Governor: 1.3 million foreigners reside in İstanbul

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The İstanbul Governor's Office published a written statement on its official website containing data on foreigners legally residing in the city.

Number of legally residing foreigners

According to Governor's data:

-1 million 305 thousand 307 foreigners are legally residing in İstanbul.
- 542 thousand 45 of them are citizens of Syria under temporary protection,
- 763 thousand 262 of them are regular immigrants who have been legally authorized to enter and have residence permits.

Procedures regarding foreigners

According to the data of the İstanbul Provincial Directorate of Migration Management, the number of foreigners who were processed in 2021 is as follows:

- Legal action was taken against 71 thousand 959 irregular migrants.
- 23 thousand 72 immigrants were deported from İstanbul.
- 39 thousand 525 immigrants were transferred to repatriation centers in other provinces of Turkey to be deported

Procedures regarding foreigners in 2022

Between January 1 and May 3, 2022, the procedures taken for foreigners in İstanbul are as follows:

- A total of 25,644 irregular migrants were processed. 11,936 of those were Afghan nationals while 2,853 of them were from Pakistan.
- 8,773 immigrants were deported from İstanbul to their countries. 12,684 immigrants were transferred to repatriation centers in other provinces of Turkey for deportation procedures.

Procedures during Eid

The Government Office announced that on the first day of Eid, deportation procedures for 240 irregular migrants were started and 280 foreigners of Afghan nationality were planned to be deported by air.

Foreign tourists in İstanbul

In March 2022 the number of tourists coming to İstanbul increased by 112 percent compared to March 2021 and reached 1 million 156 thousand 400. The number of tourists visiting İstanbul in the first 3 months of the year increased to 2 million 904 thousand 460.
According to the Governor's data, 10.09 percent of the tourists visiting İstanbul were from Iran while 7.97 percent were from Germany and 7.82 are Russian Federation citizens. (AEK/TB/VK)