Visa policy of Turkey

Entry stamp issued at Istanbul Atatürk Airport

The visa policy of Turkey deals with the requirements which a foreign national wishing to enter Turkey must meet to be permitted to travel to, enter and remain in the country.[1]

Visitors to Turkey must obtain a visa from one of the Turkish diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the 78 visa-exempt countries and territories or one of the 42 countries and territories whose citizens are eligible for an e-Visa on arrival. Turkish visas are documents issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its subsequent diplomatic missions abroad with the stated goal of regulating and facilitating migratory flows. e-Visas can be obtained online or via interactive kiosks placed in Turkish airports.[2]

Visitors of most nationalities must hold a passport valid for no less than 150 days from the date of arrival. The passport validity requirement does not apply to citizens of Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland who can enter with a passport expired for no more than five years, citizens of Germany who can enter with a passport or an ID card expired for less than one year, and citizens of Bulgaria who are only required to have a passport valid for their period of stay.[3] An identity card is accepted in lieu of a passport for citizens of Belgium, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Northern Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine. The validity period requirement also does not apply to nationals of countries whose identity cards are accepted.[4]

Even though Turkey is a candidate country for the membership in the European Union, it has a more complex visa policy than the visa policy of the Schengen Area.[2] Turkey requires visas from citizens of certain EU member states and Schengen Annex II countries and territories – Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominica, East Timor, Grenada, Ireland, Kiribati, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Norway, Netherlands, Palau, Poland, Portugal, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Spain, Taiwan, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, and Vanuatu. On the other hand, Turkey grants visa-free access to citizens of other countries and territories – Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belize, Bolivia, Ecuador, Iran, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Morocco, Qatar, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Visa policy map

Visa policy of Turkey

As of right

Citizens of the following countries do not require a visa to enter, reside, study, and work indefinitely in Turkey without any immigration restrictions:

Visa-free

Citizens of the following 78 countries and territories do not require a visa to visit Turkey for the durations described below for tourism or business purposes (unless otherwise stated). For visits of up to 90 days within a 180-day period, an identity card is accepted in lieu of a passport for citizens of some countries.[2]

90 days per visit, 90 days per 180-day period

60 days per visit, 90 days per 180-day period

30 days per visit, 90 days per 180-day period

ID - May enter with an ID card for a stay of up to 90 days per 180-day period
T - Visa free for tourism purposes only.
1 - Allowed to enter with an expired passport (up to 5 years)
2 - Allowed to enter with an expired passport or ID card (up to 1 year)
3 - Except for journalists and holders of service passports[6][7]

Visa is also not required for holders of a "Laissez-Passer" issued by the United Nations.[2]

The visa-free regime also applies to the citizens of the following countries under certain conditions:[2]

Visa waiver agreement for diplomatic was signed with Sierra Leone in May 2017 and it is yet to come into force.[8]

e-Visa

Holders of passports of the following 40 countries and territories can obtain e-Visas online for a fee prior to arrival. Unless otherwise stated, e-visas can also be obtained at interactive kiosks placed in Turkish airports, albeit with higher fees for some nationalities. The duration of stay for most of these nationalities is 90 days(some 30 days) within 180 days.[9][10]

ID - May enter with an ID card for a stay of up to 90 days per 180-day period
1 - May only apply for a single entry e-visa on which they can stay for up to 30 days.
2 - Allowed to enter with an expired passport (up to 5 years)
3 - e-Visas are issued free of charge. Fees apply to Mexican citizens who obtain e-Visas on arrival.
4 - For British citizens and British Nationals (Overseas) only.
5 - Not eligible for e-visas on arrival.
6 - May apply for a multiple entry e-visa on which they can stay for up to 30 days.

Conditional e-Visa

Citizens of these countries and territories are eligible to apply for a single entry e-Visa OR e-visa on arrival at Istanbul Ataturk (IST) on which they can stay for up to 30 days only if meeting the conditions listed below:[9][2]

1 - e-Visas are issued free of charge.

Conditions:

  • All nationalities, except for citizens of Gabon and Zambia, must hold a valid visa or residence permit from one of the following countries: Schengen area countries, Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States. Electronic visas or e-residence permits are not accepted. Egyptian citizens who are under 20 or over 45 years old do not need to fulfill this requirement.
  • All citizens except for the citizens of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Philippines must travel with one of the airlines that has protocols with Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The following airlines meet the criteria: AtlasGlobal, Onur Air, Pegasus Airlines and Turkish Airlines.[12] Citizens of Egypt may also travel on flights operated by EgyptAir.
  • Must hold a hotel reservation and adequate financial means (US$50 per day).
  • Algerian citizens must be aged below 18 or over 35 years old to be eligible for e-Visa. Otherwise, a sticker visa is required.
  • Afghanistan, Iraq, Zambia and Philippines citizens not eligible for e-visa on arrival at Istanbul Ataturk

Visa on arrival only under limited circumstances

Citizens of  North Korea may only obtain a visa on arrival at Istanbul Ataturk Airport if holding a valid visa or residence permit issued by Schengen area countries, Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States.[2]

Sticker visa required

Citizens of the following countries and territories must obtain a sticker-type visa in advance at one of the Turkish diplomatic missions:[2][1]

1 - For those not qualifying for visa on arrival.

Visitor statistics

Most visitors arriving to Turkey were from the following countries of nationality:[13][14]

Turkey issued 16,199,968 electronic visas between April 2013 and January 1, 2017. Acceptance rate was 87.79% as 18,452,733 applications were filed in this period. Most visas were issued to nationals of the United Kingdom (4.6 million), Iraq (2 million) and the Netherlands (1.8 million).[15]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Country information (visa section)". Timatic. International Air Transport Association (IATA) through Olympic Air. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "From Rep. of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  3. ↑ "Passport Validity Requirements While Entering Turkey in Accordance with Law on Foreigners and International Protection". Turkish MFA.
  4. ↑ "Countries whose citizens are allowed to enter Turkey with their national ID's / Rep. of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Mfa.gov.tr. Archived from the original on 2015-10-08. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  5. ↑ "From Rep. of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Turkey Introduces Visa Regime for Russian Journalists". themoscowtimes.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "TÜRKİYE, HİZMET PASAPORTU HAMİLİ RUSYA... - T.C. Moskova Büyükelçiliği-Посольство Турции Москва-Turkish Embassy Moscow". Facebook. 2016-04-18. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  8. ↑ "Turkey in Ethiopia on Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  9. 1 2 "Electronic Visa Application System". Electronic Visa Application System. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  10. ↑ http://www.mfa.gov.tr/data/KONSOLOSLUK/vize-harc-miktarlari-en.pdf
  11. ↑ Must be below 18 or over 35 years old.
  12. ↑ "Electronic Visa Application System". Electronic Visa Application System. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  13. ↑ "Border Statistics 2015". turkstat.gov.tr. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  14. ↑ NUMBER OF ARRIVING-DEPARTING VISITORS, FOREIGNERS AND CITIZENS December 2017
  15. ↑ "Turkey issued over 16 million online visas since 2013". dailysabah.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.