PLANS are afoot for a new meeting between embassies and Turkish officials in the wake of changes to residence permit for expats.

Speaking on the Doc Martins Surgery For ExPats On The Bodrum Peninsula Facebook page, Joanne Pietsch, a British Embassy official, said that a meeting with the Directorate General of Migration Management will be organised within the coming weeks.

She said: “The British Embassy will be represented at the meeting and we will ensure that all issues relevant to our own nationals will be raised.”

This comes in the face of a number of expats expressing disquiet at the sudden January 16 imposition  by the Turkish authorities of the 120-day rule on both the old-style blue book permit and the new residence card.

The rule states that anyone who has been out of Turkey in excess of 120 days in the last 12 months face having their residence permits cancelled. From last April, this 120-day rule was enforced only on the new one- and two-year residence cards.

However, since January 16, the GDMM has said the rule will now extend to the blue book permits.

Ms Pietsch’s comments came after a Facebook user on the ‘surgery’ group disclosed a response from the Irish Embassy on the residence changes.

The Irish Embassy email said: “This issue has been raised by a number of Irish nationals here in Turkey.

“We understand the obstacles people are facing following the introduction of the new law on foreigners. Indeed the issue is raised at a number of EU meetings. The Embassy will be represented at a meeting with DGMM in the coming weeks to seek clarification regarding the rules and implementation of same.