News report | | 29/10/2018 | ±4 minutes reading time

Turkey is putting a stop to the visa-on-arrival which can be acquired on arrival at the airport. At the moment, it’s still possible for a variety of nationalities to apply for such a visa on arrival, but starting October 28th, the Turkish government had decided to stop doing so.

The intention is that British travellers that want to travel to Turkey apply for a visa before departure, and have it in their possession when boarding the plane. A visa is mandatory for British travellers headed to Turkey. Without a visa, it becomes impossible to enter Turkey, as the immigration service will stop you on arrival. This law does not just apply to adults, but also to any children travelling along. Applying for a Turkey visa online is an easy process. If you are too late applying for a Turkey visa, you can make use of the urgent procedure.

New measures

Turkey has taken new measures to make travelling to Turkey easier. Currently when arriving at the airport, travellers need to wait in line for a long time to get their visa. That’s why it’s important to apply for an e-visa Turkey, before getting on your plane.

All visa-on-arrival desks at the Turkish airports will be shut down. After 28 October 2018, you are required to apply for your visa online in advance. The application procedure only takes five minutes and is easier than applying for the visa-on-arrival at the airport.

What is the e-visa Turkey?

For British travellers headed to Turkey, it’s far easier to apply for a Turkey visa online. This possibility has been available for a little while now. An e-visa is an official document of the Turkish government, which states that the traveller is granted permission to enter the country. The e-visa is available to a wide variety of nationalities.

Normally speaking, the visa-on-arrival is stamped onto the passport. With the abolishing of the visa-on-arrival, the costs of the stamping (the ‘stamping fee’) likewise disappears. This makes it more appealing for travellers to apply for an e-visa Turkey, because the price for applying for a Turkey visa online is far lower than the stamping fee.

Turkey visa application

Applying for a Turkey visa online takes a few minutes. The visa requirements applies to both tourist as well as business travellers from the United Kingdom. It is important to know that underage children also need to possess their own visa and passport.

There are a number of requirements tied to the Turkey visa. For instance, the trip must be for tourism or business, and you need to possess a British passport. During the stay, you are not allowed to work or study in Turkey.

It is not necessary to apply for a Turkey visa if you are on transit to another destination. However, you are not allowed to leave the airport during the layover period. If you are arriving by ship and are staying ashore for less than 72 hours, you likewise don’t need an e-visa.

It is important to know that the e-visa Turkey is not valid for truck drivers, documentary makers and archeologists. In that case, a Turkey visa needs to be applied for at the Turkish embassy. Similarly, if the above mentioned requirements are not met, you also need to submit an application at the embassy. Applying for an e-visa Turkey is not possible in that case.

Applying for a Turkey visa can be done 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Filling in the application form takes about 5 minutes and costs £54.95 per traveller. Payment can be made with Visa, MasterCard, American Express and PayPal. Once payment has been made, the application is processed right away.

Start Turkey visa application

Urgent Turkey visa application

If you are already leaving for Turkey today or tomorrow, you cannot make use of the visa-on-arrival after 28 October 2017. You will instead need to submit an urgent application. An urgent application costs £17.50 extra per traveller.The application are generally approved within 15 minutes. You will receive a confirmation e-mail containing the e-visa.

After applying for the e-visa it’s important to print it and take it with you to Turkey. No printer nearby? Present the e-visa Turkey on a phone or tablet. To avoid an urgent application, apply for the Turkey visa well in advance. Two weeks before departure is generally a solid time table to adhere to.

Please note: this news article about the visa for Turkey is more than one year old. It might contain outdated information and advice, and no rights can therefore be derived from this article. Are you going on a trip soon and do you wish to do know what rules currently apply? Read all about the up-to-date information about the visa for Turkey.

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e-Visa.co.uk is a commercial and professional visa agency, and supports travellers in obtaining, among others, the Turkey visa. e-Visa.co.uk is an official partner of the International Air Transport Association, IATA, with membership number 57231226, acts as an intermediary, is no law firm, nor does it employ lawyers, does not provide legal advice, and is in no way part of any government. You can also apply for a visa directly with the immigration service (36.05 USD per visa, via www.evisa.gov.tr). However, not with our level of support. If you submit your application via e-Visa.co.uk, our support centre is available to you 24/7. We also check your application before submitting it to the immigration authorities on your behalf. If we suspect any errors or omissions while doing so, we will personally contact you to ensure that your application can still be processed quickly and correctly. To use our services, you pay us 36.05 USD in consular fees, which we pay to the immigration service on your behalf, as well as £26.27 in service fees as compensation for our services, including VAT. Our services have saved many travellers from major problems during their trip. Should an application be rejected despite our support and verification, we will refund the full purchase price (unless an application for a previous Turkey visa was rejected for the same traveller). Read more about our services here.