Refugees in Turkey, i.e. persons under temporary protection or international protection, may benefit from some additional rights and services recognized for refugees with disabilities if they have a physical and/or mental disability. These rights and services aim to eliminate the disadvantages that persons with disabilities may face in asylum procedures due to their disability and ensure that they have access to the additional support they need.
Refugees with disabilities are included under the category named “persons with special needs” under Turkish law. It is envisaged that registration and status determination procedures for refugees with special needs will be processed and completed faster and with priority. When refugees with disabilities apply for temporary protection or international protection to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management (PDMM), they are directed by the migration authorities to the “protection desk” within PDMM, where an assessment of their basic needs, including health services, is made and referrals are made to relevant public institutions. International protection applicants and status holders remain covered by General Health Insurance for one year following their international protection registration, but persons with special needs, including refugees with disabilities, can continue to benefit from General Health Insurance with the approval of the migration authorities if they document their ongoing treatment needs.
Refugees with disabilities are also prioritized for in-kind and cash support provided by district governorships or municipalities within their budgets, and for the cash support program known as “Social Cohesion Assistance” or Kızılaykart.
Your disability status alone will not help you to obtain refugee, conditional refugee or subsidiary protection status in Turkey. The status determination assessment related to your asylum (international protection) application to the migration authorities in Turkey is mainly aimed at assessing the risk of war and persecution you may face if you return to your country of origin.
In some cases, disability may have been caused by past war or ill-treatment, or fear of return to the country of origin may be associated with disability.If you believe that you will be persecuted on return to your country of origin because of your disability, or that the authorities in your country of origin will not provide you with adequate protection against the risk of persecution in your country of origin because of your disability, you should make this clear to the authorities at your status determination interview.
According to Turkish law, a person with a disability is defined as an individual who is affected by attitudes and environmental conditions that limit his/her full and effective participation in society on equal terms with other individuals due to various levels of loss of physical, mental, spiritual and sensory abilities.
In order to benefit from the services offered to asylum-seekers and refugees with disabilities in Turkey, you must first be registered for temporary protection or international protection and have a current hospital report to document your disability.
For information on how to register for temporary protection or international protection, please see the section of our platform titled Registration and Status. More detailed information on the disability report is provided below.
The disability report, also known as the Disability Health Board Report, is obtained from hospitals authorized by the Ministry of Health. Please see the list of hospitals authorized to issue disability health report to identify the hospital closest to where you live:
Disabled refugees themselves can request this report for themselves or their caregivers can also do so on their behalf. Obtaining an appointment by phone directly calling the Central Hospital Appointment System via 182 or in-person visiting the hospitals is necessary before initiating the process. When making an appointment, it is important to indicate that you are applying to the Health Board Unit to obtain a disability report.
In order to obtain a Disability Health Board Report, you must first have a Temporary Protection Identity Document/International Protection Applicant Document/International Protection Status Holder Identity Document showing that you are legally staying in Turkey and have a valid ID number. In addition to this identity document, if you have documents proving your disability status in Turkey or in your country of origin, we recommend that you bring them with you on the day of your appointment with the health board.
You should first obtain an appointment from a hospital that is close to your home and has a Health Board Unit. You should be at the hospital on time at the day/time of your appointment. You should approach directly to the “Health Board Unit” within the hospital if you can locate it within the hospital, otherwise, you can consult with the reception for assistance. You must bring with you to the hospital your Temporary Protection ID or International Protection Applicant/Status Holder ID.
The Health Board Unit officers will ask you to fill out a form which has questions on your identity and health status. Then you will be referred to see physicians in the relevant branches who will examine your current health status in order to be able to make an assessment and write a report about it. Each physician in the relevant departments will evaluate your disability status after your examination. Afterwards, a medical board consisting of physicians will collectively evaluate your disability status and prepare a report for you.
If you think that the disability percentage and other evaluations stated in your disability report are incomplete or incorrectly stated, you have the right to object to this report.
You, if relevant, your guardian, or the institution requesting the report can object to the disability health board report by applying within thirty days (30) from the date of receipt of the report. You can apply for objection to the Provincial Health Directorate where you reside or where you received the report.
In your disability medical board report, in the validity period section of the report, it is stated for how long it is valid as of the date of the report. In this case, when your report expires, you need to renew your report by making another appointment with the hospital and going through a new medical examination aiming to assess your most recent health condition.
Disability ID card is a document that proves your disability status and that can help you to apply for services provided for disabled individuals in Türkiye. For this reason, we recommend that you apply for a disability ID card after receiving your disability report.
There are some services and discounts you can benefit from with this card. You can use city transportation free of charge with your disabled ID card. To do this, you need to apply to the branches responsible for metropolitan municipality transportation in your city with your medical board report and your ID card. They will give you a card that you can use for transportation. With this transportation card, you can use municipal buses, metro, tram and sea routes free of charge.
Some intercity buses offer discounts. Some mobile phone companies offer discounts. Again, some TV broadcasting organizations (such as D-Smart, Digitürk) may provide discounts.
There are also non-governmental organizations that can prioritize their services for people with disabilities and provide in-kind and in-cash aid. In order to benefit from these aids and services, you can apply with your disabled ID card.
The Disability Identity Card can be obtained by persons whose medical board report states that they have 40% or more disability. For this reason, if your medical board report states that you are 40% or more disabled, you can apply for a disabled ID card.
For this, you should apply to the Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Services in your province of residence. During the application, you should have 2 photographs, your Temporary Protection Identity Document / International Protection Applicant Document / International Protection Status Holder Identity Document and the original or notarized copy of your disability medical board report.
In order to obtain a Special Needs Assessment Report for Children (ÇÖZGER), the person taking care of the child must apply with an application petition to a hospital authorized to issue ÇÖZGER.
Disabilities of individuals under 18 years of age are determined as “special needs” levels at different percentages and categorized accordingly:
- “Has Special Needs” if between 20-39% disability;
- “Mildly Special Needs” if between 40-49% disability;
- “Moderate Special Needs” if between 50-59% disability;
- “Has Severe Special Needs” if between 60-69% disability;
- “Has Very Severe Special Needs” if between 70-79% disability;
- “Has Significant Special Needs” if between 80-89% disability and
- If it is between 90-99%, it is stated in the report as “Special Condition Requirement”.
If you think that the disability percentage and other assessments stated in your child’s ÇÖZGER report are incomplete or incorrect, you have the right to object to this report. The ÇÖZGER report can be objected to by the person taking care of the child or the institution requesting the report by applying to the Provincial Health Directorate of the province of residence or the province where the report is received, within thirty days (30) from the date of receipt of the report.
In this case, the Provincial Health Directorate will refer the child to a different hospital. If the person in charge of the child’s care or the service provider finds the second ÇÖZGER report received as a result of the objection appropriate, the report can be accepted and used.
If the person in charge of the child’s care does not accept the result of the report and the appeal continues, the Provincial Directorate of Health will refer the child to a referee hospital, i.e. a third hospital.
All foreigners need to obtain work permit in order to legally work in Türkiye. Please see the relevant section on this platform to receive more information about rules and procedures concerning legal employment in Türkiye.
Disabled refugees with work permit can work in Türkiye just like other foreigners. In addition, disabled refugees can benefit from employment quotas established for disabled persons only. In private sector workplaces employing 50 or more people in Türkiye, at least 3% of the total number of employees should be people with disabilities. It is important to note that the jobs employing disabled individuals should be in line with their health condition. As a result, not all jobs can be suitable for all types of disabilities.
The Best Way to Be Informed About the Jobs With A Disability Quota
As a person with a disability, you can apply to the Turkish Employment Agency, the Provincial Directorates of the Turkish Employment Agency or the official website of the Turkish Employment Agency at www.iskur.gov.tr.
For more detailed information, please see the section titled Access to the Labor Market on our website.