ANKARA: Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci announced that the number of Syrians who have voluntarily returned to their country since 2016 has exceeded 1,434,000 people.
The number of Syrians under the temporary protection system in Turkiye stands at 2,259,000, Anadolu News Agency quoted him as saying.
Ciftci made the remarks during a consultation and evaluation meeting on migration at the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority in Istanbul on Friday.
Turkish authorities have decided to exempt foreigners under temporary protection from obtaining work permits, taking into account the labor market needs that Syrians help meet, said the minister.
He added that Turkiye attaches importance to employing Syrians in a regulated manner, just like all other foreigners, and pointed out that the government is conducting a comprehensive assessment of voluntary return processes, the future of the temporary protection system, and mechanisms for regular migration.
Ciftci noted that about a third of Syrians under temporary protection were born in Turkiye, considering that the migration issue is no longer “a temporary population movement, but has taken on long-term social and demographic dimensions.”
The Turkish Interior Ministry announced last December that 578,000 Syrians had voluntarily returned to their country in a safe and organized manner since the fall of the ousted regime and the liberation of Syria on Dec. 8, 2024.
Turkiye has topped the list of countries hosting Syrian refugees worldwide, having received millions of them since the beginning of the Syrian revolution.
