My husband is going to the foreigners police department in Mersin today to try to get some clarification and to sort out what happened to the Dutch friends.
I have also written to the Turkish Visa department in London again. I would suggest as many people as possible write to them until they get fed up and sort things out once and for all. Perhaps even write to your MPs complaining and try to get them to get the foreign office involved.
I wrote the following and suggest everyone writes something similar.
To:
[email protected]There is much confusion among travellers to Turkey on the visa requirements since the changes earlier this year. I hear of different rules being applied at different airports and at different times at the same airport.
The 90 day visa was replaced at the begining of the year with a 90 days in 180 days visa although I hear that at least some airports have returned to the 90 day visa.
Even if the 90 in 180 visa is still operating, there is confusion as to whether the 90 days is a continuous period from the moment of entry into Turkey or if the 90 days are those only while in Turkey.
For example: Travelling to Turkey May 1, leaving May 31 (31 days) and returning to Turkey July 1 leaving July 29 (29 days)
This gives 60 days in Turkey over a total period of 90 days.
Can another journey be made, of 30 days or less, to Turkey in the remaining 90 days? Or is the traveller excluded until October 28 when a new visa can be issued.
It is causing travellers great distress, with some people being fined for failing to travel within the limits of the visa as different rules are being applied at different airports and times. Continued uncertainty as to the rules will result in fewer visits to Turkey reducing the income from foreign visitors.
British travellers accept that there have to be rules, and do not want to break any Turkish laws either deliberately or accidentally. They can only do this if the rules are clear, and not open to interpretation. Any rules shown on your website should also be dated so that everyone can see when they are effective. Any changes should be put on the website as soon as posssible, possibly before they come into effect with the date of their start.
Please put a definitive ruling on you website as soon as possible as there could be many people who visited Turkey earlier this year who, due to misunderstanding them, may be about to break the visa rules.
It may help, it may not.
. Really need to get residency next time, have all the docs but will get to the port as close to the 90 days soon after returning
