Icmeler Online Holiday Forum & Reviews - Turkey

I have received some rather alarming news from our Dutch friend in Turkiye with regard to the new rules on the 90/180 visa.
Her friends left Turkiye yesterday and were fined 480 YTL at the airport for overstaying. They had visited Turkiye for 12 days in March and again in May until yesterday.
When they got to passport control at their departing airport they were told that they had overstayed by 7 days as the visa expired 9th June.
He said the visa is only good for 90 days from the start date, not for any amount of visits in 180 as long as 90 in total is not exceeded.
This is really worrying news. I have asked on another forum and only 1 person has experienced the same problem so I don't know if it is in fact a rule or whether it is a way to make extra money on the side for the passport control officer.
Have any of you used you visa past the 90 days?

Hi Jane, the new regulations for the 90/180 came into effect on Feb 1st 2012, so if you are planning on staying there long term you should apply for either a residents visa or a long stay visa at the Turkish embassy prior to making your journey.

Tobyjug wrote:Hi Jane, the new regulations for the 90/180 came into effect on Feb 1st 2012, so if you are planning on staying there long term you should apply for either a residents visa or a long stay visa at the Turkish embassy prior to making your journey.

Thanks Tobyjug, maybe I didn't make myself clear. My question was in regard to the fact that although we are all led to understand we can visit Turkiye as many times as we like in the 180 day period (so long as we don't exceed 90 days total) the experience of my friend's friends at Adana airport would suggest that you can only visit as many times as you like within 90 days from the first day of your visa, not 180 days from the first day.

Just home from Icmeler and our story is as follows - Entered Turkey on the 4th. March and purchased a new visa. we remained in Turkey for 14 days and returned home. Back to turkey again on 27th. May for 21 days. So in Turkey for a total of 35 days covering a period of 103 Days - no problem. If I wish to I can return to Turkey on the same visa as long as I depart prior to the 180 day expiry and the 90 day limit. Your friends need to speak to their own foreign office as the passport control officer is wrong and somebody needs to put him right and get their money back. On arrival at Dalaman the passport control officer needed all his fingers to work it out - but he got it right.

David

silverbeard21 wrote:Just home from Icmeler and our story is as follows - Entered Turkey on the 4th. March and purchased a new visa. we remained in Turkey for 14 days and returned home. Back to turkey again on 27th. May for 21 days. So in Turkey for a total of 35 days covering a period of 103 Days - no problem. If I wish to I can return to Turkey on the same visa as long as I depart prior to the 180 day expiry and the 90 day limit. Your friends need to speak to their own foreign office as the passport control officer is wrong and somebody needs to put him right and get their money back. On arrival at Dalaman the passport control officer needed all his fingers to work it out - but he got it right.

David

David that's good to hear.
They are certainly going to take it up with the Consulate tomorrow to complain and hopefully get a refund but this isn't an isolated incident. Searching through other forums today I have found that this has happened before. In one case the tourists called the British consulate in Antalya and they 'confirmed' that it is a case of 90 days from day 1.
I am worried that the details of this visa will be open to personal interpretation by the individual passport control officer.
I emailed the Turk consulate in London for confirmation but I shan't be holding my breath.......

Yes it needs sorting out by the Turks mainly - that may take a very long time. I E-mailed the Turkish consulate in London before this came in asking for clarification. I have received nothing back and it's been months now. As they say don't hold your breath.

If enough pressure is applied by our foreign office officials then maybe they will get there act together and sort it out as they won't listen to us 'little people'.

David

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.

Maybe the rules are different for Dutch visitors? It might be the old 90 day visa?? Confusing enough!

This is the Foreign Office link re. British visa's. Definitely visits up to 90 days in a 180 day period. Dutch may be different!

http://ukinturkey.fco.gov.uk/en/help-fo ... ant-update

Sorry, on a roll here now!

It would appear that Dutch visas are only 90 days (no mention of within a 180 day period) so like the old visa's we used to have.

Taken from the Consulate General of Turkey website in Rotterdam dated 08.06.12 http://rotterdam.cg.mfa.gov.tr/ShowAnno ... ?ID=154901

GENERAL VISA INFORMATION FOR DUTCH PASSPORT AND TRAVEL DOCUMENT HOLDERS
08.06.2012

GENERAL VISA INFORMATION FOR DUTCH PASSPORT AND TRAVEL DOCUMENT HOLDERS

Dutch passport holders traveling to Turkey require visa.

Visas can be obtained at the port of entry in Turkey or from the Turkish Consulate General in Rotterdam. Sticker type visas are issued at the port of entry and allow staying in Turkey for up to 90 days. It costs 15 Euro. If there is more than one person traveling on the same passport, each individual is liable to pay the visa fee. This type of visa does not permit to engage in paid or unpaid employment.

hi
ok so we went to turkey 16 june returned 30 june we go again on 25 august and return 15 september do we need to get a new visa on arrival, soooo confused

Elayne wrote:hi
ok so we went to turkey 16 june returned 30 june we go again on 25 august and return 15 september do we need to get a new visa on arrival, soooo confused

Elayne presuming you bought a new visa when you arrived 16th June your 180 days ends 12th December (give or take a day either way as I haven't used a calendar, lol!).
If they do use the 90days from the date of getting your visa (which they should not) your 90 days ends 14th September, meaning an overstay of 1 day.
Don't worry though, I have heard from people on other forums that the airports with a high number of European travellers know the correct way to interpret the new visa, especially Dalaman so I'm sure you'll be fine.
Just so you know though you can not buy another visa until your 180 days have expired (12th December) but as you will only have used 37 days of your 90 allowed you still have 53 days to play with for another trip.

janeypoos wrote:

Elayne wrote:hi
ok so we went to turkey 16 june returned 30 june we go again on 25 august and return 15 september do we need to get a new visa on arrival, soooo confused

Elayne presuming you bought a new visa when you arrived 16th June your 180 days ends 12th December (give or take a day either way as I haven't used a calendar, lol!).
If they do use the 90days from the date of getting your visa (which they should not) your 90 days ends 14th September, meaning an overstay of 1 day.
Don't worry though, I have heard from people on other forums that the airports with a high number of European travellers know the correct way to interpret the new visa, especially Dalaman so I'm sure you'll be fine.
Just so you know though you can not buy another visa until your 180 days have expired (12th December) but as you will only have used 37 days of your 90 allowed you still have 53 days to play with for another trip.

Thanks very much, i eventually came to that conclusion after doing a bit of research x

Clarification please - I was under the impression that the visa still only lasted for 90 consecutive days & that you could not stay in Turkey more than a total of 90 days in a 180 day period. My understanding was that the visa being valid for up to 90 days & the total number of trips/days of your stay not being more than 90 in the 180 period were seperate issues; confused .So I think, basically, I am asking whether the visa lasts for 90 or 180 days?.
ICR can you offer clarity?
Thanks.

Roy, it lasts for 180 days, within that 180 days your stays can only add up to 90 days in total

Thanks again Noodles. I take it you are certain about it being 180 days as others were under same impression of it being 90 days - will have saved £20 . 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

Everything I've read says it's 180 days, I can't find anything that says it's not that now. Still, in September we'll have gone over 90 days so I'm going to print off the British Consulate pages and have in my travel docs, just to make sure!

Just a quick update.

When I arrived at Istanbul I was told that my visa was out of date.
I tried to explain that yes, 90+ days had passed but I was still well within the 180 days and I had only used 16 days out of my allotted 90.
They were having none of it, insisting that it is 90 consecutive days from day 1.
I was able to buy another visa (luckily I'd had the forethought to make sure I had a £10 note, just in case) with no problem.
To me this is exactly the same as pre February isn't it?
Now I have (according to the new rules) 2 valid visa's in my passport with differing expiry dates.

hi, we were in alanya in may, and returned to icmeler august till september on the same visa , no problems.