IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas participated in the workshop entitled “Citizens of Brexit” organised by University of Manchester’s School of Social Sciences on 22 October 2019. At the workshop, IKV Secretary General Nas made a speech on the impact of Brexit on the rights of Turkish citizens living in the UK. In the workshop, the effects of Brexit on British nationals living in the EU as well as on EU and third country nationals living in the UK were discussed.

In her speech, IKV Secretary General Nas indicated that as a result of the Turkey-EU Association Agreement and the Additional Protocol, Turkish nationals had acquired important rights in the areas of provision of services and establishment and emphasised that those rights were confirmed by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in its judgements on Savaş, and Tüm and Darı cases. Referring to the ECJ’s Tüm and Darı judgement, IKV Secretary General Nas said that as a result of this judgement, a special visa category called ECAA (European Community Association Agreement) visa -also known as Turkish businessperson visa- was created for Turkish citizens wishing to set up a business in the UK. Assoc. Prof. Nas went on to say that despite the conditions of the above-mentioned visa category were made stricter, Turkish citizens, who could settle in the UK using that visa, could qualify for permanent residence after a five-year period and a year later could apply for UK citizenship. Assoc. Prof. Nas stated that as a result of Brexit, UK would also withdraw from the Association Agreement which would mean that the right of establishment for Turkish citizens would come to an end and the rights concerning establishment and provision of services would need to be determined within the framework of a new agreement to be signed between Turkey and the UK.