Can a person from Turkiye apply for a protection visa in Australia?

A person from Turkiye who is in Australia may apply for a Protection (subclass 866) visa if they meet the refugee criteria or the complementary protection criteria in the Migration Act 1958. Eligibility depends on the individual's own circumstances, and on other requirements such as health, character and security.

Does DFAT publish a Country Information Report for Turkiye?

Yes. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade lists a Country Information Report for Turkiye, updated 16 May 2025, prepared for protection status determination purposes. Under Ministerial Direction 113 a decision-maker must take DFAT country information into account, and may also consider other relevant information.

Protection Visa Applications from Turkiye

Visa Plan Lawyers advises applicants from Turkiye on Australian protection visa applications and related merits review matters. Protection claims from Turkiye commonly raise issues connected to political affiliation, ethnic identity, and targeting on the basis of perceived association with particular movements. Whether a claim succeeds depends on the applicant's own history, the evidence assembled to support it, and the country information current at the date of decision.

Visa Plan treats each protection matter as a case to be built: claims identified, evidence gathered, and the legal basis for each claim stated with precision.

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Acting for Applicants from Turkiye

Visa Plan Lawyers advises applicants from Turkiye on Protection (subclass 866) visa applications and on merits review before the Administrative Review Tribunal. Where the refugee criteria are not met, complementary protection is assessed as a separate ground.

The Department of Home Affairs states that the refugee definition in the Migration Act 1958 is forward-looking: past persecution does not by itself make a person a refugee unless there is a real chance of persecution on return, although past events may establish that chance. Source: Home Affairs, Australia's protection obligations. The refugee definition is in sections 5H and 5J, and the visa criteria in section 36, of the Migration Act 1958.

Country Information for Turkiye

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade publishes a Country Information Report for Turkiye (updated 16 May 2025; PDF). DFAT prepares these reports for protection status determination purposes and describes them as factual overviews, distinct from Australian Government policy, drawing on in-country knowledge and reporting from other governments, UN agencies, civil society and media.

Smartraveller, the Australian Government travel advice service, currently rates Turkiye at "Exercise a high degree of caution" (advice updated 14 August 2026; checked 25 September 2026). Travel advice is written for Australian travellers, not for protection assessment, but it forms part of the official Australian record of conditions and is among the materials Visa Plan reviews.

Country condition assessment is carried out confidentially for each client and is not published on this page.

Related Protection Pathways

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Time limits in protection matters are short and the written claims made at the outset frame the case. Contact Visa Plan to discuss a protection visa application or review matter connected to Turkiye.