Turkey latest country to adopt language tests in asylum procedure

Following a deal made with the European Union to help increase border security and slow down the flow of migrants and refugees travelling through the country, Turkey has published a call for Technical Assistance for Capacity Building for Effective Nationality Determination through the European Commission’s department for International Cooperation and Development. This will allow them to use language tests in an effort to identify the origin of a person in asylum cases.

This endeavor will benefit from both automated systems, as well as a human component, where linguists will be working with native speakers of a certain dialect or language to achieve the needed technical knowledge required in this domain. The EuropeAid project, which has a budget of €2.5 million, will start in January 2019 and will have two years for capacity development.

Verified AB (Sweden), under the umbrella of Hulla & Co Human Dynamics, is on the shortlist for this project, along with Wyg International Danışmanlık Ltd. Şti. (Turkey) and Matbuu Baskı ve İnternet Hiz. Ltd. Şti. (Turkey). Human Dynamics specializes in consulting services in the public sector and collaborates with the European Union, among others, in the effort to bring technical development aid assistance to transitioning and developing countries.