Deportation Centers in Istanbul: Addresses and Visits

There are four deportation centers in Istanbul on the official Turkish list: Tuzla on the Asian side, and Arnavutköy, Çatalca and Binkılıç on the European side. Turkish law calls them removal centres (geri gönderme merkezi), and they are also searched as the Istanbul detention center or Istanbul removal centre. They hold foreigners under administrative detention while removal from Turkey is pending, and all of them are reached through the same telephone line of the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of Migration Management.

This page gives the official addresses, explains how to find out which centre a relative is in, and sets out what the law guarantees inside the centre and how detention is challenged.

1. Deportation Centers in Istanbul: Official Addresses and Phone Number

The deportation centers in Istanbul are listed on the Presidency of Migration Management’s Turkish contact page for removal centres, which shows six Istanbul records at four addresses:

Official record	Address
İSTANBUL-TUZLA	Akfırat Mah. Süleymaniye Bulvarı 140.Cadde No:65 Tuzla/İSTANBUL
İSTANBUL-ARNAVUTKÖY	Hastane Mahallesi, Ayasofya Caddesi No:109 Hadımköy/Arnavutköy/İSTANBUL
İSTANBUL-ARNAVUTKÖY GEÇİCİ GGM 1	same address as Arnavutköy
İSTANBUL-ARNAVUTKÖY GEÇİCİ GGM 2	same address as Arnavutköy
İSTANBUL-ÇATALCA	Kaleiçi Mahallesi (103 Ada 47 Parsel) Hanice Caddesi No:23 Çatalca/İnceğiz/İSTANBUL
İSTANBUL-BİNKILIÇ	Eski Kırklareli Yolu, Menekşe Sokak, Binkılıç Çatalca/İSTANBUL

All six records show the same number, 0212 499 40 00, marked İl Müd. (Provincial Directorate). The page carries no last-updated date, so check the address before travelling.

1.1. Tuzla Deportation Center

Tuzla deportation center is the only one on the Asian side of Istanbul. It is in Akfırat, not on the Tuzla coast, which matters when planning the journey. Our Turkish page on the Tuzla Geri Gönderme Merkezi covers directions and the release routes in detail.

1.2. Arnavutköy Deportation Center

Arnavutköy deportation center, also searched as the Arnavutkoy detention center, appears under three records at one address in Hadımköy: the main record and two temporary ones (geçici). Searches often call it the Hadımköy removal centre; it is the same place. The Arnavutköy municipality’s migrant centre (ASGOM) is a different facility and is not a removal centre. Details are on the Arnavutköy Geri Gönderme Merkezi page.

1.3. Çatalca Deportation Center

Çatalca deportation center is in İnceğiz, in the Çatalca district. Map apps sometimes add the word kadın (women) to its name; the official record is simply İSTANBUL-ÇATALCA. See the Çatalca Geri Gönderme Merkezi page.

1.4. Binkılıç Deportation Center

Binkılıç deportation center is also in the Çatalca district but is a separate centre with its own address on the old Kırklareli road. Do not confuse it with the Çatalca centre in İnceğiz. See the Binkılıç Geri Gönderme Merkezi page.

1.5. Is Silivri Selimpaşa a Deportation Center in Istanbul?

The Presidency publishes two different lists, which is why some online guides name a Silivri Selimpaşa centre. Its English contact page and its Arabic page show only three Istanbul centres: Binkılıç, Silivri (Selimpaşa Merkez Mahallesi 2124 Sokak No:10 Silivri/İSTANBUL) and Tuzla. Those two pages do not list Arnavutköy or Çatalca. The Turkish page lists the six records in the table above and does not list Silivri.

Neither version carries a date, so the pages cannot tell you which list is current. This page follows the Turkish list because it is the longer and more specific one. If a document you receive names Silivri, call 0212 499 40 00 before travelling. These contact pages are administrative information published by the Presidency; they are not legislation and are not published in the Official Gazette.

2. Deportation Centers in Istanbul: How to Find Out Where Your Relative Is Held

The quickest way to find a relative in the deportation centers in Istanbul is to call 0212 499 40 00 and give the person’s full name, nationality and, if you have it, the foreigner identification number. Because the same number serves every Istanbul centre, the officer who answers can tell you which centre holds the person.

Two legal rules explain why the answer can change. A foreigner placed under administrative detention is taken to a removal centre within forty-eight hours by the police unit that made the arrest (6458 sayılı Kanun m.57/2). After that, transfers between centres are listed among the services removal centres provide (Kabul ve Barınma Merkezleri ile Geri Gönderme Merkezlerinin Kurulması, Yönetimi, İşletilmesi, İşlettirilmesi ve Denetimi Hakkında Yönetmelik m.14/1-f). A person held in Arnavutköy on Monday may be in Binkılıç by Thursday, so confirm the location on the day of the visit.

3. Deportation Centers in Istanbul: Visiting Hours, Phone Calls and Consular Contact

Visiting hours at the deportation centers in Istanbul are on weekdays (Monday to Friday), 08:00-12:00 and 13:00-17:00, with a lunch break from 12:00 to 13:00.

The right to contact the outside world comes from the law itself, not from the centre’s house rules. The centre must give the detained foreigner access to relatives, a notary, a legal representative and a lawyer, the opportunity to meet them, and access to telephone services (6458 sayılı Kanun m.59/1-b). It must also allow meetings with visitors, a consular official of the person’s country of nationality and an official of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (m.59/1-c). Emergency and basic health care that the foreigner cannot pay for is provided free of charge (m.59/1-a).

4. Deportation Centers in Istanbul: Lawyer Access and Power of Attorney

A lawyer can meet a client in any of the deportation centers in Istanbul, because access to a lawyer is one of the guarantees listed in the law (6458 sayılı Kanun m.59/1-b). To act for the detained person, the lawyer usually needs a power of attorney. The same provision guarantees access to a notary, which is how a power of attorney is signed from inside the centre. The law does not set out how the notary comes to the centre, so arrange the day in advance with the centre and, where possible, combine it with a visit.

Cost should not block a challenge. A foreigner who applies to court against administrative detention and cannot afford a lawyer is provided with legal representation on request under the Attorneys’ Act (6458 sayılı Kanun m.57/7).

5. Deportation Centers in Istanbul: How Detention Ends

Leaving the deportation centers in Istanbul depends on ending the administrative detention, and the law gives two routes.

Application to the criminal judgeship of peace. The detained person, a legal representative or a lawyer can apply to the criminal judgeship of peace (sulh ceza hâkimi) against the detention decision. The application does not suspend detention, the judge decides within five days, and the decision is final. A new application can be made if the conditions of detention have ceased or changed (6458 sayılı Kanun m.57/6).

Monthly review by the governorate. The governorate reviews every month whether continued detention is necessary. If it is not, detention ends immediately and alternative obligations are imposed instead (6458 sayılı Kanun m.57/4). The detention decision, any extension and the result of each monthly review are notified with reasons to the foreigner, the legal representative or the lawyer (m.57/5).

The alternative obligations are listed in the law: living at a specified address, reporting, family-based return, return counselling, voluntary work in public-interest services, a guarantee, and electronic monitoring (6458 sayılı Kanun m.57/A/1). Together they cannot exceed twenty-four months (m.57/A/2).

Detention also has a ceiling. It cannot exceed six months, and it can be extended by at most six more months only if removal cannot be completed because the foreigner does not cooperate or gives incorrect information or documents about their country (6458 sayılı Kanun m.57/3).

6. Turkey Deportation Rules: Deportation Order and Detention Are Separate

Turkey deportation rules keep two decisions apart, and being held in one of the deportation centers in Istanbul is not the same thing as being deported. The removal (deportation) order and the detention decision are two decisions, and each has its own route.

	Deportation order	Administrative detention
Where to apply	Administrative court	Criminal judgeship of peace
Time limit	Seven days from notification	No time limit in the law
Effect of applying	No removal while the case is pending, unless the foreigner consents	Detention continues
Basis	6458 sayılı Kanun m.53/3	6458 sayılı Kanun m.57/6

The seven-day limit is the one most often missed. The foreigner, a legal representative or a lawyer can apply to the administrative court within seven days of notification of the removal order, and the court’s decision is final. Unless the foreigner consents, they are not removed during the time limit or while the case is pending (6458 sayılı Kanun m.53/3). The grounds for a deportation order are listed in the law; they include overstaying a visa or visa exemption by more than ten days, overstaying a residence permit by more than ten days without an acceptable reason, and posing a threat to public order, public security or public health (6458 sayılı Kanun m.54/1).

7. Deported From Turkey: Entry Ban and Coming Back

A foreigner deported from Turkey is banned from entering Turkey, and the ban is imposed by the Directorate General or the governorate (6458 sayılı Kanun m.9/2). The entry ban lasts at most five years; only where there is a serious threat to public order or public security can the Directorate General extend it by up to ten more years (m.9/3).

Coming back to Turkey after being deported is therefore a question about the entry ban. The Directorate General can lift the ban, or keep it in place and allow the foreigner to enter for a specific period (6458 sayılı Kanun m.9/6). How the ban is challenged and what the restriction codes mean are covered in Turkey entry ban.

8. Deportation Centers in Istanbul: First Steps for Relatives

1. Find the centre. Call 0212 499 40 00 with the person’s full name and nationality, and confirm again on the day of the visit.
2. Find out which decisions exist. Ask whether there is a removal order, a detention decision, or both, and when each was notified. The seven-day limit for the removal order runs from notification.
3. Arrange a lawyer and a notary. Access to both is guaranteed (6458 sayılı Kanun m.59/1-b); set the notary visit in advance.
4. Challenge detention separately. The criminal judgeship of peace decides within five days (6458 sayılı Kanun m.57/6).
5. Keep copies. Every notification, petition and reply is the record that later applications rely on.