17,000 foreigners have migrated from Antalya in the last 4 months

While 17 thousand of the foreign nationals with residence permits have left the city in the last four months, the proportion of those who have left since the beginning of the year has reached 16 percent.

The ‘’cost of living” has become unbearable even for foreigners in Turkey, Russians to be in the first place. The number of “foreigners with residence permits” who left Antalya only in the last 4 months exceeded 17 thousand. The number of homes sold to foreigners also decreased by 29.23 percent, in the nine-month period of the year.

Many foreigners, Russians in the first place returning to their countries

Foreigners who emigrated to Antalya due to the Russia-Ukraine war, especially Russian citizens, and those who stayed with a residence permit, are returning to their countries. With the Russia-Ukraine war, thousands of Russians and Ukrainian citizens who started living in Turkey, especially in Antalya, caused rents to rise in Antalya and its districts. However, in addition to the high inflation and cost of living in Turkey, rents reaching astronomical levels and the increase in the cost of obtaining citizenship in exchange for housing to 450 thousand dollars have caused a decrease in foreigners living in Antalya.

According to data from the Antalya Immigration Directorate, the number of foreigners with residence permits in the city, which was 148,597 on June 22, 2023, decreased to 131,659 on October 26, 2023. This means that in just 4 months, 17,000 foreigners with residence permits left Antalya, bringing the total number leaving since the beginning of the year to 25,000.

Cost of living causing reverse migration

An official from the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ATSO), stated that the number of foreigners residing in Antalya had decreased by approximately 10% compared to the previous year in 2023. He pointed out that factors such as high rents, the cost of living, the increase in the citizenship fee, and the difficulty in obtaining a residence permit were effective in this decline. He went on to say, “The increase in rents has become a significant problem for foreigners living in Antalya. Rents in Antalya have increased above the Turkish average in recent years. The cost of basic needs for resident foreigners has risen, which has become a reason for reverse migration.”

He emphasized that the combination of all these factors had led to a decrease in the number of foreigners residing in Antalya and a decrease in the number of foreign-owned companies in the region. He also mentioned that Antalya is still maintaining its status as an international attraction center.

“Exit ban from Russia is effective”

The Mayor of Konyaaltı, where many Russian citizens reside, stated that the decrease in the number of foreigners residing in Antalya was also due to Russia imposing an exit ban on its citizens due to the war and asking young men of military age to return to their countries. He noted that in Konyaaltı, in the spring, 32,000 foreigners received residence permits, and there are a total of 52,000 foreigners living there, including those who received citizenship and those who are tourists.

“Difficulty in money transfer also led to return”

He observed a decrease in the number of foreigners who obtained residence permits in the district and attributed it to Russia imposing an exit ban on its citizens and making money transfers difficult. He added that the severe penalties for young men of military age who did not return to their countries also played a role in the decrease.

Migration frenzy stopped, prices are stabilizing

The President of the Antalya Real Estate Agents, Car Dealers, and Business Follow-up Association, stated that the migration frenzy from Russia had temporarily stopped due to factors such as raising the prices for granting citizenship in exchange for property purchase and making residence permits more difficult. He mentioned that the ‘bubble’ in high rents and real estate sales in Antalya had burst, and real estate transactions were returning to realistic figures. He said, “There is no excessive migration like in the early days of the war. They are not coming anymore. Arrivals have become more difficult. Rental and sales of real estate are starting to return to real figures. Rents, which reached around 25,000 liras in Konyaaltı district, where Russian citizens predominantly live, have now dropped to around 17,000 liras…”