Geography of a Nation in the Making: The Settlement Law of 1934

The Settlement Law of 1934, which remained in effect until 2006, was the main regulation concerning immigration to and settlement in the Republic of Turkey. It laid down the legal stipulations regarding the immigration of Muslims from former Ottoman territories as well as from other countries, such as the USSR, into Turkey starting in the years following the establishment of the Turkish Republic. The Turkish state sought to address both domestic and international concerns through the introduction of a detailed new settlement law. Accordingly, for the sake of creating a homogenous population for a culturally, linguistically and ethnically united nation-state, the government promoted an open-door immigration policy for former Ottoman Muslims abroad in a bid to revive underpopulated areas in Anatolia. In support of the nationalistic agenda of the Turkish government, the law aimed at achieving broad-spectrum demographical engineering while settling migrants in specific areas.