The Libyan Ambassador to Türkiye, Mustafa Glaib, discussed with Turkish Officials ways to resolve some of the bottlenecks facing the Libyan community in Türkiye.
Türkiye over the past few years has become a host country of one of the largest Libyan communities abroad. However, recently the community has been facing a number of legal challenges which were not present previously, a theme that is becoming relatively common within different expat communities residing in Turkey in recent times.
Ambassador Glaib of Libya held on Wednesday two separate meetings with the Turkish Ministries of Health and Interior, to follow up on some of the major issues in this regard, much of which was discussed also previously with the Turkish Foreign Ministry during the visit of Libya’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Najla Mangush to Ankara two weeks ago.
In the meeting held with Turkish Minister of Health Fahrettin Koca, the conditions of Libyan patients in Turkish hospitals and the problems they have confronted were discussed, including fines they have faced as a result of their residency permits expiring under current regulations before finalizing the treatment process.
During the meeting, the Turkish Minister of Health affirmed their intention on solving the problems facing Libyan patients regarding the residency period, pointing out that the Turkish authorities will issue temporary residence permits that exempt the patient from any legal violations and fines.
Glaib also met with the Turkish Assistant Minister of Interior, Munir Karaoglu, and discussed the problems facing Libyan students and their families, as well as patients and their companions, in addition to considering complaints submitted by the Libyan community in general.
During the meeting, the Ambassador of Libya presented examples of cases of Libyan citizens whose applications for obtaining residency were rejected despite the fulfillment of legal requirements. For his part, the Turkish Assistant Minister of Interior expressed his understanding and pledged to study these problems, discuss them with the relevant departments and find appropriate solutions.
Lately, Türkiye has been witnessing a wide campaign to deport irregular immigrants or residents whose documents are not complete, which has led the Libyan community to request immediate action from the Libyan embassy in Ankara.
Source: Libyan Embassy in Türkiye
