Get set for changes in Turkey

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CHANGES to our everyday lives in Turkey – for both expats and locals – are set to come into force in 2016.

Sabah Newspaper reported that the daily life will see both minor and fundamental changes this year as new laws and regulations changing everything from IDs to marriage procedures are set to be implemented by the end of 2016.

Driving licence changes

For drivers and learner drivers, the year starts with a major change in driver licences. All drivers will be obliged to change their existing licences with the new ones, which will have the status of international driver licence, hence, eliminating the need to apply for new licences for driving abroad.

New regs on licences

More importantly, in a bid to curb traffic accident fatalities and reckless driving, the government will introduce a new regulation to grade licences in January or in the coming months.

Those who obtain new licences this year will be “intern drivers” for two years and will be issued probationary licenses.

Probationary licences can be revoked if new drivers are fined above the limit of a new scoring system for inexperienced drivers and they will be mandated to attend driving schools again to obtain a new license.

The new regulation states that prospective drivers with an IQ level of 79 or below (classified as mental retardation), dementia or those who have a chronic mental disease that alters their thoughts, feelings or behaviors will not be allowed behind the wheel.

It also prohibits those with alcohol and drug addiction from obtaining driver licenses and the driver licenses of those who develop these addictions will be revoked. Reckless driving and drunk driving are among two main causes of the accidents.

ID changes

A set of new bills expected to be implemented this year also eases bureaucracy for Turkish public, from marriages to notification for moving to a new address.

A new civil law likely to come into force in 2016, cuts off the red tape for rectifying typing errors in IDs which is a painstaking legal procedure involving lawsuits and a court order. Under the new law, citizens will be able to change their IDs by filing a petition to the registry office issuing IDs.

As for IDs, bulky old IDs will be replaced this year with new credit card-sized identities. New IDs come with high security to prevent forgery and a data storage chip which will store fingerprint and other information for every individual. The IDs will also be integrated into e-government applications and allow citizens to use their e-signatures stored in new IDs in those applications.

Turkey will also issue ID numbers for foreigners residing in the country. This ID number will facilitate school admission and bank transactions for foreigners.

Domestic violence curb

This year, the government will likely implement a much-awaited law to curb the domestic violence and violence targeting women.

Tentatively named the “Özgecan bill” after a young woman raped and murdered by the driver of a passenger bus she boarded last year, the law aims to deter the potential perpetrators. It is expected to bring harsh sentences to those convicted of lethal domestic violence and crimes against women.

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