In 1990, it was estimated that around 300,000 to 400,000 Western Thrace Turks had migrated to Turkey since 1923. Moreover, from the 1950s onwards, Turks of Western Thrace began to immigrate to Western Europe alongside other Greek citizens. Whilst many Western Thrace Turks had intended to return to Greece after working for a number of years, a new Greek law was introduced which effectively forced the minority to remain in their host countries. Article 19 of the 1955 Greek Constitution essentially stripped the Western Thrace Turks living abroad (particularly those in Germany and Turkey) of their Greek citizenship.