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Turkey Plans to Introduce Work Permits for Syrian Refugees

Monday, January 11, 2016 4:12 am | < 1 Minute Read
ANKARA (Reuters) —
Migrants wait to travel by dinghies to the Greek island of Chios from the Turkish coast near Cesme, Izmir, Turkey, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015. More than 300,000 people have traveled on dinghies and boats from nearby Turkey to Greek islands this year, with dozens dying along the way. (AP Photo/Emre Tazegul)
Migrants wait to travel by dinghies to the Greek island of Chios from the Turkish coast near Cesme, in Izmir, Turkey, November 5, 2015. (AP Photo/Emre Tazegul)

Turkey plans to offer Syrian refugees work permits in order to ease the pressure on them to migrate, Volkan Bozkir, Turkey’s minister for European affairs, said on Monday.

The number of people immigrating illegally exceeded 150,000 in 2015, and Turkish authorities stopped 500 migrants daily, Bozkir also told reporters after a meeting with European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans in Ankara.

Turkey, which aspires to join the EU, has pledged to take steps to reduce the record number of illegal migrants trying to reach Europe in exchange for a 3 billion-euro aid package.

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