Turkey says people from Turkmenistan and Russia are the two largest groups of foreigners living in the country as they seek better living conditions.
According to a report from the Migration Directorate of Turkey, among the 1.1 million foreign nationals residing in Turkey with residence permits, 109,000 are Turkmens and 100,000 are Russian citizens. Iraqi nationals place third on the list at 90,000, while citizens of Iran and Syria each reached 79,000, the report added.
Turkmen citizens have been leaving their country for Turkey en masse for years, due to dramatic economic hardships in the Central Asian nation and the authoritarian rule of President Serdar Berdymukhammedov, who is controlled by his predecessor and father, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov.
In 2022, trying to stop the exodus of their citizens to Turkey, Turkmen authorities asked Ankara to cancel the visa-free regime for Turkmen nationals, which Turkish authorities did in September that year.
After Russia launched its ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, scores of Russians started leaving the country. The number of Russian citizens who left the country dramatically increased after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a so-called partial military mobilization in September 2022.
Turkey was one of the most popular destinations for Russian citizens at the time due to visa-free entrance and possibility to get residence permits by renting a house or apartment.
However, in the wake of mass immigration of Russians, Turkish authorities in December 2022 canceled the regulation that allowed Russians to obtain residence permits by renting or buying property in Turkey.
The reports say that among the 10 largest groups of foreigners living in Turkey with residence permits are citizens of Azerbaijan (68,000), Uzbekistan (52,000), Kazakhstan (43,000), Afghanistan (41,000), and Ukraine (37,000).
The three most popular Turkish cities among foreigners are Istanbul (almost 555,000), Antalya (more than 116,000), and Ankara (more than 71,000), the report said.