Some of the obstacles encountered at the point of entry into Türkiye arise from administrative codes that do not appear in the passport but are held in system records. G-89 is among the codes with the most serious consequences, because it closes admission to the country not until a specified date but without any time limit whatsoever.
Removing the record and making entry possible once more requires, as a rule, that an action for annulment be brought against the code. If a deportation decision has also been issued in respect of the foreign national, that decision is a separate administrative act and a separate action must therefore be brought against it as well.
In this briefing note we examine the assessment criteria on which the code rests, the legal mechanisms that may be invoked to have it removed, the applicable time limits, and the course to be followed against deportation and removal centre practices.
Meaning of the G-89 Code
G-89 is a restriction record entered into the system in respect of persons assessed to be a Foreign Terrorist Fighter. Once the code is entered, the person concerned is banned from entering the country indefinitely.
The determination as to whether a foreign national falls within this scope is shaped by the outcome of work carried out by bodies such as the Ministry of the Interior or the National Intelligence Organisation. For that determination to withstand legal scrutiny, it must rest on concrete evidence rather than on abstract assessments. Where no evidentiary basis exists, it becomes possible to have the code removed by judicial decision.
Grounds for Entering the Code
The primary function of the code is to prevent entry into the country by persons who use Türkiye as a transit route for terrorist activities or who carry out acts of that nature within the country. The same record is also created in order to lay the ground for the deportation of foreign nationals already present in Türkiye on a visa, under a visa exemption or with a residence permit.
In practice, however, the G-89 record is also encountered in respect of persons with no connection whatsoever to terrorism. For a foreign national faced with such a situation, re-entry into the country depends on having the record deleted by invoking the available legal remedies.
Routes for Removing the Record
The G-89 record may be removed through two distinct channels: an objection addressed to the authority that created the act, and an action for annulment before the administrative courts. Whichever route is chosen, the applicant is expected to set out, with reasons, that the record was created unlawfully.
Failure to explain the legal grounds of the application, or defects of a procedural nature, result in the request being rejected. That outcome means either that entry is again refused or that the foreign national is deported. In order for the process to be conducted swiftly and soundly, it is advisable to obtain support from a lawyer experienced in the field of immigration law.
Objection to the Administrative Authority
Applying to the competent authority is one of the options available for removing the record. The request is submitted by way of a petition setting out its grounds, and the authority to be addressed is the Presidency of Migration Management. The period prescribed for the application is 60 days, running from the day following the day on which the record is served on the foreign national.
An application to the administration is not a precondition for bringing an action. An action for annulment may be brought where the request is rejected, where no reply is given for 30 days, or where the reply given remains unclear. It is also open to the foreign national to go directly to the courts without lodging any objection.
Action for Annulment Against the Code
Where a person in whose name a G-89 record has been created seeks its deletion, the principal route is an action for annulment. The action is brought against the Presidency of Migration Management, and the time limit for bringing it is 60 days from the day following service of the record.
If an objection was lodged with the administration before the action was brought, the calculation of the time limit changes. The days elapsing between service and the date of the objection are deducted from the 60-day period; the period is suspended while the administration examines the request and begins to run again on the day following service of the administration’s reply.
To make this concrete by way of an example: suppose that the objection is lodged with the administration on the seventh day following service of the record. The action for annulment must then be brought within the 53-day period that begins once the administration’s reply is served on the foreign national. If the administration gives no reply at all, the remaining period begins to run upon expiry of the 30-day period for reply.
A request for a stay of execution may be made in this action, since the bringing of the action does not of itself suspend the administrative acts based on the code.
The action for annulment of the code and the action for annulment of the deportation decision are separate actions. A deportation decision is issued, independently of the code, in respect of a foreign national who does not leave the country within the period granted, and the deportation is carried out immediately. Persons who wish to remain in Türkiye while the action concerning the code is pending must also bring a separate action against the deportation decision.
Our study entitled “restriction codes for foreign nationals and the action for removal of a code”, in which every restriction code is examined individually, offers a broader framework on this subject.
Does an Annotated Visa Provide a Solution for This Code?
An annotated visa is not an instrument that serves to remove the G-89 record or to secure entry into the country. Although at the level of principle there is nothing preventing an application for an annotated visa from being made, persons in whose name this code has been entered are regarded as suspect from the standpoint of national security and are therefore not granted such a visa.
For the details of the subject, reference may be made to our article entitled “what is an annotated visa? how is it obtained?”.
Annulment of the Deportation Decision
Setting aside a deportation decision issued on the basis of a G-89 record is the subject of a separate action for annulment. The time limit for bringing that action is 7 days from service of the decision on the foreign national.
Where the action is brought within the time limit, the deportation is suspended until the proceedings are concluded. In practice, files concerning the annulment of a deportation decision are concluded within approximately 4 to 6 months.
In this action, annulment may be sought not only of the deportation decision but also of the code on which the act is founded.
Should the request be rejected, the foreign national has the option of an individual application to the Constitutional Court; apart from that, it is not possible to seek review by way of appeal or appeal on points of law.
The time limits, the procedural steps and the other points to be borne in mind are addressed in detail in our study entitled “how is a deportation decision (removal from the country) set aside?”.
Foreign Nationals in Removal Centres and Administrative Detention
A separate legal remedy available to foreign nationals placed in a removal centre pending deportation is an objection against the administrative detention decision. A person taken to the centre together with the deportation decision must address that objection to the magistrate’s court for criminal matters. Otherwise the foreign national continues to be held in the centre even if an action for annulment has been brought against the deportation decision.
The details of the subject may be found in our article entitled “objection against an administrative detention decision in order to leave a removal centre”.
How Long the Process Takes
Removal of the record takes on average around 1 year. This period may vary from file to file. While preparing the statement of claim without omissions and satisfying the procedural requirements from the outset shortens the process, the court’s caseload and the intervals between hearings may lengthen it.
Court Fees and Costs
In an action for the removal of a code, the fees and costs are in the region of TRY 4,000. These items are redetermined by the competent authorities in each period. The fees and costs for an action for annulment applicable as from 10.07.2023 are set out in the table below.
Court with Jurisdiction and Venue
In requests for the removal of a G-89 record, the courts with subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction are the Ankara Administrative Courts. By contrast, in actions for the annulment of deportation decisions issued on the basis of this code, the administrative courts of the place where the authority issuing the decision is located have subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction.
General Assessment
G-89 is one of the restriction records used to close a foreign national’s entry into the country indefinitely following a determination of a connection with terrorism. Persons who encounter the record although they have no such connection face the risk of deportation if they fail to take the necessary steps to have it annulled. Where the legal grounds are not sufficiently set out in the remedies pursued, the request may be rejected. It is therefore prudent for the process to be conducted with the support of a specialist in immigration law.
Independent Legal Assessment
What proves decisive in G-89 files is correctly establishing when, and upon which event, the record was created in the administrative system. The code seldom comes alone; the deportation decision, administrative detention and the entry ban are intertwined in the same file. Because the time limit and the addressee of each differ, the expectation that a single application will eliminate all the consequences finds no support in practice.
When drawing up a road map in a particular file, the following headings should be given priority:
- Establishing the date of service by documentary evidence, and separately diarising the 60-day period for bringing an action and the 7-day period relating to the deportation decision
- Where an objection is to be lodged with the administration, working out from the outset the calculation of the suspension and resumption of the period
- Examining whether the information and documents relied upon as the basis of the code amount to concrete evidence
- Advancing the request for a stay of execution expressly and with reasons in the petition
- Where detention in a removal centre is in issue, pursuing the objection to the magistrate’s court for criminal matters at the same time
- Planning in advance the timetable for an individual application in case the action concerning the deportation decision is dismissed
Independent Legal provides advisory services and conducts litigation across the whole range of immigration law disputes, from the removal of restriction codes to applications pursued against deportation and administrative detention decisions.