46 Hein de Haas
coast, was stimulated by reduced policing during the revolution, but was
part of a long-standing tradition of irregular boat migration to Europe that
has existed since Southern European countries introduced visas for North
Africans in around 1991 (de Haas & Sigona 2012).
1.3.6 Immigration and settlement
Although Morocco, Egypt and Turkey are known as typical emigration
countries, all three are also destinations for migrants from other regions.
This is especially the case for Turkey, which has experienced substantial
immigration, mainly of ethnic Turks, over the past century. From the
establishment of Turkey in 1923, more than 1.6 million immigrants had
settled in Turkey by 1997 (Kirişci 2003).
Since the early 1990s, however, Turkey has witnessed a new form of (often
irregular) migration, mainly involving transit migrants and immigrants.
Many are involved in small-scale trade; others overstay their visas and f ind
jobs in informal sectors working as domestics, labourers in construction,
tourism or other services (Kirişci 2003). Over the last decade, major incom-
ing migration movements have been from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan
and Bangladesh. Signif icant numbers have also arrived from Moldova,
Romania, Ukraine, the Russian Federation and Georgia (İçduygu 2006).
Although many migrants aim to use Turkey as a transit country to get to
Europe, a signif icant proportion settles down, at least temporarily, and
f inds work with relative ease in Turkey’s large informal sectors, especially
in the less desired jobs generated by informalisation (İçduygu 2006). The
total number of irregular immigrants is estimated at between 150,000 and
1 million. Turkey also has a signif icant immigration of asylum seekers. In
addition, an estimated 100,000-120,000 European retirees have recently
settled in Turkey and their numbers are increasing (Kirişci 2003). Growing
immigration and decreasing emigration rates, apparently combined with
increasing return migration from Europe by migrants who are attracted by
the improved conditions in Turkey, would indicate that Turkey has already
entered the last phase of its migration transition.
Historically, Egypt has attracted migrants from the Middle East and
the parts of the Upper Nile located in what is nowadays Sudan. Despite
quite considerable emigration to the Gulf countries and elsewhere, Egypt
has continued to receive signif icant numbers of labour migrants, asylum
seekers and refugees in the post-independence era. Cairo hosts one of the
largest urban-refugee populations in the world – mainly Sudanese but also
Palestinians, Somalis, Ethiopians and Eritreans. In addition, since the 1970s