A total of 1,077 Turkish citizens sought asylum in Belgium in 2019, according data released by the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRA) in Belgium.
The CGRA processed the asylum applications of 950 Turks in 2019 and granted asylum to 658 of them, while two others were granted subsidiary protection.
Following Syrians fleeing an ongoing civil war at home, Turkish citizens were the second largest group of people granted asylum in Belgium in 2019.
Thousands of Turkish citizens had to flee Turkey and seek asylum mostly in Western countries in the aftermath of a failed coup in July 15, 2016 following which the Turkish government launched a massive crackdown on non-loyalist citizens under the pre-text of an anti-coup fight.