Thursday, June 29, 2023

THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY : TURKEY’S GROWING UKRAINIAN AND RUSSIAN COMMUNITIES by Sude Akgundogdu and Collin Trissel PolicyWatch 3755 June 28, 2023

 


THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY

TURKEY’S GROWING UKRAINIAN AND 

RUSSIAN COMMUNITIES

by Sude Akgundogdu and Collin Trissel

PolicyWatch 3755
June 28, 2023


For nationals on both sides of the fight, the Ukraine war has

 transformed Turkey from a popular summer destination to a longer-

term safe haven or permanent home on the Mediterranean.

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Since the 1990s, Turkey has become a major destination for 

tourists and migrants from Ukraine, Russia, and other former 

Soviet states. Yet Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine set into 

motion an even greater wave of migrants from both countries. 

Those fleeing the crisis have used myriad channels to enter 

and remain in Turkey, from obtaining “golden visas” to 

applying for protection. Going forward, their presence could 

have a sizable effect on future socioeconomic ties between the 

three countries.


Ukrainians and Russians in Turkey Before 2022

During the Cold War, Turkey and the USSR had little 

interpersonal exchange—in 1964, for example, government 

data shows that only 414 Soviet visitors came to Turkey. In 

the decades following the Soviet collapse, however, Turkey 

became a major destination due to its tourism infrastructure 

and geographic proximity.

According to the Turkish Ministry of Interior and the Turkish 

Statistical Institute (TUIK), the yearly influx of Russian 

tourists rose steadily from 1.3 million in 1996 to 7 million in 

2019, the highest number among all nationalities. Ukrainians 

have similarly flocked to Turkey (especially in the summer), 

from 93,794 visitors in 1996 to 1.5 million in 2019.

Over the past two decades, this growing influx has begun to 

reshape the social fabric of Turkey’s destination cities. 

Russian became a prevalent language in the key tourist city of 

Antalya, leading many employees in the Turkish tourism 

sector to attend language schools in Russia. The number of 

marriages between Turks and individuals from Russia or 

Ukraine increased as well. According to TUIK, the two 

nationalities made up a combined 10.1% of foreign spouses 

by citizenship as of 2016. Additionally, 10,117 Russians and 

7,575 Ukrainians had been granted residence permits by 2012, 

enabling longer stays for non-tourism purposes.

Ukrainian and Russian Influx During the War

Ankara’s policy toward the war can be summarized as “pro-

Ukraine but not anti-Russia.” In line with this approach, it has 

allowed individuals from both countries to seek temporary or 

permanent refuge within its borders since last year.

By September, Turkey was hosting at least 145,000 Ukrainian refugees. That number has since fallen to 46,000, with most 

refugees located in big cities (e.g., Istanbul, Izmir, Ankara) 

and coastal provinces (Antalya, Mugla). Around 7,130 have 

applied for asylum. As seen in other host countries, most of 

the former registered refugees likely returned to Ukraine or 

left for other destinations, but a portion of them obtained 

alternative status (e.g., short- or long-term residence permits) 

or found other ways of staying in Turkey (see the “golden 

visa” discussion below).

Ankara has simultaneously kept its doors open to a greater 

influx of Russian migrants during the war, including 

individuals seeking to avoid sanctions, escape Vladimir 

Putin’s government, or move their lives and assets overseas. 

Among them have been affluent Russians (e.g., the oligarchs 

Roman Abramovich and Dmitry Kamenshchik) and various 

dissidents, from renowned journalists to individuals 

associated with Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s 

Anti-Corruption Foundation.


Golden Visas and Passports


For Russians and Ukrainians alike, the most common path to 

secure a longer or permanent stay in Turkey has seemingly 

been the “golden visa” option, wherein the government grants residence permits or citizenship in exchange for large 

investments. For example, to become eligible for a Turkish 

passport via this path, applicants are required to store at least 

$500,000 in Turkish banks or state funds, purchase the same 

value in government bonds, or create at least fifty jobs in 

Turkey. Alternatively, purchasing real estate worth at least 

$400,000 enables an applicant to quickly secure Turkish 

citizenship, in some cases within 120 days.

Foreigners can also take three other paths—purchasing real 

estate at a lower value, setting up a business in Turkey, or 

investing a lesser amount determined by the Council of 

Ministers—to obtain short-term residence permits for up to 

five years with the option to renew. Once short-term residents 

(not asylum seekers) complete seven years of consecutive, 

lawful presence in Turkey, they become eligible to pursue 

citizenship.


Short-Term Residence Permits

According to the Turkish Presidency of Migration 

Management (GIB), 40,872 Ukrainians currently hold short-

term residence permits there. This figure was 46,804 at the end of 2022, mirroring the drop in refugee numbers since 

September. GIB did not release data on Ukrainian short-term 

permits before the war, since Ukrainians were not one of the 

top ten nationalities to hold that status until 2022. They are 

now ranked tenth, down from ninth place last year.

Russians have moved even higher on that list. Before the 

Ukraine invasion, Iraq sent by far the most short-term 

residents to Turkey, while Russia came in fifth. In 2022, 

however, Russians skyrocketed from about 4.8% of Turkey’s 

total short-term residents to over 10%. Currently, 145,092 

Russians hold that status, a slight decrease from 145,715 in 

2022. This drop was likely caused by large numbers of 

wealthy Russians acquiring Turkish passports and then either 

relocating to third countries or returning home with the 

ability to enter Turkey at will.

Real Estate Purchases


According to data from TUIK, Ukrainian home purchases in 

Turkey experienced a dramatic spike of 106.4% between 2021 

and 2022, increasing from 1,246 houses to 2,572. This growth 

will likely continue in 2023, with 1,540 houses already sold to 

Ukrainian buyers as of May.


Russian house purchases have likewise increased during the 

war. Among foreign buyers, Russians purchased the third-

highest number of homes in 2019-2021, behind Iranians and 

Iraqis. Yet they topped the list in 2022, making up almost 25% 

of total foreign purchases (rising from 5,379 houses in 2021 to 

16,582 in 2022, an increase of 208.3%). And as of last month, 

they had bought another 5,723 houses, indicating that the 

wartime spike will continue in 2023.


The growth in Russian and Ukrainian real estate purchases 

has raised domestic demand dramatically, causing many 

Turks to be priced out of the areas in question. For example, 

in Antalya—the capital of Turkish beach tourism—rent prices 

have increased by over 300% in some cases. According to the 

Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, roughly seven 

out of every ten rental customers there are now Russian or 

Ukrainian.


Conclusion

Historically, Turkey has been a destination for immigration 

from parts of Europe, including former Ottoman territories in 

the Balkans and around the Black Sea. Russian and Ukrainian 

migration is a relatively new phenomenon there (apart from 

the influx of “White Russians” after the 1917 revolution, 

many of whom later moved on to the United States or 

Western Europe). Now that both nationalities are visiting 

Turkey in larger numbers and laying down socioeconomic 

roots, they could build up sizable Slavic communities there 

over time—a development that would add to Turkey’s 

diversity while also building bridges between all three 

countries.


Sude Akgundogdu and Collin Trissel are research assistants in The 

Washington Institute’s Turkish Research Program.



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