Information

A visa is a document giving its holder permission to enter Turkey and travel around the country for a fixed period.

Citizens of eligible countries travelling for tourism or business may apply online rather than at a Turkish embassy or consulate or, for certain nationalities, at the border upon arrival. Personal, passport and travel details must be provided in the application, and the fee is paid with a credit or debit card.

Passport control officers are able to check visas at the border; even so, travellers are advised to have a printed copy with them, or a digital copy on a phone or tablet, in case a technical problem arises.

Holding a visa is not a guarantee of entry. Turkish border officials at the port of entry take the final decision.

As a rule, you will need the following for the application:

• a passport or other travel document that is accepted,
• a recent photograph, to be uploaded with the application,
• the date on which you plan to arrive in Turkey,
• a valid email address,
• a credit or debit card for paying the fee.

The passport must, in accordance with Article 7(1)(b) of Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection, remain valid for a minimum of 60 days beyond the duration of the visa, visa exemption or residence permit. In addition, travellers are advised by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to hold a passport that remains valid for at least six months from the date they arrive.

For some nationalities, further conditions may apply, for instance holding a valid visa or residence permit issued by a Schengen country, the USA, the UK or Ireland. Look up the conditions that apply to your nationality before you submit an application.

You can apply online whenever you like, from any location with internet access. This spares you the time you would otherwise spend applying at a Turkish embassy or consulate or, where that option is available, getting a visa at the border on arrival.

No. Validity starts on the date stated in your application, and entry into Turkey is possible on any day during the validity period. How many days you may stay is determined by the visa type and your nationality.

No. Once issued, a visa cannot be altered. Where your new dates are still within the validity period of the visa you hold, you can use it unchanged. If not, you will need a new visa.

Yes. Every traveller who requires a visa must hold an individual one, and this includes children. A visa is valid solely for the person to whom it was issued.

No. If a visa is issued and then not used, the official visa fee is not refunded.

No. If the details on a visa differ from those in the travel document, the visa is invalid. Before you travel, you must obtain a new visa showing the correct details.

An application for a short-term residence permit should be made to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management if you want to stay beyond what the visa permits, ideally before your permitted stay comes to an end.

A visa obtained online is valid solely for tourism and business trips. For any other purpose, for example work or study, the visa has to be obtained from a Turkish embassy or consulate.

Staying longer than your visa permits may lead to fines, deportation and a ban on entering Turkey for a certain length of time.

Enter your card details only on a payment page with a secure, encrypted connection, which the browser indicates with a padlock icon in its address bar.

How secure a payment is also depends on the device, browser and internet connection you use and on the bank that issued your card. Use a device and network you trust, keep your software updated and get in touch with your bank if a transaction you were not expecting appears.

Once a visa has been issued, its details cannot be altered, so a fresh visa application containing the correct information has to be made. Compare every detail with the passport before you submit an application.

An application may be made at any point before you travel, although applying no later than 48 hours before departure is advisable.

Where the visa is issued by a Turkish embassy or consulate, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends that the application be made at least one month ahead of the planned trip.

Any questions about an application lodged at a Turkish embassy or consulate general should go to that same embassy or consulate general. Where the application went through a visa application centre, get in touch with that centre.

It is the applicant's responsibility to make sure the information in the application is accurate. If a visa is issued with incorrect details, the official visa fee is not refunded and a new visa is required.

No. When a visa is applied for online, a credit or debit card is the only means of paying the fee. The card need not be issued in the applicant's name.

Type your middle name into the “Given Name(s)” field immediately after your first name, with a space between them, exactly as it is written in the passport.

No. The address on the payment receipt is the one entered in the visa application and cannot be edited on its own.

The CVV / CVC / CVC2 is a security code that appears on the card. For Visa and Mastercard cards, it is the three-digit number found on the back, either on the signature strip or beside it.

Passengers on a cruise who reach a Turkish seaport for tourism purposes may enter visa-free for a maximum of 72 hours in order to visit the port city and the provinces nearby. Such entry without a visa is subject to the local authorities granting permission, and the port entry permit given on arrival has to be handed back on departure.

Arrival in or departure from Turkey by air, such as flying in to board a cruise, is not covered by the exemption. A visa is then needed, unless the traveller's nationality is exempt from the visa requirement.

Yes. Every child who requires a visa must hold one individually, even if the child is included in a parent's passport. Where the child has their own passport, you can either make a separate visa application for the child or ask the nearest Turkish embassy or consulate general for a sticker visa. Where the child has no passport of their own, get in touch with the nearest Turkish embassy or consulate general before you travel.

On the day you enter Turkey, the visa or residence permit used as a supporting document must still be valid. A single-entry visa is accepted regardless of whether it has already been used, provided it is valid on the date of entry.

As a general rule, visas that other countries issue online are not accepted as supporting documents.

The amount of the official visa fee varies with nationality (the country of the travel document) and with the type of travel document. Because the Turkish authorities set the fee and it may change, look up the current fee for your nationality before you apply.

Both the validity period and the length of stay allowed are determined by nationality and the type of travel document. To give an example, certain nationalities may receive a single-entry visa permitting a stay of no more than 30 days, whereas others may receive a multiple-entry visa permitting a stay of no more than 90 days.

In all cases, the combined length of stay must not go beyond 90 days within any period of 180 days.

Whether you hold a visa or enter visa-free, your total stay in Turkey must not exceed 90 days in any 180-day period, and the days you have already spent in Turkey during that period are counted towards the limit.

The 180-day period is a rolling one: on any particular day, every day spent in Turkey during the previous 180 days is counted. Following one uninterrupted stay of 90 days, a new stay therefore becomes possible when 180 days have elapsed since the first date of entry; where the days were divided across several trips, the date depends on when the earlier days drop out of the 180-day period. If you used only some of the 90 days, you can still use the days remaining within the same 180-day period, provided you hold a valid visa.

A second passport does not entitle you to a further 90 days.

No. After a visa has expired, it is not possible to obtain a new one without first leaving Turkey. If you wish to stay longer, submit an application for a residence permit to the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management. Turkish embassies and consulates issue the visas required for other purposes, for example work or study.

Exceeding the stay allowed by a visa can result in fines, deportation and being barred from entering Turkey for a certain time.