Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Turks in Belgium
Turks in Belgium (Turkish: Belçika'daki Türkler; Dutch: Turkse gemeenschap in België; French: Turcs en Belgique), also referred to as Turkish Belgians or Belgian Turks (Turkish: Belçika Türkleri; Dutch: Turkse Belgen; French: Belgo-Turcs) are people of full or partial Turkish ethnicity living in Belgium. The majority of Belgian Turks descend from the Republic of Turkey; however, there has also been significant Turkish migration from other post-Ottoman countries including ethnic Turkish communities which have come to Belgium from the Balkans (especially from Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Romania), the island of Cyprus, and more recently Iraq and Syria.
Turkish migration from the Republic of Turkey to Belgium began in the 1960s when Belgium was actively encouraging immigration to meet its employment needs in an era of rapid economic expansion. These immigrants were welcomed as "guest workers" when Belgium and Turkey signed a bilateral agreement in July 1964. As mainly unskilled labourers, Turkish immigrants hoped to make a fortune in a short time and then return to their homeland. The majority of Turkish migrants arrived from the central Anatolian provinces of Afyon (particularly from Emirdağ), Eskisehir, Kayseri, Konya (particularly from Piribeyli) and Sivas. Many settled in the industrialised areas of Belgium; thereafter, these migrants brought their families over when Belgium attempted to resolve the growing problem of low population by encouraging family reunification.
By the 1970s the phenomenon of immigrants arriving in Belgium with a tourist visa started; most came from Afyon, especially from the town of Emirdağ. Upon arrival they looked for work and tried to legalise their status as labourers. The presence of these tourists created a black market labour force so that on two occasions the government had to legalise their status. Once they obtained the status of "guest workers" they could bring in their family.
By the 1980s, immigration to Belgium for economic reasons was forbidden by law. The only legal way to take up residence in Belgium was by family reunification, which was only applicable to members of the nuclear family of guest workers or by marrying someone who was a Belgian citizen. Another possible motive for coming to Belgium was to apply for the status of asylum-seeker upon arrival. Turkish asylum seekers came from all over Turkey, with some belonging to minority groups.
Mainland Turks have continued to migrate to Belgium in the twenty-first century in the hope of building a better future; many lured by social and economic security.
In the modern era, due to the political instability and economic crisis, Turkish economic seekers moving to Belgium has doubled compared to the previous years while those for asking for asylum has tripled, from 660 to 1,243 and 673 to 1,721 respectively.
Initially, Turkish Bulgarians first arrived in Belgium as refugees in the 1980s due to the Bulgarisation policies of the so-called "Revival Process" under the communist ruler Todor Zivkov which sought to forcefully assimilate the Turkish minority. The next wave of Turkish Bulgarian migrants in the 1990s and early 2000s were mostly undocumented migrants. These early Turkish Bulgarian arrivals found work in areas where there was an established mainland Turkish community, especially in Ghent, but also in Melle, Zele and Hamme.
More recently, after Bulgaria became a member of the European Union during the 2007 enlargement, the number of Turkish Bulgarian migrants to Belgium increased significantly due to their freedom of movement rights as EU citizens. Thus, Turkish Bulgarian emigration to Belgium in the twenty-first century has been dictated by the economic situation and the stagnation of the labour market in Bulgaria.
Hub AI
Turks in Belgium AI simulator
(@Turks in Belgium_simulator)
Turks in Belgium
Turks in Belgium (Turkish: Belçika'daki Türkler; Dutch: Turkse gemeenschap in België; French: Turcs en Belgique), also referred to as Turkish Belgians or Belgian Turks (Turkish: Belçika Türkleri; Dutch: Turkse Belgen; French: Belgo-Turcs) are people of full or partial Turkish ethnicity living in Belgium. The majority of Belgian Turks descend from the Republic of Turkey; however, there has also been significant Turkish migration from other post-Ottoman countries including ethnic Turkish communities which have come to Belgium from the Balkans (especially from Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Romania), the island of Cyprus, and more recently Iraq and Syria.
Turkish migration from the Republic of Turkey to Belgium began in the 1960s when Belgium was actively encouraging immigration to meet its employment needs in an era of rapid economic expansion. These immigrants were welcomed as "guest workers" when Belgium and Turkey signed a bilateral agreement in July 1964. As mainly unskilled labourers, Turkish immigrants hoped to make a fortune in a short time and then return to their homeland. The majority of Turkish migrants arrived from the central Anatolian provinces of Afyon (particularly from Emirdağ), Eskisehir, Kayseri, Konya (particularly from Piribeyli) and Sivas. Many settled in the industrialised areas of Belgium; thereafter, these migrants brought their families over when Belgium attempted to resolve the growing problem of low population by encouraging family reunification.
By the 1970s the phenomenon of immigrants arriving in Belgium with a tourist visa started; most came from Afyon, especially from the town of Emirdağ. Upon arrival they looked for work and tried to legalise their status as labourers. The presence of these tourists created a black market labour force so that on two occasions the government had to legalise their status. Once they obtained the status of "guest workers" they could bring in their family.
By the 1980s, immigration to Belgium for economic reasons was forbidden by law. The only legal way to take up residence in Belgium was by family reunification, which was only applicable to members of the nuclear family of guest workers or by marrying someone who was a Belgian citizen. Another possible motive for coming to Belgium was to apply for the status of asylum-seeker upon arrival. Turkish asylum seekers came from all over Turkey, with some belonging to minority groups.
Mainland Turks have continued to migrate to Belgium in the twenty-first century in the hope of building a better future; many lured by social and economic security.
In the modern era, due to the political instability and economic crisis, Turkish economic seekers moving to Belgium has doubled compared to the previous years while those for asking for asylum has tripled, from 660 to 1,243 and 673 to 1,721 respectively.
Initially, Turkish Bulgarians first arrived in Belgium as refugees in the 1980s due to the Bulgarisation policies of the so-called "Revival Process" under the communist ruler Todor Zivkov which sought to forcefully assimilate the Turkish minority. The next wave of Turkish Bulgarian migrants in the 1990s and early 2000s were mostly undocumented migrants. These early Turkish Bulgarian arrivals found work in areas where there was an established mainland Turkish community, especially in Ghent, but also in Melle, Zele and Hamme.
More recently, after Bulgaria became a member of the European Union during the 2007 enlargement, the number of Turkish Bulgarian migrants to Belgium increased significantly due to their freedom of movement rights as EU citizens. Thus, Turkish Bulgarian emigration to Belgium in the twenty-first century has been dictated by the economic situation and the stagnation of the labour market in Bulgaria.