The cancellation of a residence permit by the administration is most often not a measure that stands alone. Following cancellation the person is deported, and an annotation preventing their re-entry into the country is entered on their records. One of the most frequently encountered of these is the V-69 restriction code.
The effect of the code is not confined to being turned back at the border. For as long as the record remains in the system, fresh residence permit requests will not be concluded favourably; applications for a work permit, family reunification or study purposes meet the same obstacle.
In this briefing note we address the grounds on which the code is entered, the administrative and judicial routes for having it removed, the time limits applicable to those routes, and the relationship between the code and the deportation decision.
The Meaning of the V-69 Restriction Code
V-69 is a restriction record encountered by foreign nationals whose residence permit has been cancelled, and who have on that account been removed from the country, when they wish to enter Türkiye again. The scope of the code is not confined to the residence permit; with the permit ceasing to be valid, documents such as the work permit and the visa that enabled the person to be present in and to enter the country also become void.
Put another way, V-69 is an obstacle directed not at a single application but at the whole of the foreign national’s legal status in Türkiye.
Reasons Requiring the Application of the Code
This code is entered in order to prevent the re-entry into the country of a foreign national who has been found to have committed an act requiring the cancellation of their residence permit and who has subsequently been deported. It is not possible for a new residence permit to be issued to a person with a V-69 record against them for a period of 5 years.
The cancellation of a residence permit essentially arises where the conditions justifying the grant of the permit subsequently cease to exist. In addition, each type of permit has conditions particular to it and separate grounds of cancellation attached to the breach of those conditions.
The following examples may be given of the grounds of cancellation that result in practice in the entry of a V-69 code:
- It emerging that a student residence permit has been used otherwise than for the purpose for which it was granted; this finding leads both to the cancellation of the permit and to the entry of a V-69 record against the person.
- It coming to light that, although a valid residence permit is held, work has been carried out without a work permit having been obtained.
- It being established following an administrative examination that a document or declaration contrary to the truth was used during the residence permit request.
The situations in which a permit may be cancelled, the legal remedies available to a foreign national faced with a cancellation decision, and whether a fresh permit request may be made following cancellation, form the subject of a separate note entitled cancellation of a residence permit.
Removal of the Code from the System
The principal route to deletion of a V-69 record is an action for annulment. Before taking the litigation route it is also possible to apply to the administration that took the measure; that administrative stage is not, however, a precondition made mandatory by law.
Whichever route is chosen, the decisive element is the same: the respects in which the measure is contrary to law must be set out in concrete terms. That such reasoning remains superficial is the principal cause of objections being dismissed. Conducting the process with the assistance of a lawyer experienced in the field of the law on foreigners increases the prospects of obtaining a result.
Objection to the Competent Authority
An administrative objection seeking removal of the code is made by a petition setting out the grounds. The application is addressed to the Presidency of Migration Management. The period allowed for the objection is 60 days, beginning on the day following the day on which the restriction code was notified to the foreign national.
The period within which the administration must respond to the application is 30 days. Where no response is given within that period, or the request is expressly refused, the judicial route is opened. Since the objection is not a mandatory stage, an action for annulment may also be brought directly within the 60-day period running from the day following notification.
Action for Annulment
The other possibility available for having the code removed is to bring an action for annulment before the administrative courts. The action is brought within the 60-day period for bringing administrative proceedings, with the Presidency of Migration Management as respondent. The statement of claim must clearly indicate, together with its legal bases, why the record is contrary to law.
Where an objection has been made to the administration before the action, the calculation of time requires particular care. The period elapsing between the day following notification of the code and the day on which the notice of objection was lodged counts towards the 60-day period for bringing the action.
By contrast, the period between the date of the objection and the day following notification to the foreign national of the response given to the objection is not added to the period. Where the administration remains silent, the suspended period resumes running from where it left off, beginning on the day following the expiry of the 30-day period for responding.
As regards a stay of execution, a different picture arises according to whether or not a deportation decision is in place. An action brought seeking annulment of the V-69 code or of the residence permit cancellation does not of itself suspend the implementation of the measure. If a suspension of the effects of the measure is sought, the action must therefore be brought so as also to include a request for a stay of execution.
An action brought seeking annulment of the restriction code and an action brought against the deportation decision are two independent sets of proceedings. Where both a code has been entered and a deportation decision taken in respect of the foreign national, as a rule both actions must be brought separately. That said, it is seen in practice that the restriction code is also annulled where an action for annulment of the deportation brought within time is upheld. For that result to follow, the removal of the code must also have been requested in the statement of claim relating to the annulment of the deportation decision.
All the types of restriction code, and the details of the proceedings for annulment of a code, are addressed in the note entitled restriction codes for foreign nationals and the action for removal of a code.
Securing Entry by Means of an Annotated Visa
The annotated visa is designed to afford a foreign national who has been removed from the country a possibility of re-entry. A person who obtains this visa may enter the country and remain for the period stated in the visa, even where a deportation decision has been made against them. Applications are made through the diplomatic missions of the Republic of Türkiye.
The route of requesting an annotated visa is open to everyone; the administration does not, however, receive every application favourably. Acceptance of the request lies within the administration’s discretion. Indeed, it is frequently seen in practice that this visa is not granted to foreign nationals deported on grounds such as public security, public health and general safety.
The details of the subject are explained in the note entitled annotated visa.
Request for Annulment of the Deportation Decision
A foreign national against whom a V-69 code has been entered and in respect of whom a deportation decision has also been taken must bring an action for annulment within 7 days of the decision being notified to them. Where that period is missed, the removal of the person from the country at the earliest opportunity arises.
In actions brought against deportation decisions, the period for bringing the action is 7 days, beginning with notification of the measure. The administration does not, however, wait for that period to expire in order to carry out deportation measures; the foreign national may be removed from the country even within the period.
The decision given in such actions is final; no appeal or appeal on points of law lies against it. Where the request is refused, it is by contrast possible to make an individual application to the Constitutional Court with a request for an interim measure.
Where a deportation decision has been made in the context of a V-69 code and an action for annulment has been brought against that decision, the court’s decision is awaited before the foreign national is removed from the country. There is therefore no need additionally to make a request for a stay of execution in the action brought against the deportation decision; the bringing of the action of itself suspends the deportation measure.
A failure to give the necessary care to the time limits, to the requests in the statement of claim and to the technical details of the proceedings may lead directly to deportation. The details of these proceedings are set out in a separate note addressing the annulment of a deportation decision.
Judicial applications are determined on average within 4 to 6 months. If the foreign national is in administrative detention, they are held in a removal centre throughout this period. The fact that a deportation action has been brought does not require the person to be released. Those who wish to preserve their liberty during the proceedings must additionally challenge the administrative detention decision.
Challenging Administrative Detention
An objection to a detention decision is submitted to the Criminal Judgeship of Peace to which the governorship that issued the deportation decision is attached. The foreign national may exercise the right to pursue this route throughout the whole of the period in which they are held in detention.
The details of the situations in which, and the procedure by which, the application is to be made are explained in a separate note examining objections to detention in removal centres.
How Long Does Deletion of the Record Take?
Removal of a restriction code takes on average 1 year. In securing the early conclusion of the proceedings, drawing up the statement of claim in complete form from the outset is decisive; the full collection of evidence also shortens the period.
Court Fees and Costs
The fees and costs of an action for annulment seeking removal of a restriction code are of the order of TRY 4,000. These items are redetermined each year. The fees and costs of an action for annulment in force from 10.07.2023 are shown in the table.
Court with Subject-Matter and Territorial Jurisdiction
The judicial forum with subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction over a request for removal of the V-69 code is the Ankara administrative courts. In an action for annulment of a deportation decision, territorial jurisdiction by contrast lies with the administrative courts of the place where the governorship that issued the deportation decision is situated.
The Independent Legal Assessment
V-69 is among the administrative records that close off a foreign national’s entry into Türkiye and, for as long as it is not removed, gives rise to serious losses of rights. Foremost among those losses are the removal of the person from the country upon their residence permits ceasing to be valid, and their non-readmission for five years. In practice the problem is often compounded by the code being noticed only at the border or upon a fresh permit application; by that stage the periods for bringing proceedings have long since run out.
For that reason the following headings should be addressed as a priority when the process is being conducted:
- Establishing the date of notification by documentary evidence and calculating the 60-day period accordingly
- Where the administrative objection route is to be taken, tracking separately the suspended and running portions of the period
- Verifying whether the facts relied upon for cancellation satisfy the grounds of cancellation in the legislation
- Where a deportation decision also exists, not missing the special 7-day period and expressly requesting removal of the code in the statement of claim
- Where there is administrative detention, additionally objecting to the Criminal Judgeship of Peace
- Assessing the annotated visa option from the outset, having regard to the administration’s discretion
Independent Legal provides advisory services and conducts litigation in proceedings for the removal of restriction codes, the remedies available against the cancellation of a residence permit, and the annulment of deportation decisions.