West Asia conflict may push Iranians in Turkey to return
Sadri Haghshenas spends her days selling borek - a layered, savory pastry - at a shop in Istanbul, but her mind is on her daughter in Tehran.
The family had to send her home to Iran after they ran into difficulties renewing her visa, despite fears that a shaky ceasefire could soon collapse.
For years, short-term residency permits have allowed tens of thousands of Iranians to pursue economic opportunities and enjoy relative stability in neighbouring Turkey.
But it’s a precarious situation, and the war has raised the stakes.
“I swear, I cry every day,” Haghshenas said, raising her hands from behind the counter of the pastry shop.
“There is no life in my country, there is no life here, what shall I do?”
A daughter sent back
Haghshenas and her husband moved to Turkey five years ago with their then-teenage daughters and have been living on tourist visas renewable every six months to two years.
They could not afford a lawyer this year, because her husband is out of work due to health problems.
As a result, they missed the deadline to apply for a new visa for their 20-year-old daughter, Asal, who is still in her final year of high school.
Asal was detained at a checkpoint earlier this month and spent a night at an immigration facility.
Her mother found a friend to take her back to Tehran rather than face deportation proceedings that could complicate her ability to return to Turkey. They hope she can come back on a student visa.
Haghshenas has been unable to talk to her daughter since she left because of a monthslong internet blackout in Iran.
Many Iranians have temporary status
Turkey has not seen an influx of refugees, as most Iranians have sought safety within their country.
Many who have crossed the land border were transiting to other countries where they have citizenship or residency.
Nearly 100,000 Iranians lived in Turkey in 2025, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. Around 89,000 have entered Turkey since the start of the war, while around 72,000 have departed, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency.
Some Iranians have used short-term visa-free stays to wait out the war, but there are few options for those who want to stay longer.
Sedat Albayrak, of the Istanbul Bar Association’s Refugee and Migrant Rights Center, said that getting international protection status can be difficult, and the system encourages Iranians to apply for short-term permits instead.
“There are people who have lived on them for over 10 years,” he said.
