Iranian youth moves to Turkey

When searching for the phrase "How to purchase a house in Turkey" in Persian at an Internet portal site, one would find tens of pages. These are all advertisements that offer to introduce methods to purchase real estate in Turkey or acquire a sojourn visa easily. This is a case in point that demonstrates the increase in the number of young people in Iran who are determined to "escape" abroad as the domestic economy is suffering due to long-standing economic sanctions against the country.

"De-Iran" wave is blowing amongst the younger generation, who needs to be the backbone of Iran’s economy. Their destination is Turkey, which shares a border with Iran. “There was a conspicuous increase in the number of clients in the recent four months when economic insecurity started increase as the United States withdrew from nuclear agreement,” said Mohsen Arkanezhd, an immigration consultant. “Most of them are people who desire to make Turkey the second homeland.

According to a report by Iran's Labor Ministry, some 3.2 million people were unemployed in Iran last year and 42 percent of them received high education. As college graduates were unable to find a satisfying job in Iran, they started turning their eyes toward immigration. The Iranian congress dismissed labor minister followed by economy minister, making an issue of skyrocketing unemployment rate and financial crisis.

“There are up to some 1,000 houses or apartments alone that have been purchased in Turkey by Iranians since spring,” said Reza Kami, chairman of Iran-Turkey Chamber of Commerce in Teheran. “The price range of most houses that were purchased is concentrated between 50,000 U.S. dollars to 200,000 dollars (some 56 million won to 220 million won).” The houses purchased by Iranian immigrants are mostly for residential purposes rather than investment and are low-incomers rather than the rich.

According to foreign media such as the BBC, living expenses in Iran is rapidly increasing since the United States imposed sanctions against Tehran. The value of the Iranian currency riyal is marking record high every day. Middle Eastern media anticipate that the "de-Iran" trend among young Iranians may even become stronger once the United States embarks on its second round of sanctions against Iran in November.


Dong-Il Seo dong@donga.com