Forced Migration in the OIC Member Countries:
Policy Framework Adopted by Host Countries
78
provided financial assistance to few foreign beneficiaries.40 NGOs have generally stayed away
from housing issues since they lack funds and space to provide shelter en masse.
Employment
As of May 2016, nearly all Syrian employment was in the informal labor market in textile
manufacture, construction, agriculture, and services where Syrians are subject to exploitation
and sub-minimum wages that make it difficult for them to support their families.41
According to the 2013 Law on Foreigners and International Protection and the 2014
Temporary Protection Regulation, beneficiaries of protection in Turkey have the right to apply
for work permits.42 The Regulation on Work Permits of Foreigners Under Temporary
Protection, published on 11 January 2016, serves as the implementing regulation for this
stipulation, outlining the procedures and conditions for providing work permits to registered
Syrians.43 The Fair Labor Association in Turkey estimates that up to 500,000 Syrians are
eligible for work permits under the new Regulation, but no comprehensive information has
been disseminated on the number of work permits granted.44
The work permit directive stipulates that Syrians who have been registered Temporary
Protection beneficiaries for more than six months may be granted work permits by the
Ministry of Labor and Social Security (Çalışma ve Sosyal Güvenlik Bakanlığı) upon application
by their employers or themselves. It is not applicable to refugees and asylum seekers who are
not under the Temporary Protection regime. Workers in seasonal agriculture and animal
husbandry are exempt from the need to obtain work permits. Those in education and
medicine must have their qualifications vetted by the line ministry in their sector before
applications are considered.45 It is precisely in these professional sectors where the Turkish
economy most needs legal workers—and yet unqualified people cannot be allowed to take on
professional responsibilities. Additional investments may be needed to increase the pace of
verification of qualifications.
While the work permit regulation is a significant step toward the formalization of Syrian
workers there remain three key obstacles to widespread implementation of the law. First,
temporary protection beneficiaries must have their applications submitted by their
employer.46 Employers in marginal enterprises have little incentive to apply, since they would
have to pay formalized employees at least the minimum wage, and lack of regular monitoring
40 Refugee Rights Turkey, Country Report: Turkey, 73-74.
41 See ORSAM and TESEV, Effects of the Syrian Refugees in Turkey, ORSAM Report no. 195, (Ankara: ORSAM, 2015),
Daryl Grisgraber
and Ann Hollingsworth, Planting the Seeds of Success? Turkey’s New Refugee Work Permits, (Washington, DC: Refugees
International, 2016,
42 Article 89-4, Law on Foreigners and International Protection (unofficial translation), Republic of Turkey Ministry of
Interior, Directorate General of Migration Management; Article 29, Geçici Koruma Yönetmeliği (Temporary Protection
Regulation), Government of Turkey, October 22, 2014,
43 Geçici Koruma Sağlanan Yabancıların Çalışma İzinlerine Dair Yönetmelik (Regulation regarding the Work Permits of
Foreigners under Temporary Protection), Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, January 11, 2016,
44 Alpay Çelikel (Regional Manager, EMEA, Fair Labor Association) and Burcu Kuğu Bolak (Project Manager for the USDOL
Turkey Project, Fair Labor Association) in conversation with Kathleen Newland, May 5, 2016.
45 Geçici Koruma Sağlanan Yabancıların Çalışma İzinlerine Dair Yönetmelik (Regulation regarding the Work Permits of
Foreigners under Temporary Protection), Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, January 11, 2016.
46 Grisgraber and Hollingsworth, Planting the Seeds of Success? Turkey’s New Refugee Work Permits, 4.