Iranians crossing the border into Turkey to escape severe economic hardship are increasingly finding themselves trapped in cycles of debt and unpaid labor. Driven by domestic inflation hovering near 90 percent and soaring living costs—including bread prices that have tripled and meat costs up over 40 percent—many travel for days hoping to earn enough in a couple of months to support their families back home. Instead, without legal work permits, many encounter predatory middlemen and employers who leave them with less money than when they arrived.
Most migrants enter Turkey on standard 90-day tourist visas and look for informal, "under the table" employment in major hubs like Istanbul's Aksaray neighborhood. Because they work without legal status, they are acutely vulnerable to abuse. Job brokers often demand upfront fees with no accountability; one 24-year-old worker named Yasin paid an agent $100 for factory work, only to be dismissed after a month with a fraction of his promised wages. Stranded with an expiring visa and no savings, he and others sleep in public parks and rely on local mosques for basic sanitation, terrified of police deportation.
The risks have multiplied as the Turkish labor market becomes saturated with newly arriving Iranian job seekers. Experienced seasonal workers report that securing positions has grown far more difficult than in previous years, leaving them unable to recover travel costs. Some travel agents in Istanbul even maintain informal registries of stranded workers who cannot afford bus fare home, offering free return tickets to Iran for those who have exhausted their options. For many who set out with high hopes, the journey has turned into an overwhelming financial trap.