Turkey’s population is about 80 million. It has nearly 4 Million registered Refugees in its territory which makes it the country with the highest number of refugees in the world. The EU and other international organisations like UNICEF are funding support programmes for the migrants in Turkey.

In 2016 and 2017, Turkey arrested about 175,000 irregular migrants each year. Of these, 37,000 were rescued from sea in 2016. To combat irregular migration, Turkey has entered into readmission agreements with a number of countries such as Greece, Russia Federation, Norway and Pakistan. Turkey has set up operations in the Mediterranean and Aegean seas to ensure safety of migrants trying to cross the seas. In 2017, clashes between Turks and migrants were reported.

Given that Turkey is now handling a huge number of Syrian refugees, it obviously has no inclination to provide asylum or refugee status to migrants from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Turkey passed a ‘Law on Foreigners and International Protection’ in 2013 in order to secure the human rights of migrants.

Turkey has been a host country for refugees from many countries' refugees. It was one of the signatory of Geneva convention so it had hosted refugees from the countries of council of Europe. It had also hosted refugees from Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia and Iran.

Turkey had granted asylum and temporary protection to many asylum seekers who afterwards settled in Canada and Europe. When Syrian refugees reached Turkey, the Turk government changed the law of “temporary protection” to “international protection”.

Syrian refugees can apply for international protection and they could be provided asylum. However, there had been multiple statements from the Turk government whether they would provide citizenship to Syrian refugees or not.

For non-Syrian refugees, they need to ask for asylum from UNHCR. If they would prove to be refugees, then they are to be settled in a country other than their country of origin and Turkey.

So in any case, Turkey had never let refugees to be permanent residents of the country nor it will let them now.