E-visa for foreign nationals

[Marggie]

Turkey to start issuing e-visas for foreign nationals - could start in January.


http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-to-start-e-visa-for-foreign-nationals.aspx?pageID=238&nID=36183&NewsCatID=339

[Eric]

Yeh, I can see the Customs Police at Dalaman knowing all about this and everything being as smooth as........?

[The Crinklies]

Does anyone know if there have been any updates regarding this please?

Thanks.

[Nick]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned elsewhere but the e-visa (for tourists) system is now in place.

I used it this morning and it worked well. However the payment is made in US dollars and at $20 is a little more than the £10 at the visa desk at the port of entry. Payments have to be made by credit card (debit cards do not appear to be acceptable).

You can enter the date when you want the visa to start and it is valid for six months with the usual restriction of spending only 90 days in Turkey within the life of the visa

 https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/

[amca]

For those who wish only to work out exactly when their visa expires, the site provides the start and finish dates.

[lizdev]

Entering the date when you want the visa to start.       Could this be different to the first day you arrive in Turkey?? My thought being you could have it start on eg  1st January but enter Turkey on 1 April for 90 days then get another one to start on 1 July so you could visit for another 90 days from mid August.  Or is this just wishful thinking?

[amca]

Sneaky.
Unfortunately, it asks for date of arrival in Turkey.

[Big Dave]

I have just had this reply from the British Embassy. I asked them if the eVisa was in force and if so why some people are having no problems but others are having to pay again at Dalaman having already paid on-line.

I don't think anyone was aware officially, that it only applies if you fly THY (Turkish Airlines) at the moment. It still doesn't answer why some people have got through and why some haven't.

There is a new e-visa regime for tourists which has been announced by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is available for "tourism or trade purposes". We have established that it runs alongside the existing system of a £10 sticker/stamp-type visa which can still be acquired at airports for the foreseeable future. For the time being it is only available for foreigners arriving in Turkey on flights of the Turkish Airlines (THY), the country's state-owned air carrier, in line with a protocol signed between the government and THY.

The system is up and running. It is a little more expensive than the paper visa (US$20 for UK nationals paid by credit card). It is apparently easy to use and has been successfully used by UK nationals.

[cef]

Thanks for posting their reply Dave     At least people will know now Not to bother getting a E-visa.  Especially given that some were lucky getting through - some weren't, it's probably best to avoid it altogether (even if flying with THY and/or for business).

As you say, it doesn't explain why they are accepting payments from everybody who applies regardless of who they are travelling with or what they are travelling for! 

If they are only applying this facility to their own National Airline (at this time) why the heck doesn't the E-visa website make that Clear!  No thought (again) to the distress & cost this is causing people arriving in Turkey .  Surely their website can be adjusted to reflect the eligibility of the person travelling!

I hope that they are going to apologise & re-imburse the people they have taken this money from, I wonder how many $20 in E-visa fees that adds up to so far?...........

I have just had this reply from the British Embassy. I asked them if the eVisa was in force and if so why some people are having no problems but others are having to pay again at Dalaman having already paid on-line.

I don't think anyone was aware officially, that it only applies if you fly THY (Turkish Airlines) at the moment. It still doesn't answer why some people have got through and why some haven't.

There is a new e-visa regime for tourists which has been announced by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is available for "tourism or trade purposes". We have established that it runs alongside the existing system of a £10 sticker/stamp-type visa which can still be acquired at airports for the foreseeable future. For the time being it is only available for foreigners arriving in Turkey on flights of the Turkish Airlines (THY), the country's state-owned air carrier, in line with a protocol signed between the government and THY.

The system is up and running. It is a little more expensive than the paper visa (US$20 for UK nationals paid by credit card). It is apparently easy to use and has been successfully used by UK nationals.

[Nick]

I'm surprised to read here that the E-visa is for only those flying with THY.

I have not heard of this anywhere else and I didn't have any problems when arriving at Dalaman three weeks ago or on departure last week.

There is no mention of any such restrictions on the E-visa website (https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/) which suggests that it is available to a wide range of nationalities (although limited payment methods).

The system is very easy, whether it is worth it is another matter. You are unlikely to leave the airport any sooner, unless you only have hand luggage, or if there is a very big queue at the visa desk