Turkish Father deported from Hungary despite having Hungarian wife and daughter; lived there for 35 years: Is no immigrant safe?

Even though a Turkish national had a Hungarian wife and they were raising their Hungarian daughter together, the authorities expelled him without granting him the right to know why. The Turkish father had lived in Hungary from 1990 until 2021, the year of his expulsion. Is no immigrant safe in Hungary? one might ask. But there may be more to this issue than meets the eye.

The Turkish national arrived in Hungary in 1990

According to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, an NGO that regularly assists and represents immigrants in such matters, Orhan Demirci was not informed by the Hungarian authorities why his presence was considered a threat to national security.

Demirci arrived in Hungary in 1990 and married in 1994. Their daughter was born in 1995. He was legally residing in Hungary and, due to changes in legislation and the expiry of his permanent residence card, applied for a national settlement permit (nemzeti letelepedési engedély) in 2020. Given his decades-long residence, he believed the process would proceed smoothly.

However, the opposite occurred. “On 28 September 2020 the Constitution Protection Office issued an authoritative assessment stating that the applicant’s presence in Hungary constituted a risk to national security and a direct and serious threat to public safety; that the applicant did not reside in the same household as a Hungarian citizen; and that he should be subject to a five-year ban on re-entry and residence,” the European Court of Human Rights summarised in its verdict.

Turkish father Demirci deported from Hungary in 2021

Mr Demirci appealed to the Budapest and Pest County Regional Directorate of the National Directorate-General for Aliens Policing, which dismissed his application a month later. In February 2021, the Directorate upheld the initial decision. This came despite the Commander of the National Police Service stating that Demirci did not pose a direct and serious threat to public safety.

Furthermore, according to the Helsinki Committee, neither Mr Demirci nor his lawyer was able to learn why he was deemed a national security risk by the Constitution Protection Office. Under Hungarian law, the authoritative assessment cannot be overturned or revised, meaning the authorities were compelled to expel him.

No consideration was given to the sources behind the assessment or to the consequences the expulsion would have on the pensioner or his family. He was deported in March 2021. Before returning to Türkiye, he had to sell as many of his belongings as possible to start a new life.

His case is not unique

With the assistance of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, Mr Demirci appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, which recently delivered an unanimous verdict: the Hungarian state had limited Mr Demirci’s procedural rights without providing sufficient safeguards. As a result, Mr Demirci will receive €6,500 in respect of non-pecuniary damage and €8,200 for costs and expenses, to be paid within three months.

The Helsinki Committee stated that the relevant Hungarian regulations do not comply with Article 1 of Protocol No. 7 to the Convention. The Committee argued that even in cases involving national security, an immigrant must be informed of the reasons their presence is considered a threat, in order to mount a proper defence.

According to Barbara Pohárnok, the lawyer who represented Mr Demirci in Strasbourg, his case is not unique. She said several Hungarian families, some raising minors, have contacted her since 2020 after authorities expelled a family member on the grounds of posing a national security threat.

Read more articles about guest workers in Hungary HERE.

A possible explanation

According to the introduction of the court’s verdict, Mr Demirci was convicted of causing serious bodily harm in 2014 and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for three years. The suspension period ended in 2017, and the verdict contains no indication that Mr Demirci committed any further offences thereafter. The Helsinki Committee did not mention this violation, but it is possible that the Constitution Protection Office classified him as dangerous due to this earlier conviction.

Read also:

• PM Orbán launches new campaign targeting guest workers: Echoes of 2004 anti-migrant rhetoric – read more HERE
• Many foreigners will never be able to work, live in Hungary, and their number is growing day after day! – read more HERE