N-99 Restriction Code Turkey: Interpol Record and Extradition

The N-99 restriction code shows that there is an Interpol record about a foreign national, usually a wanted notice published at the request of a foreign state. What sets it apart from other codes is that its source is not the Turkish administration's own assessment but a request that arrives through the international police cooperation channel. The process therefore concerns both Turkish administrative law and the rules of international judicial cooperation.

🔎 What Does the N-99 Restriction Code Mean?

N-99 shows that the person is registered in Interpol systems as a wanted person. In practice, this record is usually a Red Notice or a similar announcement requested by a foreign state because of an investigation or conviction in its own country. The code becomes visible at entry into Türkiye, in residence and citizenship applications, and in law enforcement checks.

The practical meaning of the code is this: at a border gate or an identity check, the person may be detained by law enforcement on the basis of the notice, and an extradition process may be started. For this reason, unlike other restriction codes, N-99 is not only an administrative entry problem but also carries a possible risk of restriction of liberty.

📜 Its Basis in Turkish Law

• Article 15/1-d of Law No. 6458: Visas are not granted to those who are accused or convicted of an offence or offences that are grounds for extradition under agreements to which Türkiye is a party.
• Article 7/1-c of Law No. 6458: Even if they are within a visa exemption, foreign nationals listed in Article 15/1 are treated as inadmissible passengers and are refused at the border gate. The refusal decision is notified and the notification states the routes of objection (Article 7/2).
• Article 15/2 of Law No. 6458: A visa may be granted, with the approval of the Minister, to those within this scope for whom granting a visa is seen as beneficial.

⚖️ The Notice and the Extradition Process

An Interpol notice is not, on its own, an arrest or extradition decision for Türkiye. The extradition process runs under the Law No. 6706 on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters:

• The Central Authority (Ministry of Justice) examines the extradition request and rejects requests that do not meet the conditions (Article 13).
• The high criminal court of the place where the person is located is competent to decide on the request; if the location is unknown, the high criminal court in Ankara is competent (Article 15).
• At every stage of the extradition process the court may order protective measures under the Code of Criminal Procedure; detention is reviewed at intervals of no more than thirty days (Article 16).
• If the person consents, the consent-based extradition procedure may be applied (Article 17).
• If the court decides that the request is admissible, carrying out the decision depends on the proposal of the Minister of Justice, after obtaining the opinion of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and the Interior, and on the approval of the President (Article 19).

🛡️ Cases Where Extradition Cannot Be Accepted

Article 11 of Law No. 6706 lists the cases in which an extradition request will not be accepted. They include the following:

• Strong suspicion that the person will be prosecuted, or subjected to torture and ill-treatment, because of race, ethnic origin, religion, nationality, social group or political opinions;
• The act being a thought crime, a political offence, an offence connected with a political offence, or a purely military offence;
• A previous acquittal or conviction for the act in Türkiye;
• Limitation periods or amnesty;
• The request concerning an offence that carries the death penalty or a punishment incompatible with human dignity (subject to adequate guarantees).

In addition, under Article 11/4, a request may not be accepted where extradition would cause harm out of proportion to the seriousness of the act because of personal circumstances such as the person's long presence in Türkiye or being married.

🧭 Removal of the Record

Because the source of N-99 is a foreign state's request, removal of the record usually runs on two levels. The first is a request to remove or correct the notice with Interpol; Interpol records are supervised by the Commission for the Control of INTERPOL's Files (CCF), the organisation's independent supervisory body. The second is the process concerning administrative records in Türkiye: after the notice is removed, Turkish records are updated and the visa, entry or residence procedures that relied on it are reassessed.

Where a residence permit has been refused, or a deportation or entry ban decision taken on the basis of the record, the administrative court route is open against these decisions; the period for challenging a deportation decision is seven days (Article 53/3 of Law No. 6458). For the general framework, see the articles on entry bans and restriction codesTR and legal remedies for foreign nationalsTR.

Related codes: G-26 restriction codeTR, G-89 restriction codeTR, G-87 restriction code, re-entry after deportationTR.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions