UC Davis

Drawing on forty-five interviews, this study contributes to discussions on refugee well-being and liminal legality by exploring how international protection status (IPS), a liminal legal status, shapes the well-being of Afghan refugees in Türkiye. IPS provides work authorisation and access to social services but restricts refugees' spatial settlement to Turkish satellite provinces, introducing spatial immobility. I employ the concept of ‘spatial liminal legality’ to analyse how the well-being of undocumented Afghan refugees in Istanbul and Afghan refugees with IPS in Trabzon varies in terms of economic integration, social integration, and future plans. As a spatialised liminal legality, the IPS work permit does not alleviate economic precarity for Afghan refugees who find employment in the labour market. The IPS independent work permits mitigate economic precarity for those establishing businesses, primarily small local shops in Trabzon. IPS is key to accessing education and bolsters neighbourhood relations, enhancing the well-being of Afghan refugees. However, access to healthcare services is temporary, negatively affecting long-term health outcomes. IPS allows Afghan refugees to be resettled in a third country, but resettlement is a prolonged and uncertain process that may fail. Türkiye's policymakers should formulate rights-based policies for Afghan refugees to grapple effectively with discrimination and inequality.