Turkey 2026 Student Amnesty; Details of the New AK Party Proposal

Submission of the Student Amnesty Proposal to the Turkish Parliament On July 2, 2026, the Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) officially submitted a 28-article proposal to amend the Higher Education Law to the Presidency of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) [2]. This proposal, aimed at resolving the issues of expelled students, is currently under review by the National Education Commission. Özlem Zengin, the party's parliamentary group deputy chair, announced that the government aims to pass this law before the parliament's summer recess in late July so students can plan for the new semester [1].

Who is Eligible for the 2026 Student Amnesty? According to the bill's details, the scope of this amnesty is very broad. All students studying in associate, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs who were expelled after July 1, 2022, for reasons such as non-registration, long-term absence, failing exams, or exceeding the maximum study period are included in this plan [3]. Also, individuals who passed entrance exams but did not register within the deadline can use this opportunity. The main condition for benefiting from this law is not having used similar student amnesty plans in previous years [1].

Exclusion Conditions and Legal Red Lines The Turkish government has included strict restrictions in this plan to maintain security and ethics in university environments. Individuals convicted of terrorist crimes, intentional homicide, torture, sexual abuse of children, and drug trafficking will have no right to return to university [2]. Additionally, those who registered with forged documents or were expelled due to plagiarism and thesis fraud are excluded from this amnesty [3]. Furthermore, individuals whose links to organizations disrupting national security are confirmed by the National Security Council of Turkey cannot return to their studies [1].

Registration Deadline and Return to Classes After the final approval of this bill in the general assembly of the parliament and its publication in the Official Gazette, applicants will have exactly 4 months to submit their written request to the university from which they were expelled [2]. For individuals currently serving in the military, this deadline is extended to 2 months after their discharge date [3]. According to the plans, students whose requests are accepted can resume their education at state or foundation universities in Turkey starting from the 2026-2027 academic year [1].