More and more young turks want to migrate to Germany.

Record number of visa applications at German consular authorities in 2023.Mustafa Aydin is in a hurry. The musician from Istanbul wants to rent a house in Berlin. And so he sees one apartment after another. After a long struggle he finally managed to get a visa and is now in the German capital. The live techno performer is one of the thousands of young Turks who are turning their backs on their homeland to settle in Germany.

According research conducted last year by the American Habitat Institute, almost 50% of Turks between the ages of 18 and 29 want to move abroad, most of them to Germany. In 2019 the percentage was 25%. In no other country abroad did German diplomatic and consular authorities process as many visa applications in 2023 as in Turkey, the foreign ministry says. The German ministry does not publish the number of applications, only the number of visas issued. Last year, 46,000 visas and almost 200,000 visas were issued for the Schengen area. Unlike Schengen visas, which are valid for 90 days, visas for Germany are issued for longer stays. According to the German Foreign Ministry, an additional 17,000 visas were issued to people affected by the February 6 earthquakes. The Habitat institute asked young Turks about their biggest concerns. Most cited inflation, which in May was around 75%.

Brain drain from Turkey abroad

For Mustafa Aydin the main reason for emigration was the growing pressures in the field of culture in Istanbul. “Making music was getting harder and harder.” The musician is a member of the live techno duo Hiccup: “I wanted to move to Berlin, because it is the home of our music. There is a vibrant underground culture in Istanbul. But the ruling AKP and President Erdogan impose a strict Islamic and conservative policy on culture.”

The mass exodus of scientists Turkey is going through today is “extremely unfortunate” for the country, says migration researcher Murat Erdogan. The main reasons for migration are the economic crisis, the human rights situation and corruption in the public sector. The anti-government demonstrations in Gezi Park in 2013, as well as the violent state reactions to the coup attempt in 2016, are considered a turning point for Turkey’s shift towards a more authoritarian state.

62,000 Turks sought asylum in Germany in 2023

In Turkey, the accusation is often made that visa applications are rejected without reason or that excessive waiting times are a deliberate tactic. German diplomatic circles in Turkey attribute the delays to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as staff shortages in issuing visas. An even greater increase than in visa applications has been recorded in asylum applications from Turks in recent years. According to Berlin in 2019 around 11,000 people with a Turkish passport applied for asylum in Germany. In 2023 this number jumped to 62,000, an increase of 400%. Only Syrians submitted more applications in 2023. Most applicants from Turkey are Kurds, the German organization Pro Asyl reports. However, the majority of applications are rejected. In 2023 only 13% of applicants were granted asylum.

The situation was very different 20 years ago, says immigration researcher Murat Erdogan. The ruling AKP was seen as a driving force for a more liberal Turkey. “Then the Turks abroad were returning from Europe to their homeland.” However, the musician Mustafa Aydin does not rule out that one day he too will return to Turkey.

Editor: Stefanos Georgakopoulos