Important change visa regulation for Turkey
From 2 March 2020, the visa requirement will be abolished for persons with a UK or Irish passport. From now on you can enter Turkey on presentation of your passport or identity card. Citizens of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Croatia, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Sweden, Finland, Belgium and The Netherlands also no longer require a visa.
Attention: the 90/180 days rule remains valid! This means that you can stay in Turkey for a maximum of 90 days - in one or more times - in a period of 180 days. If you want to stay longer than 90/180 days in Turkey, you should apply for a residence permit for Turkey (Ikamet).
Turkey is freely accessible from most countries but still has a visa requirement for some countries.
How to apply for your visa?
Until 2014, you could buy the so-called visa at the border when entering Turkey. When you came by plane, this means that you bought a visa on arrival in Turkey at the airport before passing the customs control.
Since 2014, the visa has to be ordered online; and the application is actually very easy. You visit the official website of the Turkish government and just go through the procedure.
What do you need for your visa application?
Keep your ID card or passport and credit card at hand. Please note that payment is currently only possible with a Visa card or MasterCard. Price of the visa depends upon the nationality of the applicant. For most European countries, UK and USA, the cost is $ 20. Your identity card or passport must still be valid minimum 150 days on the day of arrival in Turkey.
You fill in the requested information (such as your address, name, date of birth, identity card number or passport number, email address etc.) and pay. A few seconds later, you can download your visa (you will also receive a download link by email) and that’s it. Don’t forget to print your visa and to take it with you to Turkey. Upon arrival at the airport in Turkey – or at the border if you come by car – you show your visa and your ID card or passport at customs control.
Practical tips
- The Turkish visa is valid for 180 days (Please note that this is not equal to 6 months!) and is a "multiple entry" visa. This means that you can leave and return to Turkey repeatedly during these 180 days. During the period of 180 days, you may stay in Turkey up to 90 days. If you wish to stay longer; you should apply for a residence permit for Turkey (Ikamet).
- A practical example: You came the first of May for a ten-day vacation to Turkey and your visa for Turkey starts on the same day, May 1st. The holiday in Turkey was fantastic and you decide to spend the entire months of July and August in Turkey again. This can be done with the same visa, since you still have 80 days left and your visa is valid until October 27th. In the meanwhile, you like it so much in Turkey and during your vacation, you decide to buy an apartment at RealProinvest and to settle in Turkey. August 20, you fly back to England to take care of a few things, and the first of September you return to Turkey; again with the same visa which is still valid. You now have 29 days of the 90 days left, and should apply for a residence permit (Ikamet) before September 29 (unless you leave Turkey before that date).
- We suggest to start your Ikamet-application on time, and not to wait until the last minute to apply for your residence permit for Turkey. The application procedure should start, in any case, before the expiry date of your visa (in the case of our example above: before September 29, the ninetieth day you are in Turkey). No worries: as you are now one of our satisfied customers, we are there to advise and assist you during your first Ikamet application. More information on applying for a residence permit for Turkey (Ikamet) can be found here.
If you would like to be informed about any changes in the procedures; we suggest you subscribe to our newsletter here or to consult our blog regularly. If you should have any questions regarding the application for a visa for Turkey, you can send us an email or consult the "Frequently Asked Questions" on the official website of the Turkish government concerning the visa for Turkey.