UKinTurkey Newsletter

Apr./May./June 2014 (Nr:5)

Message from the British Ambassador

It’s been a very busy three months for the UK in Turkey. In April I was in Çanakkale to mark the 99th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign. I had attended the 75th anniversary as a junior diplomat, and it is clear that the event has grown exponentially in recent years. For the UK, the event is of course a moment to remember the bravery and sacrifice of thousands of our servicemen, many of whom didn’t return home. For Turkey it is both a moment of great sadness and a source of pride as Ataturk’s victory was a formative event for the Turkish Republic. The 100th anniversary commemoration promises to be a key event in the calendar for 2015. In May, I was in Istanbul to mark the first ever GREAT Festival of Creativity. Some of the leading figures from the UK business world joined me to promote stronger collaboration between our creative industries. I was also pleased to tell the Turkish business audience that the UK is back: we are set to be one of the fastest growing economies in the G7 this year. A personal highlight of the Festival was a performance by the famous Welsh soprano, Katherine Jenkins. The event coincided with the mining tragedy in Soma. Katherine dedicated her performance to the families of those affected. Messages of condolence from HM the Queen, the Prime Minister and many others flooded in from the UK in the wake of the disaster. You’ll find some of them below. I know that the question of residence permits and passport extensions is a major concern for the British community in Turkey. On the former, my officials and I have been in regular contact with the Turkish General Directorate for Migration Management (GDMM) here in Ankara. We have relayed your concerns (many of which you have expressed on our Facebook page) direct to the relevant Turkish experts. They have assured us that they are aware of inconsistencies in the system and have told us that they are working hard to iron out these problems. Please continue to keep us informed of your concerns. It’s important that we are able to give the GDMM the clearest possible picture on the impact reforms are having on the resident British community. On the question of passport extensions, we are in contact with the Turkish authorities and have requested that, in light of the backlog of applications in the UK, they allow us to extend passports which are about to expire by another year. For those of you who have already sent your passport to the UK for renewal, you may be able to apply for an Emergency Travel Document (ETD) if you need to travel in the near future. Please contact your local British Consulate for details and follow our Facebook page for updates. Comments always welcome! Richard Moore HM Ambassador (@UKAmbRichard)

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Message from HM Consul General

Between 20-22 May the first ever GREAT Festival of Creativity took place at The Seed conference centre in the beautiful grounds of the Sakip Sabanci Museum overlooking the Bosphorus in Istanbul. The Festival was designed to promote business partnerships between the United Kingdom and Turkey in creative sectors where the UK has world-beating capabilities, including design, technology, fashion, luxury, education, food and drink. We also used the Festival to promote partnerships in the area of healthcare, where Turkey is planning huge investments in its public health infrastructure. The Festival was on an unprecedented scale. As far as we know, this was the biggest single UK business event organised in Turkey. 1,500 British and Turkish participants spent three days networking and attending seminars and masterclasses with experts in subjects as varied as "The economics of luxury" and "Leadership for the digital age". Live demonstrations included luxury shoe making and the clay modelling of a car seat, part of the automotive design process. 42 British companies took part in a trade mission to accompany the Festival, which covered the healthcare, luxury and future creative cities sectors. Trade mission members attended Festival events and also had separate programmes to meet potential business partners and learn about opportunities in Turkey. The Festival took place one week after the tragic mining disaster at Soma. The celebrated Welsh singer, Katherine Jenkins, gave a moving performance at the opening night's event in memory of all those who lost their lives. The GREAT Festival of Creativity represents a different kind of partnership for The UK Turkey network and for the British public sector. A group of British companies approached the GREAT campaign with the idea of promoting the UK as the most creative nation in the world. This developed into a roadshow approach, led by the private sector. We were delighted to host the first Festival in Turkey. It will now continue to other sites, including Hong Kong this autumn and Shanghai early in 2015. We are very grateful to all the sponsors, in the UK and Turkey, who made the event possible. What next? The feedback and media coverage we have received show that the Festival generated huge interest, in particular in the field of business creativity. Many of the British companies who took part in the trade mission are already working on potential business deals with Turkish partners running into millions of pounds. We plan to build on the success of the Festival through the GREAT campaign in Turkey. The GREAT campaign will continur to focus on opportunities in the creative sectors in 2014, with an emphasis on technology and healthcare. Leigh Turner (@leighturnerFCO) Consul General, Istanbul

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Message from HM Consul

It has been another busy few months on the consular side. Perhaps the biggest change for British nationals in Turkey has been the introduction of the new Foreigners and International Protection law. Once established, this law, which changes the process for foreign nationals getting Turkish residency, should make becoming resident in Turkey more straightforward and less bureaucratic. As I know many British nationals trying to acquire or renew their residency in Turkey have discovered, the reality has yet to live up to the promise. Nevertheless, we have, as you will have seen from our Facebook updates, been in frequent contact with the Turkish authorities to try and resolve some of the issues around rules, regulations and, especially, consistency of application. I believe we have made good progress and that the systems are beginning to improve. People are receiving their new residency cards, there is more information on the Turkish Government website and rules are being more consistently applied. We will continue to monitor progress and raise issues with the government as they arise. We have also been involved with the delays in the UK for issuing new passports. Although most people applying for a new passport in good time are receiving their passports back within the stated times, a number of people have been caught by the delays and have found themselves without a current passport and unable to travel or submit their passport for residence permit renewals/visa extensions. Those following the UK news will have seen that special arrangements have been put in place to assist those wishing to travel but who cannot get their passport renewed in time. We are able to issue one year extensions to passports at the British Consulate General in Istanbul and the British Embassy in Ankara in certain circumstances. More often we have been finding that people are in the situation where they have already submitted their passports but they haven't been returned on time. For this reason we have been issuing more emergency travel documents (nearly twice the number we did last year) and have helped others, where we can, to get their passports back. Do check when your passport is about to run out and leave plenty of time to apply for a replacement. For more details on the passports services we can offer please contact your local British Consulate in person, by telephone or via the internet. Finally, I would like to pay tribute to two of our longest serving members of staff who have recently retired. Willy Buttigieg retired as Consul in Izmir in April after over 40 years of faithful and loyal service and Jane Baz retired as Vice Consul in Antalya after over 30 years of dedicated service in Ankara and Antalya. I am sure many readers will have come into contact with one or both and many, many people have benefited from their commitment to helping British nationals in Turkey. Both staff carry with them our very best wishes for the future. Timothy Fisher (@HMConsulTurkey) HM Consul, İstanbul

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NEWS FROM THE EMBASSY Pages 5-6

CONSULAR Pages 7-8

PROJECTS Page 9

TRADE Page 10

CONSULAR LINKS Page 11

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NEWS FROM THE EMBASSY

Birthday Party for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II On 19 June, Ambassador Richard Moore hosted a reception in the grounds of the British Embassy to mark the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In his speech, the Ambassador focused on the strength of commercial ties between Turkey and the UK. He also praised the people of Turkey for responding in such a generous manner to the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria: “I want to pay a particular tribute to the generosity of the Turkish people in hosting nearly a million Syrian refugees.” The Ambassador also underlined his concern about the fate of the Turkish hostages held in Iraq: “We pray for their safe return to their families as soon as possible.” In his speech, the guest of honour, Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, emphasized that trading cooperation between the UK and Turkey was very strong. He also thanked the UK for its support for Turkey’s entry into the EU.

99th Anniversary of Gallipoli On 24-25 April, Minister for International Security Strategies Andrew Murrison and Ambassador Richard Moore participated in ceremonies to commemorate the 99th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign.

Royal Air Force Typhoons took part in Exercise Anatolian Eagle From Coningsby to Konya: Royal Air Force Typhoons have flown more than 1000 miles from Lincolnshire to Turkey to take part in Exercise Anatolian Eagle (EX AE). Other nations which took part in the exercise were the Jordanian, Omani, Qatari and Spanish Air Forces. The Combat Air exercise provided the opportunity for the RAF to train jointly with the Turkish Air Force and international partners.

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NEWS FROM THE EMBASSY

MINING DISASTER IN MANİSA-SOMA, TURKEY Condolences letter from HM the Queen to Turkey's President Gul HM the Queen has written a condolences message to President Abdullah Gul and the Turkish people: “Your Excellency, I was deeply shocked to hear of the loss of life and injuries caused by the mine explosion in Soma on Tuesday afternoon. Prince Philip joins me in extending our sympathy to you and the Turkish people at this time. The thoughts and prayers of everyone in the United Kingdom are with the families of the dead and the missing, the rescue workers and all those affected by this terrible event.”

Message from the British Ambassador Richard Moore “I was deeply saddened to hear of the mining disaster in Manisa province. I send my deepest condolences to the families and friends of all of those affected by this tragedy.”

Our regions share many similarities - Newcastle and the North East of England has a rich mining history and so many of the people who live here and support Newcastle United still have strong ties with miners and the mining community. Their thoughts, as ours, are with all of those who sadly perished and those families who are experiencing great loss. With our club having played Turkish opposition in the Europa League a few years ago, and having one of Turkey’s most eminent players, Emre, at the club some six years ago, we also know there is a following for Newcastle United in Turkey and we are aware only too well of the passion football generates in your country. As such our thoughts and prayers extend to all those affected by this terrible tragedy. Our hearts go out to you all. ”

The manager of Newcastle United FC, Alan Pardew, wrote a personal message of condolences to all of those affected by the Soma tragedy “Myself, the staff and all the players at Newcastle United were horrified to hear about the terrible tragedy at the Soma mine. To lose so many people from the local area in such awful and tragic circumstances is beyond comprehension.

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CONSULAR

Additional measures in place overseas to help British Nationals who need a new or replacement passport The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has now confirmed details of how to access the additional services they are now providing to British Nationals overseas. Passport extensions British nationals living overseas whose passports have expired within the last six months, or are due to expire in the next three months (or seven months if they are in or going to a country that requires travellers to have 6 months left on your passport, can now have their passport extended for 12 months with an official stamp in their existing passport. This requires a minimum of three blank pages in the passport. Those who are eligible should contact their nearest Embassy or Consulate to make an appointment for this service. There will be no charge for this service. Customers will need to bring their existing passport, and will need to complete an application form. Appointments are essential. We will check eligibility and confirm that the relevant country has agreed to accept passports extended in this way. Bookings for appointments are being taken now, and appointments will be available from 23 June, or as soon as we have received confirmation from the host country that they will accept the validity of passports extended in this way. More information Customers who have already made an application to have their passport renewed cannot get an extension in their current passport, even if they still have their passport with them. Customers who need to travel urgently may be able to apply for an Emergency Travel Document. Customers should contact their nearest Embassy or High Commission to check if they are eligible. Customers whose passports have recently been lost or stolen can apply for an Emergency Travel Document as usual. Emergency travel documents for children Parents or guardians of children living overseas who wish to travel may be able to apply for an emergency travel document in place of both new (first time) passport and passport renewals for their children. Customers will need to provide the same information as when applying for a passport for a child if the child has not held a British passport before. In most cases, we will also ask customers to provide evidence that all those who have parental responsibility for the child agree to apply for an Emergency Travel Document for the purpose of the proposed travel, or provide evidence that they have sole responsibility for the child, e.g. a court order. Customers can then follow instructions to apply for an Emergency Travel Document.

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CONSULAR

Notarial and documentary services With effect from 1 April 2014, notarial and documentary services that can be performed by an alternative provider in Turkey such as Turkish Notary Publics, Turkish Lawyers or The British Chamber of Commerce in Turkey, will no longer be offered by British Consular offices in Turkey. In addition, all notarial services which continue to be offered will be centralised and available only at the Consular Section of the British Consulate General, Istanbul Read more https://www.gov.uk/notarial-and-documentary-services-guide-for-turkey

Meeting with General Directorate of Migration Management (GDMM) On 23 May we met the Head of Communications for the General Directorate of Migration Management (GDMM) in Ankara. We discussed the real need for clear communication on residence permit issues to come directly from their department to British nationals in Turkey, ideally via their new websitewww.goc.gov.tr At the time of writing, the English language section of the website remains under construction. We were advised that it would be ready “in a few weeks time”. In the meantime we encouraged the GDMM to publicise the Turkish versions of the FAQs documents they have prepared as many British nationals in Turkey are well integrated and would be able to make use of them. The GDMM were aware that there are ongoing inconsistencies in the application process at the local TNP Foreigners Department offices. They continue to provide advice and guidance to these offices on the correct application of the rules and GDMM officials at the Ministry of the Interior in Ankara will be briefing the directors of these local offices again soon. One of the most common areas of confusion in the application of the new rules is around healthcare and acceptable forms of medical insurance. We understand the Ministry of Health and the Turkish Confederation of Medical Insurance will meet soon to confirm which companies and policies, international ones included, are acceptable for cover for residence permits. We have been collating some of the common issues, comments and questions put forward on this Facebook page and various expat pages and forums by British residents and presented these to the GDMM. The GDMM gave the answers below. Please note that these are the responses given to us by the GDMM. The accuracy and application of the residency rules as described below remain the responsibility of the GDMM. Anyone with queries or questions about the application of these rules should contact the GDMM using the enquiry form on their website at http://www.goc.gov.tr/icerik/mailform. For further questions and answers on the issue, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=770858886280557&set=a.376277232405393.93626.169709853062133&type=1&theater

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PROJECTS

Combatting early marriage On 7-8 June, British Embassy representatives attended the official opening of a project in Van focused on the problem of child brides and early marriages. The British Embassy is funding this important project as a part of a global drive by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to raise awareness about women’s rights and the need to combat child marriages around the world. The project aims to promote greater cooperation between NGO’s and local authorities in the region, targeting support in particular at young girls and boys who are forced at an early age to leave school to get married.

Sustainable forestry management Together with the representatives of DG Forestry and UNDP Turkey, the Prosperity Fund Coordinator, Cem Gundogan, visited Kastamonu on 28-30 April. The team met with State Hydraulic Works, Forestry District Directorate and visited the pilot site for our project on sustainable forestry management. Feedback from our Turkish partner was very positive: lessons learned from the project are now being reflected in a Government report to manage forests in Turkey over the next 10 years.

Awareness raising on right to assemble and demonstrate Under a project to “Raise the Awareness of Chief Civil Administrators and Law Enforcement Personnel about the Enjoyment of the Right to Assemble and Demonstrate and to Make Press Statements” we held an event with the Ministry of Interior in Eskisehir on 17 April 2014.

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TRADE GREAT Festival A GREAT Festival of Creativity took place in Istanbul on 20-22 May. The festival's aim was to demonstrate that the UK is the most creative nation on earth. Creativity is one of the UK’s biggest competitive advantages. Our creative industries in Great Britain have the highest percentage of GDP in the world. http://greatfestivalofcreativity.co.uk/en/

MoU signed between the Chambers A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Signing Ceremony between the British chamber of Commerce of Turkey (BCCT) & Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Eskişehir, İzmir, Kayseri, Konya Chambers of Commerce was held in Ankara, British Embassy residence. Ambassador Richard Moore, BCCT Chairman Chris Gaunt and the chairmen of the Chambers of Commerce participated in the ceremony. Ambassador Moore underlined the importance of the MoU in his speech at the ceremony: “Through this agreement, I hope we can send a message to business in the UK that the Turkish growth story is about very much more than just Istanbul. Beyond the Bosphorus, there are exciting opportunities in all of the cities represented here today.

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CONSULAR LINKS (Please click on the titles for

the relevant web page)

Online Consular Appointment System

Travel advice

Overseas British passport applications

Births, deaths and marriages

Legislation service

Notarial and documentary services

List of lawyers

Importing and driving cars

Mobile phones

Entry and residency requirements in Turkey

Healthcare for British visitors and residents

Natural disasters (Earthquakes)

Buying property

Emergency numbers in Turkey

Ex-pat websites & online newspapers in English

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CONSULAR LINKS