In 2026 Türkiye brought back hundreds of wanted persons from abroad. According to the Ministry of Interior, 526 people from 44 countries were returned in the first seven months of the year, and another 60 from 12 countries in August, 16 of them under INTERPOL Red Notices. The countries include Georgia, Greece, Germany, the United Kingdom and Russia. Türkiye has become an active participant in international search.
At the same time the European Union still has serious requirements of Türkiye — both in the legal sphere and in migration. It is precisely the combination of these two lines that sets the direction in which the rules on search and migration are now changing. For anyone these procedures affect, this is a practical question, not politics.
Türkiye uses the full set of tools
International search is not only INTERPOL. It also means extradition and mutual legal assistance treaties, police channels and cooperation with the law enforcement authorities of the country where a person is. The infrastructure for this is being built deliberately: according to the European Commission, a new circular on extradition was issued in Türkiye in November 2024, a central system for tracking cross-border requests was set up, and international judicial cooperation offices were opened in seven prosecution offices.
The first practical conclusion: leaving Türkiye does not in itself close the matter. Cooperation channels work in a wide range of countries.
The EU still has requirements over violations
Türkiye remains an EU candidate country, but accession negotiations have been at a standstill since 2018. The Council of the EU has stated that no further chapters can be opened, citing the situation regarding democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, pressure on the judiciary and failure to implement judgments of the European Court of Human Rights. In May 2025 the European Parliament confirmed that the membership criteria are absolute and not subject to negotiation.
The European Commission’s 2025 report on Türkiye bears directly on search. In the Commission’s assessment, judicial cooperation in criminal matters needs to be improved to meet European standards, and parts of the legislation and its implementation are not in line with the European Convention on Human Rights. The priority recommendation is to implement the judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.
Where the two lines meet: visa-free travel
Türkiye has a strong interest of its own — visa-free travel to the Schengen area for its citizens. To obtain it, six conditions remain to be met. According to the European Commission’s report, they are the anti-terror law, personal data protection legislation, implementation of the EU–Türkiye Readmission Agreement, an agreement with Europol, the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption recommendations and judicial cooperation with all EU Member States.
Most of these conditions concern search and migration directly. The agreement on exchanging data with Europol has not been concluded because Turkish personal data legislation is not yet aligned with European rules. Türkiye does not apply readmission of third-country nationals, linking this to the completion of the visa dialogue. In other words, the EU’s requirements and Türkiye’s interest are tied into a single knot — and it can only be untied by bringing the rules closer together.
Movement is already under way
In February 2026 Türkiye’s Foreign Minister and the EU Commissioner for Enlargement noted that five high-level dialogues had taken place over the year, that the issuance of multiple-entry Schengen visas to Turkish citizens had been facilitated, and that the sides would strengthen cooperation on security and migration. In 2024 the personal data protection law was amended with regard to cross-border transfers, taking European rules as the reference point. Migration cooperation is still based on the 2016 EU–Türkiye Statement, and asylum legislation is, in the Commission’s assessment, partially aligned with EU law.
What this means in practice
For people who are subject to a search, procedures are becoming more formal and are increasingly assessed against European benchmarks. INTERPOL checks notices for compliance with its own rules, and the courts of European states consider extradition requests in the light of the European Convention on Human Rights. Defence grounds based on these standards work — but they need to be prepared in advance, with a clear view of which country will consider the request and under which rules.
For migration the conclusion points the other way: control is becoming tighter and more systematic. Since 2023 the Ministry of Interior has deployed mobile migration points in all 81 provinces. The closer Turkish rules come to European ones, the less room remains for informal solutions. Status, documents and deadlines need to be in order in advance, not at the moment of a check.