Russians in Turkey increasingly rejected on residency permits
According to official figures, Russians top the list of short-term residency holders in Turkey as of January 2022, with 133,495 Russian nationals on short-term permits. But since mid-December, they have been facing denials for paperwork to stay in Turkey.
ISTANBUL — Turkey, where Russians can travel visa-free and obtain a short-term residency, has been one of the top runaway destinations for those fleeing Russia since the start of Moscow's war in Ukraine last year — until recently.
Eva Rapoport, coordinator of the Istanbul branch of the Ark, a global crowdfunding charity organization that provides temporary shelter, language courses and immigration advice to Russians in exile, said that there are more Russians now who were unable to obtain “ikamet" (short-term residency) than those who did obtain the permit.
