Turkey's e-visa is one of the easier applications to complete, which is why people assume it applies to everyone. For several nationalities it is conditional on holding another visa or residence permit.
Three groups of traveller
Broadly, travellers fall into three groups. Some nationalities are visa-exempt for short visits to Turkey and need nothing in advance. Some are eligible for an e-visa applied for online in minutes. Others must apply through a Turkish consulate with a full document set and, in some cases, an appointment.
A fourth situation exists and is the one that trips people up: certain nationalities are eligible for an e-visa only if they meet additional conditions, most commonly holding a valid visa or residence permit from a Schengen state, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ireland or another listed country.
If you fall into that conditional group, the supporting document is part of the requirement rather than a nice-to-have. You will be asked to confirm it in the application and you must carry it when you travel, because it will be checked.
Conditions attached to the e-visa
Common conditions include a passport with a stated period of validity beyond your intended departure, a confirmed hotel reservation, and evidence of sufficient funds for the stay. Where a supporting visa or residence permit is required, it must be valid for the whole of your visit.
The e-visa is typically issued for a short stay, with the duration and entry count depending on nationality. Check what you have been issued rather than assuming ninety days and multiple entries, because single-entry thirty-day e-visas are common.
Turkey also has a ninety days in one hundred and eighty days limit for many visa-exempt and e-visa travellers. That rolling limit applies independently of the visa validity, so frequent visitors need to keep a running count in the same way as for Schengen.
- Check whether your nationality needs an e-visa, a consulate visa, or nothing at all
- Conditional eligibility usually depends on holding a listed third-country visa or residence permit
- Note the duration and entry count on the e-visa you receive
- A ninety in one hundred and eighty day limit applies to many travellers
Applying correctly
Use the official Turkish e-visa website. There are a large number of commercial lookalike sites that charge several times the official fee for the identical submission, and some produce documents that are not valid at all. The official fee is published on the government site and varies by nationality.
Enter your details exactly as they appear in your passport, and check the passport number and expiry date before paying. The e-visa cannot be amended after issue; an error means applying again and paying again.
Apply a few days before travel rather than at the airport. Most approvals are immediate, but some are referred, and an e-visa is checked at check-in as well as on arrival.
When you need the consulate route
You need a full consular application if your nationality is not eligible for an e-visa, if you do not meet the conditions attached to a conditional eligibility, if you intend to stay beyond the e-visa duration, or if your purpose is not covered by the e-visa, which is limited to tourism and business visitor activity.
Work, study, long-term residence, family reunification and certain other purposes all require the appropriate national visa applied for at a consulate, followed in most cases by applying for a residence permit after arrival within a defined period.
The consular process involves an appointment, a document set and a published fee, with requirements varying by category and by the consulate handling your region. Check the specific consulate's own published list rather than a general summary.
On arrival and during the visit
Carry your e-visa confirmation, your passport, your accommodation booking and, if your eligibility was conditional, the supporting visa or permit. Officers do ask for these, and having them in hand takes a minute rather than a long conversation.
If you intend to stay longer than the permitted period, the route is a residence permit applied for from within Turkey before your permitted stay ends, through the migration authority. Applying late creates an overstay, and overstay penalties include fines and potential re-entry bans of varying length.
We handle both e-visa submissions and consular applications, and the first thing we check is which route your nationality and circumstances require. That five-minute check is the single most valuable step, because the majority of problems with Turkish applications come from using the wrong route rather than from the paperwork itself.
Alif Visa is a private visa assistance service. We are not a government department, embassy or visa application centre, and decisions are made solely by the issuing authority. Rules and fees change without notice, so confirm the requirements that apply to your circumstances before you travel.