A wide-ranging interview given by Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has raised the potential for residence permits to be obtained from notaries.

Yerlikaya emphasized, in an interview with daily newspaper Sabah, that a protocol was signed between the Directorate of Migration Management and the Union of Notaries regarding the applications made by foreigners who want to stay in Turkey with a residence permit.

Yerlikaya said that the queues at the Immigration Administration will come to an end. The Minister of Interior said: “There will be no queues at the immigration offices. We have started a new project. Residence permits can now be obtained from notaries.”

Further details are awaited on how this will be handled by the notary offices.

He also made statements regarding the work they have carried out to encourage foreigners who come to Turkey in accordance with the law and who will benefit in the fields of science, industry, and economy.

Minister Yerlikaya also emphasized that within the scope of the protocol signed with the Council of Higher Education, international students can apply for residence through the student affairs departments of universities without going to the provincial migration administration directorates.

Residence permits for over 100,000 foreign students will be issued by the student affairs departments of the universities they study at. The Immigration Office will complete the process by taking into account intelligence and other algorithms.

He added that those entering Turkey as tourists would not be granted residence permits.

The minister said: “You can come to Turkey from 95 countries without a visa. You enter as a tourist, travel for 6 months. Then you say, ‘I want to get a residence permit.’

“Our policy is this: You go with the intention you came with! Go to your hometown. Apply for a work permit from there and I will evaluate you. Tell me your intention and I will give you a residence permit accordingly.”

He stated that they had the addresses of all foreigners in Turkey investigated and said: “We are counting them one by one. We know exactly what is happening in Turkey.”

Providing information on the number of foreigners with the right to legally stay in Turkey, Minister Yerlikaya stated that there are a total of 4.437 million foreigners, including 3.1 million Syrians under temporary protection.

He stated that no new Syrians have been registered since June 2022 and had stopped the migration at its source thanks to the safe zones established after the operations carried out in northern Syria.

Regarding Mobile Immigration Point vehicles that play a key role in the fight against irregular migration, Minister Yerlikaya said: “We have 268 Mobile Immigration Point vehicles that the world is watching with curiosity.

“We are increasing the number to 350 this year. 75 of them are in Istanbul. We asked 1 million 187 thousand 790 people ‘Can we see your ID?’ We detected 126 thousand 766 irregular migrants.”

Yerlikaya said that it is planned to take fingerprints from foreigners upon entry to the country, as in the US and the UK.