Entry Ban and Deportation Lawyer in Istanbul, Turkey

This page is for foreigners refused entry to Turkey over a restriction code, placed under an entry ban, served with a deportation order, or with a relative held in a removal centre. As an entry ban and deportation lawyer in Istanbul, we identify the record, calculate the deadlines and file the applications and court actions.

In this area the damage usually comes from a missed deadline. The time limit to challenge a deportation order is counted in days, not months.

When You Need an Entry Ban and Deportation Lawyer in Turkey

Not every restriction code needs a lawsuit. Some records clear once an unpaid administrative fine is paid, or can be handled with an annotated visa application at a consulate. Legal help is usually worth having when:

• You were turned back at the airport and told only that "there is a record" against you.
• A visa or residence permit application was refused because of a record nobody explained.
• You or a relative has been served with a deportation decision.
• A family member was taken to a removal centre and is held in administrative detention.
• The ban cuts you off from a spouse, children, a job or property in Turkey.
• You are abroad and want the case run from Turkey by power of attorney.

How Turkish Entry Bans and Restriction Codes Work

The legal basis for an entry ban is Article 9 of Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection (in Turkish, YUKK). The Presidency of Migration Management (Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı) may ban the entry of foreigners considered a risk to public order, public security or public health. Foreigners who are deported are, as a rule, also given an entry ban. Under the current text of the law, a ban generally may not exceed five years, though it can be extended where there is a serious threat to public order or security.

The ban is stored in the system as a restriction code, a tahdit kodu, made of a letter and a number. Codes such as V-87, G-87, N-82, Ç-114 and Ç-141 come up often in practice. The letter is generally taken as a rough pointer to the category: G codes are commonly associated with a general security assessment, V and N codes mostly with visa or residence breaches, and Ç codes with deportation or exit procedures. There is, however, no official published list of what each code means, and the same code can rest on different facts in different files. Check the basis in your own file rather than an online table.

Some records are not a ban at all but make entry subject to permission, in which case entry may be possible with approval from Migration Management or with an annotated visa. Separately, a foreigner who left Turkey with an unpaid administrative fine may be refused entry until the fine is paid.

How to Find Out Whether You Have a Code

A restriction code is not always notified to you. Many people first learn of it at the border. The main ways to check are:

• Through a lawyer in Turkey: with a power of attorney, a lawyer can make a written request to the provincial migration directorate or to the Presidency of Migration Management asking whether a record exists, what type it is and what it is based on.
• Migration Management and e-Devlet: people with a Turkish foreigner ID number can see some information through the authority's online services and e-Devlet, but a restriction code does not always appear there.
• A right to information request: an application under Law No. 4982 on the Right to Information is possible, although the authority may decline to disclose security-related records.
• A Turkish consulate: during a visa application the consulate may tell you a record exists, without always giving the detail.

The aim is not just the code. You need the date of the decision, its length and the act it rests on, because those decide whether a lawsuit is still possible and which deadline applies. Our guide on how to lift a Turkish entry ban covers the codes in more detail.

Lifting or Shortening an Entry Ban, Step by Step

Migration Management may lift a ban, or let a foreigner enter for a set period despite it. The usual route:

1. Identify the record and its basis: obtain the code, the decision date and the underlying act, such as a deportation order or a visa breach.
2. Pay any outstanding administrative fine: some records clear, or entry opens up, once the fine is settled.
3. Apply to the Presidency of Migration Management: ask for the ban to be lifted, shortened or for entry to be permitted, relying on family ties, property or business in Turkey, health or similar grounds.
4. Request an annotated visa where relevant: for some records, a visa application through a Turkish consulate with Migration Management's approval allows entry.
5. Sue before the administrative court if refused: an annulment action can be brought against the ban or against the refusal of your application. The general time limit under Article 7 of Law No. 2577 on Administrative Procedure is sixty days from notification; where the ban was never notified, how the period runs has to be assessed for your file.
6. Confirm the record is removed before you travel: get written confirmation that the system no longer shows the restriction.

Deportation Orders and the Deadline to Appeal

Under Article 53 of Law No. 6458, a deportation decision is issued by the provincial governorate, on its own initiative or on instruction from the Presidency of Migration Management. It must be served, with its reasons, on the foreigner, their legal representative or their lawyer. Article 54 lists the grounds, for example links to a terrorist or criminal organisation, false information or forged documents, visa or residence breaches, working without a work permit, and a threat to public order, security or health.

The decision is challenged by a lawsuit before the administrative court within a short period from notification. A 2019 amendment cut that period from fifteen days to seven days; check the current period against your own notification document straight away. The court is expected to decide quickly and its judgment is final. As a rule, a foreigner is not removed while the case is pending. In certain cases, however, such as alleged links to a terrorist organisation or a serious threat to public order or security, filing the case does not automatically suspend removal, and a stay of execution has to be requested.

Article 55 protects certain people from deportation, including those facing a serious risk of the death penalty, torture or inhuman treatment on return, and those for whom travel is risky because of serious illness, age or pregnancy. These protections do not apply on their own: they have to be raised and proven in the petition. See our guides on deportation in Turkey and how to appeal and on deportation decisions and appeals.

Administrative Detention and the Criminal Judgeship of Peace

A foreigner with a deportation order can be placed in administrative detention by the governorate under Article 57 of Law No. 6458, for example where there is a risk of absconding or a threat to public order or security, and held in a removal centre. Under the current text of the law, detention generally may not exceed six months, and in certain cases (such as non-cooperation or missing identity documents) it can be extended by up to six more months.

Detention is challenged before the criminal judgeship of peace (sulh ceza hakimliği). The application can be made while detention lasts, and the judge decides within a short time. It is a separate track from the deportation lawsuit; detained clients often need both.

Documents to Gather

• Your passport, residence permit card and foreigner ID number.
• The deportation, detention or entry ban decision and the notification record (a photo helps).
• Entry and exit records, and your visa and residence history.
• Receipts for any administrative fines paid.
• Family documents: marriage certificate, children's birth certificates, the civil registry record of a Turkish spouse.
• Title deeds, lease, company or employment documents in Turkey.
• Medical reports and evidence of any Article 55 risk.
• A power of attorney for your lawyer; if signed abroad, with an apostille or consular legalisation and a sworn translation. Our guide on power of attorney in Turkey for foreigners explains the options.

A Realistic Timeline

Treat these as rough ranges only.

• Identifying the record: a lawyer's enquiry usually takes from a few days to a few weeks.
• Deportation lawsuit: the petition must be filed within days of notification.
• Detention challenge: the criminal judgeship of peace generally rules within days.
• Application to lift a ban: Migration Management's review often takes a few months.
• Annulment action against a ban: the first instance stage commonly takes several months to a year, and an appeal adds time.

What We Do in Entry Ban and Deportation Cases

• An initial assessment of the record or decision, its legal basis and the deadlines running.
• Enquiries and information requests to Migration Management and provincial migration directorates.
• Drafting the application to lift or shorten a ban, or to permit entry.
• Filing the deportation lawsuit before the administrative court and, where needed, a request for a stay of execution.
• Applying to the criminal judgeship of peace against detention, and visiting the client at the removal centre.
• Follow-up until the judgment is applied and the record deleted.
• Remote handling by power of attorney for clients outside Turkey, so you do not need to travel.

Av. Kaan Karanfiloğlu works in English, French and Turkish; native-speaking advisors at the office support meetings in Russian and Chinese. If the record also affects your permit, see our residence permit lawyer page and our foreigners law services, or reach us through the contact page.

Common Mistakes

• Missing the deadline: the time to challenge a deportation order is counted in days. Speak to a lawyer the day you receive it.
• Trusting online code lists: those tables are unofficial. Find out the basis in your own file.
• Signing without reading: in a removal centre, do not sign forms, especially voluntary return statements, before you understand their effect.
• Leaving without paying a fine: an unpaid administrative fine can block your next entry.
• Booking travel too early: without written confirmation that the record is gone, you risk being turned back again. If a permit was also refused, our guide to residence permit rejection may help.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between an entry ban and deportation in Turkey?

Deportation is the decision to remove a foreigner who is in Turkey. An entry ban stops a foreigner from coming into Turkey for a period. Someone who is deported is, as a rule, also given an entry ban, so the two are usually looked at together.

What do codes like V-87, G-87 or N-82 mean?

In practice the letter is taken as a rough guide to the category: G codes are commonly linked to a security assessment, V and N codes mostly to visa or residence breaches. There is no official published list, though, so the exact meaning and basis of your code should be confirmed by an enquiry on your own file.

How many days do I have to appeal a deportation order?

The lawsuit must be filed before the administrative court within a short period from notification. The current text of the law gives seven days; before 2019 it was fifteen. Because the period is so short, act on the day you are served.

Does filing a case stop my deportation?

As a rule, you will not be removed while the case is pending. In certain cases, such as alleged terrorist links or a serious threat to public order or security, filing does not automatically suspend removal, and a stay of execution has to be requested.

Can I lift a Turkish entry ban from abroad?

Yes, most files can be handled without coming to Turkey. You authorise a lawyer by a power of attorney signed at a Turkish consulate or before a local notary with an apostille, and the lawyer runs the applications and any lawsuit.

How long does a Turkish entry ban last?

Under the current text of the law a ban generally may not exceed five years, but it can be extended where there is a serious threat to public order or security. The actual length depends on the decision and its basis, and Migration Management can lift a ban before it expires.

How long can administrative detention last?

Under the current text of the law, detention generally may not exceed six months and can be extended by up to six more months in certain cases. It can be challenged before the criminal judgeship of peace.

Does marriage to a Turkish citizen remove an entry ban?

Not automatically. Family unity is, however, a strong ground to raise in an application to lift the ban or permit entry, and in court. Evidence of the marriage and of a shared life matters.