A foreign national completes a prison sentence in Türkiye and expects to walk out. Frequently they are met at the gate, taken to a removal centre, and told they are being deported. The criminal process has ended; an administrative one has begun, on its own grounds, with its own deadlines and its own court. This article explains that second process and why the work on it should start long before release.
Two separate processes
The distinction governs everything that follows.
The criminal process determines guilt and punishment. It concludes with the sentence served, released or suspended.
The removal process is administrative. Under Article 54 of Law No. 6458, a removal decision may be taken in respect of, among others, persons assessed as posing a threat to public order or public security. A criminal conviction is capable of supporting that assessment.
They are separate. Serving a sentence does not discharge the administrative question, and there is no rule that a completed sentence ends the matter. In practice a code — reported as Ç-115 — is associated with persons in this position, and the decision is commonly taken during the sentence and implemented at release.
Why the timing catches people
The removal decision is frequently notified while the person is still in custody, sometimes months before release. The seven-day challenge period runs from that notification.
A person in prison who receives a document and does not understand its significance can therefore lose the right to challenge months before they are released — and discover the position only when they are transferred to a removal centre instead of going home.
Families and lawyers should be alert to this. Any document served during a sentence should be examined immediately, and the question asked directly: has a removal decision been taken?
What the assessment should involve
A conviction can support a public order assessment. It does not automatically require removal, and the decision is subject to review.
Factors that bear on it:
- The nature and seriousness of the offence.
- When it occurred, and conduct since.
- Whether it was isolated or part of a pattern.
- The sentence imposed, and any finding about future risk.
- Length of residence in Türkiye.
- Family ties: a spouse, minor children, dependants resident here.
- Connections to the country of return — or their absence, for someone who arrived as a child.
- Rehabilitation, evidenced: prison conduct records, education and training completed, work undertaken, reports.
A decision that recites the conviction and engages with none of this is vulnerable, because the administration is required to consider the relevant circumstances and to act proportionately.
The grounds of challenge
- Article 55. A removal decision shall not be taken where there are serious indications of a risk of the death penalty, torture or inhuman or degrading treatment on return, or where health, age, pregnancy or ongoing treatment for a life-threatening condition apply. A conviction does not disapply this. It is absolute, and it survives any assessment about the person's conduct.
- Family life. Where a spouse or minor children are resident in Türkiye, the constitutional protection of family life and Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights are engaged. The European Court's case law on the expulsion of settled migrants with criminal convictions is directly relevant, and it weighs seriousness against length of residence, family ties and connections to the destination.
- Disproportionality. Removal and a long entry ban following a modest offence, in respect of a person who has lived in Türkiye for decades, invites this argument.
- Failure to consider relevant circumstances, where the decision engages with none of the factors above.
- Factual error about the conviction, the sentence or the person's history.
The procedure
- Seven days from notification to apply to the administrative court against the removal decision. No removal during that period or while proceedings continue, unless the person consents. Decision within fifteen days, final.
- Administrative detention at a removal centre is challenged separately before the magistrate's court in criminal matters, decided within five days, with renewed applications possible where conditions change.
- Legal aid is available through bar associations to those without means.
Both applications usually need to be made, and both need to be made quickly.
Preparing before release
This is the practical advice that matters most, and it is directed at families and at anyone advising a serving prisoner:
- Ask whether a removal decision has been taken, and check every document served during the sentence.
- Instruct a lawyer before release, not on the day.
- Gather the evidence during the sentence: marriage and birth certificates, children's school records, address registration, employment history, tax and social security records, property documents.
- Obtain rehabilitation evidence from the institution — conduct, courses, work, reports. This is available while the person is inside and much harder afterwards.
- Obtain medical evidence where health is relevant.
- Build the country evidence where risk on return is in issue.
A file assembled during a sentence is far stronger than one assembled in the seven days after a transfer to a removal centre.
The person who arrived as a child
A distinct and difficult category: someone brought to Türkiye young, educated here, with family here and no meaningful connection to their country of nationality, who is removed after a conviction.
The European Court's case law treats such cases as engaging private and family life particularly strongly, weighing the person's whole life in the host country against the seriousness of the offence. Where the connection to the destination is minimal and the offence is not at the most serious end, these are arguments of real weight.
They must be evidenced rather than asserted: school records, family relationships, employment, language, and the absence of ties elsewhere.
Frequently asked questions
Does serving my sentence mean I can stay? No. The removal question is separate and administrative.
When is the decision taken? Frequently during the sentence, with implementation at release. Check for documents served in custody.
How long do I have to challenge? Seven days from notification.
Will I be detained at release? Where detention grounds apply, yes — and it can be challenged before the magistrate's court.
Does my Turkish family protect me? Family life is directly relevant and must be evidenced. It is a weighty consideration, not an absolute bar.
Can I return afterwards? An entry ban is likely; establish the code and address it, and consider an annotated visa for a defined purpose.
Can my family instruct a lawyer? Yes — and they should, before release rather than after.
Start before the gate
The people who succeed in these cases are those whose lawyer was instructed while the sentence was still running, whose evidence was gathered inside, and whose seven-day period was noticed when the document was served rather than when the transfer happened.
Dural Hukuk acts in removal cases following criminal proceedings, challenges decisions and detention within the statutory periods, raises non-refoulement and family life where they apply, and pursues restriction codes afterwards. Call +90 535 260 74 54 or use the contact form on this site.
This article is general information on Turkish law as at August 2026 and is not legal advice. Deadlines are extremely short and may run from a notification served in custody; obtain advice immediately.