Turkish citizenship from the perspective of Syrian refugees

Citizenship is a multi-layered concept that defines the rights, duties and belonging of the individual and is seen as one of the most advanced stages of integration with increasing migration. The subject of this study is the perceptions of Syrians living in Şanlıurfa regarding Turkish citizenship and their experiences of becoming and not becoming citizens. The research is based on a comparative analysis of the experiences and perceptions of citizenship of Syrian migrants who have acquired Turkish citizenship and Syrian asylum-seekers living under temporary protection status who have (not) acquired Turkish citizenship. The study discusses in detail how having and not having citizenship affects identity, belonging, access to rights and duties, perception of citizenship, participation in employment, integration processes and the future.The study addresses the issue of citizenship with its sociological dimension along with its legal definitions, and aims to make a unique contribution to the existing literature by focusing on the perceptions and experiences of Syrian migrants with Turkish citizenship and Syrians under temporary protection regarding citizenship. In this context, qualitative research method was adopted in the study and phenomenological design was used. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 26 Syrian participants, 13 of whom had Turkish citizenship and 13 of whom were under temporary protection, living in Eyyübiye, Haliliye and Karaköprü, the central districts of Şanlıurfa.The findings of the study reveal that citizenship is a determining and facilitating status for Syrians in terms of access to rights, political participation, social integration, sense of belonging and future planning. Citizenship has positive effects especially in terms of access to rights such as travel, litigation and participation in the political process, while non-citizens have a weakened sense of belonging, problems in accessing rights and uncertainty in their future perspectives.