Military Service No Longer Condition for Citizenship

Passed in parliament, and now awaiting ratification by President Abdullah Gül, the new citizenship law has brought changes.

One of them is that a person cannot be stripped of Turkish citizenship for not doing military service or adopting another nationality without prior permission.

Turkish citizenship acquired at birth will depend on either blood line or the place of birth.

A child born to citizens of Turkey, either in Turkey or abroad, will be counted as a citizen of Turkey.

A child born to an unmarried female or male with Turkish citizenship will be considered a citizen of Turkey, as long as the blood line can be proven.

A child born to parents of other nationality in Turkey can become a citizen of Turkey if it does not have the right to another nationality.

For foreigners to have the right to become citizens of Turkey, they must live in the country without interruption for five years.

Others may receive Turkish citizenship for bringing industry to Turkey or for extraordinary services in science, sports and culture.

Those who lost their citizenship after giving it up with permission will be entitled to renewed citizenship.

This is the fourth amendment to the 1964 Turkish Citizenship Law, which was amended twice in 2003 and once in 2004.  (TK/AG)