The EU treats Turkey as an important partner to enforce its migration and deportation policies. Both countries adopted a "joint action plan" on 29 November 2015 and the EU funded projects to increase Turkey’s detention capacities, including the deployment of alternatives to immigration detention. One of these alternative methods is electronic monitoring.
According to Dr Meltem Ineli-Ciger, "Turkish law provides two kinds of electronic monitoring: through a mobile phone application and ankle monitors. These very different measures are directed at different migrant profiles; whilst electronic monitoring through mobile apps is a way to facilitate the fulfillment of reporting obligations, especially for vulnerable individuals or those with care obligations, ankle monitors are only to be used when the migrant poses a high risk to national security.
Electronic monitoring through the mobile app would work as follows: migrants subject to this measure are expected to install the application developed by the [Turkish Presidency of Migration Management, PMM - which is the main Turkish administration in charge of migration control] on their phones and fulfil their reporting obligations through this app. Without any valid reason, if migrants subject to this [alternative to detention] do not fulfil two consecutive reporting obligations or are found to be outside the province where they are registered without permission, they are to be detained. At the time of writing, electronic monitoring through the mobile application app was not applied in practice since the said mobile phone app had not yet been developed.
Ankle monitors can be applied only to 'leaders, members or supporters of a terrorist or a criminal organisation; those who pose a public order or public security or public health threat; and those who are considered to be linked to organisations that are considered terrorist organisations by international organisations'. Ankle monitors are to be removed when: a) the judge decides to terminate this [alternative to detention], b) when the migrant leaves Turkey, c) when the PMM decides to terminate this alternative measure or d) when the 24-month time limit is up."
"Ankle monitoring has not yet been implemented but the mobile app has become operational as of summer 2025", according to the 2025 Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, International Detention Coalition, & Refugee Law Lab report.