish Citizenship Act No. 5901 divides the acquisition of citizenship into two principal categories. The first is acquisition by birth and the second is subsequent acquisition. Subsequent acquisition is itself divided into three heads: acquisition by decision of the competent authority, acquisition through adoption by a Turkish citizen, and acquisition through exercise of the right of option. Acquisition by decision of the competent authority forms a further sub-group of its own; acquisition by the general route, acquisition by the exceptional route, reacquisition and acquisition through marriage are all assessed under this heading.
For detailed information on the conditions for acquiring citizenship, our article entitled Acquisition of Turkish Citizenship may be consulted.
Application Procedure and Documents to Be Submitted
A foreign national who wishes to acquire Turkish citizenship makes an application where he or she satisfies the conditions set out in the Turkish Citizenship Act. That application is addressed to the Directorate General of Population and Citizenship Affairs of the Ministry of the Interior. Submitting the required documents completely and correctly is decisive for a favourable outcome of the process.
Documents that must be included in the application file:
- A petition setting out the request
- A passport showing the State of which the applicant is a national; in cases of statelessness, a document evidencing that status
- A birth certificate or similar document containing identity particulars
- Where the applicant is married, a population registry extract or similar document proving the descent link with the spouse and children
- A certificate of marital status
- Where there is a first- or second-degree relative who is a Turkish citizen, a population registry extract relating to those persons issued by the application authorities
- A medical report, the procedure and principles of which are determined by the Ministry of Health, certifying the absence of any illness constituting a danger to public health
- A work permit, tax certificate or similar document establishing that the applicant provides for the subsistence of himself or herself and of those dependent on him or her in Türkiye
- A residence document covering a period sufficient for the citizenship proceedings to be concluded
- Where there is a final court judgment in respect of any offence, a certified copy of that judgment
- A receipt showing that the service fee has been paid into the Treasury pay office
Once the documents listed above have been submitted in full to the application authority, the Citizenship Application Examination Commission established in the provinces decides whether the applicant satisfies the required conditions.
Principles Applied in the Commission Examination
Whether the applicant possesses the qualities required by the legislation is determined by the Citizenship Application Examination Commission. There are a number of procedures and principles that the Commission must observe during its examination. The examination begins with the applicant being called for an interview. At the interview, an assessment is made of whether the required conditions are satisfied, the applicant’s descent, his or her competence in understanding and speaking Turkish, his or her occupation and the means by which he or she earns a living, and whether he or she is capable of adapting to the social dynamics of Türkiye. Whether the documents have been submitted in full is also verified by the Commission at this stage. At the end of the interview a favourable or unfavourable opinion is reached; the conclusion arrived at is recorded on the interview form and signed.
A citizenship file is opened in the name of those who possess the required qualities and the file is transmitted to the Ministry for decision. While the requests of those whose position is not considered suitable are refused by the Ministry, the applications of those who fully satisfy the conditions required by the legislation must be granted.
Refusal of the Application and the Limits of Discretion
Once the form drawn up in respect of applicants who have been interviewed is sent to the Ministry, the stage at which the process will be concluded has been reached. At this point the Ministry of the Interior may decide either to grant or to refuse the application. Even where all the application conditions laid down in the legislation are satisfied, this does not in itself confer an absolute right on the person concerned; the administration enjoys a broad discretion in this matter.
However, these decisions of the administration are subject to judicial review and that discretion cannot be said to be unlimited. Where it is considered that a refusal has been given in respect of applicants who satisfy all the required conditions and who have submitted in full the documents they were required to produce, those concerned essentially have two options. The first is the avenue of objection and the second is that of bringing an action for annulment before the Administrative Court.
Objection Against the Refusal Decision
Since a decision refusing a citizenship application is an administrative act, it is subject to judicial review. For that reason a foreign national whose application has been refused may essentially proceed in two different ways. The first option is the avenue of objection; the foreign national may object to the refusal decision by a petition submitted to the relevant administration. The administrative authority that decides citizenship applications consists of the Directorates of Population and Citizenship Affairs operating under the Ministry of the Interior. The objection will therefore be addressed to that administration.
The administration concerned is required to give a favourable or unfavourable reply within 30 days of the objection petition reaching it. Where the administration gives no reply within that period, or gives an unfavourable reply, the only remaining course for the objecting foreign national is to bring an action for annulment within 60 days. This application to the administration suspends the running of the 60-day period for bringing an action.
Action for Annulment Against the Refusal Decision
It is also open to a person whose application has been refused to bring an action for annulment directly before the Administrative Court without resorting to the objection procedure at all. In that case, the foreign national may secure the setting aside of the decision by bringing an action within 60 days from the day on which the refusal decision was served on him or her. The action to be brought is, by its nature, an action for the annulment of an administrative act. Accordingly, by means of this action the refusal act alleged to be unlawful may be set aside with retroactive effect.
By its judgment of 08.03.2022, Council of State, 10th Chamber, File No. 2017/1053, Decision No. 2022/1213;
The act of the administration refusing the citizenship application of the claimant, who was established to have committed the offence of forgery of an official document, on the ground that this would constitute an impediment in terms of national security and public order, was annulled, and it was held that the offence in question would not constitute an impediment to admission to Turkish citizenship.
According to the decision set out above, where the offences committed by persons seeking acquisition of citizenship do not concern national security and public order, those offences will not constitute an impediment to admission to Turkish citizenship.
For a detailed assessment of the subject, our article entitled Objection to Administrative Acts and the Action for Annulment may be consulted.
The Court with Jurisdiction
As explained above, the refusal of a citizenship application is an administrative act; the action for annulment to be brought against that decision is therefore also administrative in character. Article 1 of the Administrative Procedure Act No. 2577 provides that the administrative court has subject-matter jurisdiction to hear actions brought against the acts and conduct of the administration. Accordingly, in an action for annulment brought against refusal decisions the court with subject-matter jurisdiction is the administrative court.
As regards territorial jurisdiction, since the administration that refused the application is the Ministry of the Interior, the action must be brought before the Ankara Administrative Courts.
Calculation of the Time Limits
In order for the time limit in such an action to be calculated, it must first be correctly established whether the applicant has made use of the possibility of objection. Where a person whose application has been refused has brought an action directly without resorting to objection, the period is 60 days from the service of the refusal decision on him or her. The action must therefore be brought within 60 days from the date on which the decision refusing the application was served on the person concerned. Actions not brought within that period are dismissed by the judge of his or her own motion.
Where the applicant has first opted for the objection procedure, the period for bringing the action is suspended for 30 days running from the day on which the objection was made. Where the administration gives no reply within its 30-day reply period, the objection is deemed to have been refused and the 60-day period for bringing an action resumes running from that date.
Conversely, where the administration gives a reply refusing the objection within the 30-day period, the 60-day period for bringing an action will resume running from the day on which that reply was served on the applicant.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is representation by a lawyer mandatory in an action for annulment?
Turkish law allows parties to defend and represent themselves in person before the courts; save for limited exceptions, representation by counsel is not mandatory. Nor is there any obligation to instruct an administrative law lawyer before the Administrative Courts. That said, the complex structure of administrative law legislation and the short and strict time limits in the Administrative Procedure Act may give rise to irremediable errors of form or of substance in files conducted by persons who are not lawyers. For that reason we recommend obtaining assistance from lawyers practising in the field of Administrative Law before any step is taken.
Must the applicant be present in Türkiye?
Applicants must be in Türkiye both on the day of the application and on the day of the appointment. After that stage there is no obligation to be present in the country; persons authorised by a special power of attorney may follow up and conclude the application.
How is the national security and public order ground reviewed?
Since the Act does not expressly enumerate the situations covered by circumstances constituting an impediment in terms of national security and public order, the administration’s discretion is markedly prominent in respect of this condition. That power may not, however, be exercised arbitrarily or without reasons. Where the administration refuses an application on the basis of this condition, it must establish the existence of the circumstance constituting the impediment by means of concrete information and documents. Where applications are refused on that ground without any concrete basis, the decision may be set aside by bringing an action for annulment.
Is a fresh application possible?
Where the conditions required by the Turkish Citizenship Act No. 5901 are satisfied, it is possible to make a fresh application and to have one’s citizenship position assessed again.
What happens if the time limit for bringing an action is missed?
A foreign national whose application has been refused must bring an action before the administrative courts. The action must be brought within 60 days from the date on which the act became known or written notification was given. An action brought by a foreign national who has allowed that period to expire will be dismissed on grounds of the statute of limitations.
Which court has territorial jurisdiction?
Since decisions on citizenship applications are given by the Ministry of the Interior, the courts with territorial jurisdiction are the Ankara Administrative Courts.
Can the previous citizenship be retained?
Whether a foreign national who acquires Turkish citizenship retains his or her existing citizenship depends on whether dual citizenship is permitted in his or her own country.
For how long does an objection suspend the time limit?
Where the objection procedure is used against a refusal decision, the 60-day period for bringing an action is suspended until the administration replies and, in any event, for a maximum of 30 days.
Independent Legal Assessment
In disputes concerning the refusal of citizenship applications, the decisive question is not whether the administration has a discretionary power but whether that power has been founded on concrete material. Judicial review most often concentrates on the ground element of the act; decisions whose reasoning is confined to abstract expressions, or which do not correspond to the information and documents on the file, are liable to be annulled. It is therefore important that the statement of claim be constructed so as to set out clearly in which element of the act the defect lies.
The following points stand out in the management of the process:
- Documenting the date of service and establishing beyond doubt the moment at which the 60-day period begins
- Deciding whether to opt for the objection procedure, having regard to its suspensory effect on the time limit
- Examining whether the ground for refusal is founded on concrete information and documents
- Verifying the consistency of the assessments in the interview form with the content of the file
- Not overlooking the requirement that the action be brought before the Ankara Administrative Courts
- Completing missing or contentious documents in advance, in anticipation of a possible fresh application
Independent Legal provides advisory services and conducts litigation in objection procedures against the refusal of citizenship applications and in actions for annulment before the administrative courts.