In April, what has become known as the “grey passport scandal” raised a new round of questions as to the extent of official corruption in Turkey. Grey (service) passports are temporary travel documents provided for those who travel abroad to represent Turkey. Most countries know the grey passport holder is on official duty and will return shortly.

The scandal revealed that these passports were sold to people whose main goal was to seek refuge in Western Europe. After weeks of news, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu informed the public that since 2018, in 19 different cities municipal governments have organized trips to Europe where “804 people did not return to Turkey after their passports expired.” Soylu also said investigations are being launched at different levels and municipal governments are banned from applying for grey passports.

The scale of the scandal, however, could be larger than Soylu’s initial figures. Some of the escapees spoke to the press on the condition of anonymity. Al-Monitor spoke with three sources in different EU cities. They all confirmed they entered the Schengen zone with grey passports but then had to hand them back to the tour organizers. Their accounts are in line with what other journalists in Europe and in Turkey have reported as well. The passports were returned to Turkey and most likely stamped. A senior bureaucrat who spoke on the condition of anonymity explained that “if the grey passports of thousands of people who were traveling as a part of a cultural tour went missing, the scandal could not have continued for four to five years.”

One of the escapees who had paid over 8,000 euros in late 2018 told Al-Monitor, “I left Turkey because I am a draft dodger and a Kurd. I was looking for ways to be smuggled out of the country. Then I heard in Bingol (an eastern province in Turkey) there is a place where you can pay, and you will travel like a government employee. Initially, I didn't even know what a grey passport means, and I thought this must be a gimmick. However, I checked, and I spoke with four different Kurds who left Turkey using this method. Our trip was originally organized as a religious cultural tour. But later we learned that Diyanet (the Religious Affairs Directorate) was under investigation, so they linked us to a different [nongovernmental organization].”