MONTENEGRO ENDS VISA-FREE TRAVEL FOR TURKISH CITIZENS
Montenegro announced that citizens of Turkey, China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Belarus will be subject to a new visa requirement as part of the country's accession with the European Union (EU).
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CALL FOR POLICIES TO CURB TURKS’ OVERSEAS SPENDING
President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ITO) Şekip Avdagiç has triggered a wave of criticism after suggesting the government should introduce policies to limit Turkish citizens’ spending on vacations abroad.
TURKEY GRANTS VISA-FREE TRAVEL TO CHINESE CITIZENS
Turkey will grant visa-free entry to Chinese citizens for tourism and transit travel, following a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette.
TURKEY PLANS TO INTRODUCE CITIZENSHIP INCOME
Turkey will test the proposed “basic citizenship income” pilot program, first announced by the governing AKP in 2023.
ANKARA LEADS IN CREDIT DEBT, KARAMAN TOPS IN UNPAID LOANS
Turkey’s Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) released new data covering the first nine months of 2025, revealing the country’s debt landscape by province. The capital, Ankara, recorded the highest total credit debt, while the central Anatolian province of Karaman had the largest share of citizens unable to repay their loans and facing collection proceedings.
CO-CHAIR: DEM WILL REMAIN IN OPPOSITION REGARDLESS OF PROCESS OUTCOME
Ahead of CHP’s hesitations to join the parliamentary commission, DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan said that the party will maintain its opposition identity even if the process is successful. Bakırhan stated that the matter will eventually be brought before the DEM and that they will not approve the constitutional amendment if it does not satisfy their demands regarding the Kurdish issue, democratization, women's rights, youth, Alevis' right to equal citizenship, economic justice, and the environment.
İMAM NİKAHI
İmam nikahı, or dini nikah (religious wedding), has long been a battleground for women’s rights activists who strongly oppose religious marriage and support strict penalties for imams and muftis (Muslim clergy) who conduct religious unions without first ensuring that the couple has undergone a civil ceremony. Turkey’s laws on marriage are regulated by the 1926 Civil Code, which abolished polygamy, introduced civil marriage, and mandated that any religious ceremony—should citizens of the newly established secular state choose to hold one—must follow civil registration in a municipal office. In villages, chieftains (elected officials) conduct the ceremony, while consular officers perform civil ceremonies for Turks abroad. Under the 1926 laws, religious officers—whether imams, priests, or rabbis in Turkey’s multi-faith society— had no authority to perform official weddings, as they cannot verify the legal requirements, such as the age of the would-be spouses or whether they are already married.