AN ASSESSMENT ON KEEPING AND CORRECTING PERSONAL STATUS RECORDS OF FOREIGNERS IN TURKEY

Increasing population movements between countries in conjunction with the development of international relations necessitates the keeping of records regarding foreigners‟ personal status. In this context, countries keep records of the personal status of their citizens as well as foreign nationals residing within their borders. The Turkish Civil Code, the Population Services Law and the Regulation on the Keeping of Population Records of Foreigners all contain provisions for maintaining records regarding foreigners‟ personal status. According to the relevant provisions of the Population Services Law, the Regulation on the Keeping of Population Records of Foreigners, the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, the Regulation on the Implementation of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, as well as the Temporary Protection Regulation are in place. As the use of personal status records in areas such as security, labor, education, and health present a sensitive situation in terms of public order, security, and health, maintaining accurate personal status records is vital. Foreigners frequently request that their personal status records be kept and that these records be corrected. In practice, however, it is apparent that the provisions of the relevant regulations in our legislation may present difficulties. This study aims to evaluate the provisions in our legislation that may pose a problem in the relevant regulations and to suggest solutions.