08.11.2026 18:40
Problems experienced by Turkish citizens who set up businesses in the UK under the Ankara Agreement in their applications for permanent residence have sparked debate. While the number of approved applications, which was 3,378 in the first 6 months of last year, fell to 745 in the same period this year, it has emerged that some Turkish citizens face the risk of deportation on the grounds of previously unstated rules. Former Foreign Secretary David Lammy described the treatment of Turkish businesspeople as 'unacceptable'.
David Lammy, MP for the Tottenham area of London, the capital of the UK, where Turks live densely, and former Foreign Secretary, posted from his account on the social media platform of US-based company X about the visa problems experienced by Turkish businesspeople.
"THE TREATMENT OF TURKISH BUSINESSPEOPLE IS UNACCEPTABLE" Criticizing the Home Office's attitude toward Turks who established businesses in the UK through the visa route known as the Ankara Agreement, which ended in 2020, Lammy said, "The Home Office's treatment of Turkish businesspeople applying for permanent residence under the Ankara Agreement is unacceptable."
Likening this situation to the Windrush scandal, in which Caribbeans who came to the UK officially by invitation between 1948 and 1973 were treated as "illegal immigrants" in 2017, Lammy stated that mistakes made through carelessness lead to devastating consequences and called on the Home Office to take action.
David Lammy THE NUMBER OF APPROVED APPLICATIONS FELL TO 745 Meanwhile, the British newspaper The Guardian wrote that there had been a significant decline in permanent residence applications under the Ankara Agreement.
According to the report, in the UK, where 3,378 applications were approved in January-June last year, the number of approved applications in the same period this year fell to 745.
AMONG THEM IS ALSO A WOMAN WHO WAS TREATED IN TURKEY It was noted that some applications were rejected based on rules that had not previously been specified. Among them was a woman who learned during the COVID-19 period, while in Turkey, that she had cancer, but was treated in Turkey because the UK National Health Service (NHS) did not recommend that she travel due to risk.
The woman was asked to leave the UK with her three children at short notice, while another Turkish businessperson's application was rejected on the grounds that he did not state his social media account in the application, even though a "social media account" was not requested.
The Home Office, however, did not accept the allegations, stating that Ankara Agreement applications are handled as in the past and that each application is evaluated individually.