The Right of International Students to Access Healthcare in Practice and Turkish Legal Legislation

Year 2025, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 19 - 40, 07.08.2025

Gurur Gülce Beşe , Fırat Semih Avşar

https://doi.org/10.52675/jhesp.1723717

Abstract

The subject of this study is the right of international students studying in Turkey to access healthcare services. The study examines the healthcare access processes of international students in Turkey within the framework of both normative (legal) regulations and practical challenges. The main focus of the research is how international students benefit from healthcare services during their educational journey, the legal foundations of this process, and the structural barriers encountered in practice. The aim of this study is to present the legal regulations regarding the right to health for international students in Turkey and to analyze how these regulations are implemented in practice, thereby identifying existing structural problem areas. Particular emphasis is placed on how elements such as bureaucratic complexity in health insurance procedures, language barriers, and lack of information restrict students’ access to this right. The significance of this study stems from the fact that the effectiveness of services provided to international students within the framework of Turkey’s higher education internationalization policies is directly related to their access to healthcare services. When equal and effective access to the right to health cannot be ensured, not only do individual grievances arise, but Turkey’s inclusive vision in international education is also weakened. Therefore, this issue is not merely a matter of healthcare provision but also has strategic importance in terms of educational policies and foreign policy. In this study, a qualitative research methodology has been adopted, and legal documents, official reports, and policy papers have been examined thematically. Through this method, the discrepancies between legal regulations and actual practice have been systematically revealed.

Keywords

Healthcare Access, Higher Education Policies, International Students, Right to Healt, Turkey

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