If you are from a country to which Republic of Turkey does not apply a visa exemption, or you are not a citizen or a legal resident, then you have to obtain a valid Turkish visa as to enter Turkey legally.

However, according to the rules some foreigners shall be refused to enter to Turkey. These foreigner groups can be summarised as follows:

1- Who do not hold a passport, a travel document, a visa or a residence or a work permit or, whom such documents or permits has been obtained deceptively or, such documents or permits are invalid, shall not be allowed to enter Turkey at the borger gates.


2- Whose passport or travel document expires sixty days prior to the expiry date of the visa, visa exemption or the residence permit shall not be allowed to enter Turkey.
3- Without prejudice to the second paragraph of the Article 15 of the Foreigners and International Protection Act No 6458, even if they are exempted from a visa, the visa shall not be issued to following foreigners whose/who:

a) passport or travel document is not valid at least sixty days beyond the expiry date of the visa requested,

b) are banned from entering to Turkey and the banned period has not finished,

c) are considered undesirable for reasons of public order or public security according to the rules and laws of the country,

d) are identified to have a disease posing public health treat,

e) are suspects of or, are convicted of, crime(s) that are subject to extradition pursuant to agreements to which the Republic of Turkey is a party to,

f) are not covered with a valid medical insurance for the duration of their stay,

g) fail to supply proof of the reason for their purpose of entry into, transit from or stay in Turkey,

h) do not possess sufficient and sustainable financial resources for the duration of their stay,

ı) would refuse to pay receivables, originating from overstaying the duration of visa or a previous residence permit duration or, that should be enforced and collected pursuant to the Law on the Procedure of Collection of Public Receivables No 6183 or, debts and fines enforced pursuant to the Turkish Penal Code No 5237.

The above mentioned foreigners are required to proove that the situation based on their entrance refusal is not valid/not correct, and to provide documents vice-versa of the determined situation. Thus, obtaining a visa would not be sufficient to enter Turkey in some certain cases. In this regard, expert opinion is a necessity for getting relevant and up-to-date information about their migration to Turkey.

For getting more information on how to visit Turkey legally, please consult to one of our migration experts.

by Bünyamin ESEN, Founding Partner & Senior Migration Consultant