Young People, Activists and Even Conservatives: The Great Escape to Europe

In recent years, there has been a new wave of immigration from Turkey to the rest of the world. One of the reasons leading to the departure is undoubtedly political.

Turkey is often at the center of public debate due to the widespread lack of freedom of expression. Opposition political formations, academia, lawyers, and the press are at the top of the list of groups most affected by the regime. According to Eurostat, in 2022 there were 49,720 applications for political asylum made by Turkish citizens in Europe. An increase of 64% compared to 2021. Thus, Turkey rose to the fourth position in the list of countries with the largest number of asylum applications. Mainly Turkish citizens resort to Germany, but Italy has also become an attractive country and according to Eurostat it ranks fourth among the most preferred destinations.

But political motives are no longer the only motive that drives people to seek refuge abroad. According to Nicholas Meyer-Landrut, Head of the Delegation for EU Relations with Turkey, the deep economic crisis is now one of the main reasons: “Along with the increase in asylum, we are also recording an increase in requests for regular tourist visas. The current picture of the country requires us to strictly control applications and this extends the time required for issuing visas. Moreover, guarantee requests are often not fulfilled due to the economic crisis, which also leads to an increase in refusals. At the same time, we are also seeing a significant increase in the number of people from Turkey entering Europe with false documents.” Turks are now trying to escape from Turkey with everything.

The ongoing deep economic crisis is pushing people of different classes to look for a better future elsewhere, for themselves and their money. According to Gery Ennis, Regional Head of Barrat Developments, one of the UK’s largest residential property developers, Turkish property investment in London alone has grown by around 50% in 2022. More than 70% of purchases are for letting through rent. market. The remaining 30% buy real estate to live in or for their children to study here.”

Studying abroad has become one of the ways to leave Türkiye. Among the favorite destinations there is also Italy. If until 2015 the number of Turkish students enrolled in a degree course grew by 3-4% every year, from 2018 to 2022 the growth jumped to almost 30%. Figures can be found on the MIUR website, but field experience also confirms this trend.

Ecem Sezginer has been studying medicine in English at the University of Turin since 2017. He has an Instagram profile, a student, and also provides counseling to Turkish students who want to study in Italy. She also noticed a significant increase in the desire to study abroad among her citizens: “In Italy there are 14 medical degree courses in English. They are all public universities, and unlike other European countries, it is not necessary to enroll in Turkey in the same course to start studying here. This positive situation increases the interest of Turkish students in Italy.” According to Ecem, the increase is also due to the desire to build a stable and secure future abroad: “I am getting more and more requests for information and they are coming from different social classes. The focus is on courses in medicine, architecture, fashion, design and engineering.” On the other hand, Ecem is keen to stress that despite the increase, there are still strong bureaucratic barriers in Italy to access the world of work once the academic course is completed.

One university recording remarkable growth is the Polytechnic of Turin. Annual enrollments increased from 183 to 539 from 2019 to 2023, a growth of 33%. Obviously, the metropolitan Milan is among the attractive cities for future Turkish students but also for their families who are looking for a better life. Levent and Alessandro live in Milan and started helping students with the university enrollment process in 2015. In 2022, their experience is transferred to Galileo Srl: “We reach more than 180 clients of 20 students per year. We also follow the families of young people who decide to buy homes or open new businesses in Italy. The purchase volume changes as does the customer profile. According to Vent, not only people who have different ideas about the government leave Turkey but also conservatives or people close to the ruling party: “The economic situation and social life conditions push many people to try to build a new life abroad. . People are desperate.” According to Nicholas Meyer-Landrut, in 2022 the European Union began to notice the first requests for political asylum made by Turkish students who had finished their Erasmus period in Europe. In August 2022, the Turkish Ministry of Education sent a circular to all public schools requesting that they not be included Students and teachers who have a “high probability of seeking asylum in Europe” in European projects.

Therefore, data and experience show that there is a strong tendency to leave Turkey and seek stability and serenity abroad. This research is no longer intended for a narrow group of opponents but includes a large and heterogeneous group of people who no longer wish to live in Turkey for various reasons.