Visa policy of Turkey

Updated on Jan 01, 2025

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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. All visitors must hold a passport valid for 6 months beyond the period of intended stay and with two blank pages. An identity document is accepted in lieu of a passport for citizens of Belgium, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Northern Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.

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 countries and territories – Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belize, Bolivia, Ecuador, Iran, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Morocco, Qatar, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

As of right

The following citizens do not require a visa to enter, reside, study, and work indefinitely in Turkey without any immigration requirements:

Visa-free

Holders of passports of the following 78 countries and territories do not require a visa to visit Turkey up to the specified duration per 180 days for tourism or business purposes (unless otherwise stated): An identity document is accepted in lieu of a passport for citizens of France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.

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:

Greek Cypriot Administration - provided residing in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and directly arriving from Ercan or ports of Famagusta, Kyrenia, or Karavostassi for a maximum stay of 90 days within 180 days

Palestine - provided holding a VIP passport

Syria – provided arriving by land directly from Syria to Turkey passing through official ports of entry

Citizens of Algeria, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Grenada, Guyana, 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, 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.

E-Visa

Holders of passports of the following 42 countries and territories can obtain multiple-entry e-Visas online prior to arrival or for those arriving to Turkey without e-Visas will be able to obtain them via interactive kiosks placed in Turkish airports for a maximum stay of 90 days within 180 days (unless otherwise stated):

_{ID - May enter with an ID card}
_{1 - May 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.}

Conditional e-Visa

Citizens of these countries and territories are also eligible under certain conditions to apply for a single entry e-Visa on which they can stay for up to 30 days:

Conditions:

All citizens except for the citizens of Gabon and Zambia, must hold a valid visa or residence from one of the following countries Schengen Countries, USA, UK or Ireland (except electronic visas). 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, Egypt, India, Pakistan and Philippines must hold a return with Turkish Airlines or Pegasus Airlines. Citizens of Egypt may also travel on flights operated by Egypt Air or Onur Air.

Must hold a hotel reservation and adequate financial means (US$50 per day)

Visa requiring Nationals

Citizens of the following countries and territories must obtain a visa in advance at one of the Turkish diplomatic missions:

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).

References

Visa policy of Turkey Wikipedia

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