Visa policy of Turkey

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]

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Visitors to Turkey must obtain a visa from one of the Turkish diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the 91 visa-exempt countries and territories or one of the 28 countries and territories whose citizens are eligible to apply for an electronic visa. 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.[2][3]

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 less than five years, citizens of Germany who can enter with a passport or an ID card expired for less than one year, citizens of Bulgaria who are only required to have a passport valid for their period of stay.[4] An identity card is accepted in lieu of a passport for citizens of Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Northern Cyprus, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland and Ukraine. The validity period requirement also does not apply to nationals of countries whose identity cards are accepted.[5][6][7][8]

Even though Turkey is a candidate country for membership of 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 one EU member state Cyprus, as well as Schengen Annex II countries and territories – Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Dominica, East Timor, Grenada, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Palau, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates and United States. However, citizens of most of these countries can obtain an electronic visa. On the other hand, Turkey grants visa-free access to citizens of other countries and territories – Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belize, Bolivia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Jordan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Morocco, Qatar, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia and Uzbekistan.

The Turkish government announced that effective from 2 March 2020, visas are not required for passport holders from the following countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Republic of Ireland, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom.[9]

Visa policy map

Visa free access
Turkish entry passport stamp issued at Istanbul Atatürk Airport.

Citizens of the following countries and territories who hold ordinary passports 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]

Indefinite period (1)
90 days per visit, 90 days within a 180-day period (82)
60 days per visit, 90 days within a 180-day period (1)
30 days per visit, 90 days within a 180-day period (7)

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 - Entry with ID card instead of passport is allowed for citizens of Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Greece,
Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain
2 - Entry with ID card instead of passport is allowed for citizens of Liechtenstein, Norway[lower-alpha 3] and Switzerland
3 – British citizens only.[18]
4 – Excluding journalists.[19][20]

Conditional visa free access
up to 90 days within 180-day period[2]

T — Only for touristic visits.
1 — provided being under the age of 15 or above the age of 65.
2 — provided residing in North Cyprus and directly arriving from Ercan International Airport
or seaports of Famagusta, Gemikonağı, or Kyrenia.[1]
3 — provided being under the age of 16 or above the age of 55.

Non-ordinary passport holders

Under reciprocal agreements, holders of diplomatic or service passports or laissez-passers issued by the following jurisdictions are allowed to enter and remain in Turkey for up to 90 days in a 180-day period (unless otherwise noted)

90 days within a 180-day period

T — only for touristic visits
1 — visa exempt in general
2 – 30 days in a 180-day period
D — diplomatic passports
S — service passports

  •  United Nations (UN) Laissez-Passer holders who have blue UN travel documents shall be exempted from entry visa requirement for their official visits to Turkey for up to 90 days in a 180-day period, if they can certify their official assignment. Otherwise general visa provisions shall apply.
    Red UN Travel Document holders, shall be exempted from entry visa and may stay in Turkey 90 days within the preceding 180 days regardless of their purpose of visit.[26][2]
  • Visa waiver agreements for diplomatic passports were signed with  Laos in November 2018 and with  Zambia in May 2019 and they are yet to come into force.[27][28][29]

Electronic Visas (e-Visa)

Holders of passports of the following 29 countries and territories can apply and obtain an electronic visa (e-Visa) for a fee prior to arrival. The duration of stay for most of these nationalities is up to 90 days (up to 30 days for some) within 180 days.[30][31]

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 – Not eligible for e-visas on arrival.
5 – May apply for a single 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 on which they can stay for up to 30 days only if meeting the conditions listed below:[30][2]

1 – e-Visas are issued free of charge.

Sticker visa required in advance without an exception

Citizens of the following countries and territories are not eligible for any of the “Visa Free Access”, “Electronic Visa” or “Conditional Electronic Visa” schemes. Therefore they have to obtain appropriate type of visa for their intended visits in advance at a Turkish diplomatic mission:[2][1]

Visitor statistics

Most tourist arrivals in Turkey come from the following countries:[34][35][36][37][38]

Rank Country 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015
1 Russia 7,017,657 5,964,631 4,715,438 866,2563,649,003
2 Germany 5,027,472 4,512,360 3,584,653 3,890,0745,580,792
3 Bulgaria 2,713,464 2,386,885 1,852,867 1,690,7661,821,480
4 United Kingdom 2,562,064 2,254,871 1,658,715 1,711,4812,512,139
5 Iran 2,102,890 2,001,744 2,501,948 1,665,1601,700,385
6 Georgia 1,995,254 2,069,392 2,438,730 2,206,2661,911,832
7 Ukraine 1,547,996 1,386,934 1,284,735 1,045,043706,551
8 Iraq 1,374,896 1,172,896 896,876 420,8311,094,144
9 Netherlands 1,117,290 1,013,642 799,006 906,3361,232,487
10 Azerbaijan 901,723 858,506 765,514 606,223602,488
11 Poland 880,839 646,365 296,120 205,701550,779
12 France 875,957 731,379 578,524 555,151847,259
13 Greece 836,882 686,891 623,705 593,150755,414
14 Romania 763,320 641,484 423,868 357,473441,097
15 United States 578,074 448,327 329,257 459,493798,787
16 Israel 569,368 443,732 380,415 293,988224,568
17 Saudi Arabia 564,816 747,233 651,170 530,410450,674
18 Belgium 557,435 511,559 419,998 413,614617,406
19 Jordan 474,874 406,469 277,729 203,179162,866
20 Kazakhstan 455,724 426,916 402,830 240,188423,744
21 Sweden 444,285 384,397 289,134 320,580624,649
22 China 426,344 394,109 247,277 167,570313,704
23 Austria 401,475 353,628 287,746 310,946486,044
24 Italy 377,011 284,195 205,788 213,227507,897
25 Lebanon 376,721 338,837 237,476 191,642197,552
26 Kuwait 374,191 298,620 255,644 179,938174,486
27 Denmark 335,877 326,278 269,026 329,618408,841
28 Czech Republic 311,359 228,251 126,567 87,328212,464
29 Switzerland 311,107 269,649 206,479 215,194380,338
30 Turkmenistan 297,706 252,911 230,881 165,762174,330
31 Algeria 295,512 288,207 213,333 176,233171,873
32 Serbia 282,347 225,312 146,852 110,594178,997
33 Cyprus 268,341 266,859 256,059 233,181246,245
34 Libya 259,243 188,312 99,395 72,014234,762
35 Belarus 258,419 245,254 229,229 113,793204,355
36 Spain 257,342 178,018 106,757 106,582236,063
37 Uzbekistan 252,138 241,235 195,745 134,330143,331
38 Morocco 234,264 176,538 114,155 87,660109,775
39 India 230,131 147,127 86,996 79,316131,869
40 Lithuania 229,704 199,371 134,264 109,749112,654
Total 51,747,198 46,112,592 37,969,824 30,906,68041,114,069
Marmaris in Turkey is a popular summer tourism destination.
Beydağları Coastal National Park in Antalya, Turkey

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).[39]

See also
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Turkey.
  • Visa requirements for Turkish citizens
  • Visa policy of Northern Cyprus

Notes
  1. Citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have the right to enter, reside, study, and work indefinitely in Turkey without any immigration restrictions.[10]
  2. For Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport holders
  3. until 31 December 2022

References
  1. "Visa and health information". Timatic. International Air Transport Association through Gulf Air. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
  2. "From Rep. of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 21 July 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  3. "T.C. Dışişleri Bakanlığı Turkish Embassy in New Delhi". Archived from the original on 2018-10-21. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
  4. "Passport Validity Requirements While Entering Turkey in Accordance with Law on Foreigners and International Protection". Turkish MFA. Archived from the original on 2017-09-12. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
  5. "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.
  6. "Polonya Cumhuriyeti'nin Kimlik Kartı Hamili Vatandaşlarının Türkiye'ye Yapacakları Her 180 Gün İçinde Azami 90 Gün İkamet Süreli Turistik Amaçlı Seyahatlerinde ve Transit Geçişlerinde Vize Muafiyeti Sağlanması Hakkında Karar". Cumhurbaşkanı kararı No. 5423 of April 18, 2022 (PDF) (in Turkish). President of the Turkish Republic. Archived 2022-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Bulgaristan Cumhuriyeti'nin Kimlik Kartı Hamili Vatandaşlarının Türkiye'ye Yapacakları Her 180 Gün İçinde Azami 90 Gün İkamet Süreli Turistik Amaçlı Seyahatlerinde ve Transit Geçişlerinde Vize Muafiyeti Sağlanması Hakkında Karar". Cumhurbaşkanı kararı No. 5887 of July 27, 2022 (PDF) (in Turkish). President of the Turkish Republic. Archived 2022-07-28 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Bosna Hersek'e kimlik kartıyla seyahat dönemi".
  9. "Türkiye'den 11 ülkeye vize muafiyeti". NTV. 2020-03-02. Archived from the original on 2020-03-02. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  10. "Countries whose citizens are allowed to enter Turkey with their national ID's / Rep. Of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Archived from the original on 2015-10-08. Retrieved 2013-12-14.
  11. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-30. Retrieved 2021-01-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Turkey Azerbaijan agree on Mutual visa exemption". Anadolu Agency. 2020-06-03. Archived from the original on 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  13. "From Rep. Of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Archived from the original on 2016-07-16. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  14. "Cumhuriyet haber verir... Son dakika haberler ve doğru haberin sitesi". www.cumhuriyet.com.tr (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2020-06-03. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  15. "Sırbistan ile Türkiye arasında kimlikle geçiş uygulaması". Archived from the original on 2022-07-26. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  16. "Türkiye'den 6 Avrupa ülkesine vize muafiyeti". NTV. 2020-02-20. Archived from the original on 2020-02-20. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  17. https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2021/12/20211222-5.pdf Archived 2021-12-22 at the Wayback Machine
  18. "Visa Information for Foreigners / Rep. Of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs". Archived from the original on 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  19. "Turkey Introduces Visa Regime for Russian Journalists". themoscowtimes.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  20. "Türki̇ye, Hi̇zmet Pasaportu Hami̇li̇ Rusya... – T.C. Moskova Büyükelçiliği-Посольство Турции Москва-Turkish Embassy Moscow". Facebook. 2016-04-18. Archived from the original on 2021-10-06. Retrieved 2016-05-04.
  21. "Maldives, Turkey to sign agreement to facilitate visa-free travel to Turkey". Archived from the original on 2022-01-31. Retrieved 2022-02-02.
  22. https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2021/10/20211017-5.pdf Archived 2021-10-17 at the Wayback Machine
  23. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-06-25. Retrieved 2021-06-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  24. "200305-6.pdf" (PDF). 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-03-05. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
  25. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-03-06. Retrieved 2020-11-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  26. "General Information About Turkish Visas". mfa.gov.tr. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  27. Turkey in Ethiopia [@TC_AddisAbabaBE] (May 11, 2017). "FM @MevlutCavusoglu and Sierra Leone FM Kamara signed visa free agreement for diplomatic passports @_AfricanUnion" (Tweet). Retrieved 3 April 2018 – via Twitter.
  28. "Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu visited Laos, 7–8 November 2018". www.mfa.gov.tr. Archived from the original on 12 November 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
  29. "Zambia, Turkey waive visa requirements for diplomatic passport holders". Xinhua. 8 May 2019. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  30. "Electronic Visa Application System". Electronic Visa Application System. Archived from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  31. "Vize Harc Miktarlari En.pdf" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-03-19. Retrieved 2015-03-02.
  32. Must be below 18 or over 35 years old.holding valid visa or residence permit issued by Schengen area countries, Ireland or the United Kingdom
  33. "Electronic Visa Application System". Electronic Visa Application System. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  34. Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Republic of Turkey. "Number of Arriving-Departing Foreigners and Citizens, December 2016". Retrieved 16 May 2017.
  35. NUMBER OF ARRIVING-DEPARTING VISITORS, FOREIGNERS AND CITIZENS December 2017
  36. "DISTRIBUTION OF ARRIVING FOREIGN VISITORS - TOP 5 COUNTRIES (2016-2018) JANUARY-DECEMBER".
  37. "Tourism Receipts-Expenditures (2003-2019)".
  38. "2019". Ktb.gov.tr. Retrieved 2022-03-24.
  39. "Turkey issued over 16 million online visas since 2013". dailysabah.com. 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 27 January 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
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