The Centre for Turkey Studies is pleased to invite you to a CEFTUS Westminster Debate with keynote speaker Keith Vaz MP, former Minister for Europe, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1999-2001) and Chairman of the Home Affairs Committee since 2007. Other speakers on the panel include Ms Maria Patsalos, an immigration lawyer, Mrs Aysegul Yesildaglar, former Turkish Attache for Labour and Social Security in Stockholm, Rotterdam, Brussels and London and Ms Serpil Ersan, an immigration lawyer.
Please see speaker biographies below.
In this Westminster Debate, our panel will address UK immigration policies and the effects on relations between Turkey and the UK. Turkey’s European Union accession bid began with the Ankara Agreement which was signed with European Economic Community in 1963. Turkey has been in accession process with the European Union since then and Britain has supported Turkey in this path. Yet, citizens of Turkey, a strong NATO ally, have faced strict immigration regulations in entering the UK and Europe in general. It is estimated that over 250.000 Turkish and Kurdish people of Turkey reside in the UK along with thousands visiting business people, tourists and students every year. Our panelists will address issues of immigration and integration regarding people originating from Turkey, the effects of visa regulations on business relations and the cooperation between the Home Office and the Turkish counterparts on visa regulations for citizens of both countries.
This debate is kindly hosted by our keynote speaker Keith Vaz MP. Journalist Michael Daventry will chair this discussion.
The event will take place between 6-8PM on Thursday 10th September 2015 in Committee Room 9, House of Commons. Please note security checks are required to enter the House of Commons, at the Cromwell Green Entrance. We kindly ask you to arrive at 5.45PM to allow the event to start and end on time. Booking is required for this event to ensure adequate seating availability.
Please click below to register. Alternatively, RSVP to info@ceftus.org
We look forward to welcoming you to this event.
Speaker Biographies
Keith Vaz was first elected in June 1987 and was subsequently re-elected as a Member of Parliament 7 times. He was the first person of Asian origin to sit in the House of Commons since 1922. He was Britain’s Minister for Europe under Tony Blair. He was elected Chairman of the influential Home Affairs Select Committee in 2007 by a vote of the whole house and was re-elected in 2010 and in June 2015. He will serve in that post until 2020.
Elected as the youngest Labour Member of Parliament in 1987 he was appointed an Opposition Spokesman on regeneration and established the City 2020 Commission. When Labour was elected to government in 1997 he was made Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Attorney General. He then became a Junior Justice Minister and was quickly promoted to become a Minister of State in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office where he helped negotiate the enlargement of the European Union. In 2001 he became the senior Labour member on the Justice Committee.
Maria Patsalos is an Associate in the Private department of Mischon de Reya, specialising in immigration. Her practice includes acting for both individual and corporate clients with an emphasis on finding bespoke immigration solutions. Maria specialises in the following applications: Tier 1 Investor Visas; Tier 1 General extensions; Sponsor Licences for companies under Tier 2; Certificate of Sponsorships (the old work permits); Tier 4 Student; Tier 5 Temporary Workers, appeal applications; domestic workers in private households; fiancée/spouse/civil partnership and unmarried partner; rights under European law; Indefinite Leave to Remain and applications to naturalise as a British Citizen. Maria also supervises the immigration element of Pink Law, a free legal service to help those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender. Recently listed as one of ten best Immigration lawyers in the Spear’s 500 Index, she has also been previously listed as a Private Client Practitioner’s Top 35 Under 35, an award to recognise young and upcoming private client advisory professionals. Maria has been quoted in the FT, the Times, The Guardian, the Evening Standard and Channel 4 online in relation to topical immigration matters. She also advises a prime time BBC drama series in relation to their immigration story lines and provides commentary on high profile immigration cases on BBC television and radio.
Aysegul Yesildaglar is currently the Principal of Docklands Academy London, a higher education college based in Canary Wharf, London. She has had her BA degrees in the fields of English Philology and Business Administration. She holds MA degrees in English Language Teaching and European Social Security Law. She worked for Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Turkey in 1988 and served as the Attache for Labour and Social Security in Stockholm, Rotterdam, Brussels and London until May 2010 for a period of 4 years in each secondment. During her post in Brussels and at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in Ankara, she expanded her expertise in EU Social Policy Law, the social dimension of Turkey-EU Association Agreement (Ankara) and the judgments of the European Court of Justice on Turkish citizens. She was appointed as the Head of European Coordination Department of the Ministry in 2003, where she was involved in the negotiations between Turkey and EU with respect to the social policy chapter. During her office she pioneered in the introduction and implementation of EU projects in Turkey. She held this post until 2005 when she was seconded to the Turkish Consulate in London, where she provided services and counselling for both Turkish and British citizens in the fields of labour and social security. During her post at the Turkish Consulate in London, she initiated the process of setting up a permanent dialogue platform between Home Office and the Turkish Consulate.
Serpil Ersan is a Solicitor and Managing Director at Ersan&Co Solicitors. She studied Law at Ankara University and completed her Legal Practice Course at College of Law in 1999. Her area of practice includes Immigration – nationality and citizenship, Immigration – asylum, Personal injury, Conveyancing – residential and Commercial property.