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.
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.
Visitors of most nationalities must hold a passport valid for no less than 60 days beyond the duration of stay of their visa, e-Visa, visa exemption period, or residence permit. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends visitors to hold a passport with at least six months of remaining validity. 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. 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.
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. 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.
Video Visa policy of Turkey
Visa policy map
Maps 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.
Visa is also not required for holders of a "Laissez-Passer" issued by the United Nations.
The visa-free regime also applies to the citizens of the following countries under certain conditions:
- Cyprus - provided residing in Northern Cyprus and directly arriving from Ercan International Airport or seaports of Famagusta, Kyrenia, or Karavostassi for a maximum stay of 90 days within 180 days
- Palestine - provided holding a VIP passport
- Citizens of Algeria, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Grenada, Guyana, Iraq, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Malta, Mauritania, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tanzania, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Yemen and for holders of diplomatic passports of Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, India, Mali, Mauritius, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Palestine, Senegal, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uzbekistan - provided holding diplomatic, service and special passports for a maximum stay of 90 days within 180 days
Turkey signed a visa waiver agreement with Mozambique for holders of diplomatic and service passports in January 2017 and it is yet to come into force. Visa waiver agreement for diplomatic was signed with Sierra Leone in May 2017 and it is yet to come into force. Visa waiver agreement for diplomatic passports was signed in June 2017 with Burundi and it is yet to come into force.
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.
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:
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. 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.
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:
1 - For those not qualifying for visa on arrival.
Visitor statistics
Most visitors arriving to Turkey were from the following countries of nationality:
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).
See also
- Visa requirements for Turkish citizens
- Visa policy of Northern Cyprus
External links
- Turkish e-Visa Application System
- Turkish Sticker-type visa application
- Turkey visa information
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
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