Visa to Turkey and Airport
Hospitable Turkey receives tourists from many countries (more than 80 countries including most countries in Europe and the CIS) without a visa and the procedure is limited to a symbolic stamp that you get at passport control upon arrival. So, a visa-free regime is established between Turkey and Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and many other countries.
British nationals also no longer need a visa to enter Turkey for visits of up to 90 days within a 180-day period. However, American and Canadian citizens as well as a numberof other countries need to get visa to Turkey.
Citizens of the Russian Federation may enter the territory of Turkey without a visa for a period of stay up to 60 days, citizens of Ukraine – up to 90 days, citizens of Belarus – up to 30 days. In total, the number of days of stay in Turkey should not exceed 90 days per period of 180 days.
If you want to stay in Turkey longer and rent a villa in Turkey for a few months, you can extend your tourist visa there by submitting an application to the local immigration control and providing the necessary documents – insurance, funds availability statement and place of residence information, a real estate rental agreement or a hotel booking. If you own a house in Turkey, on the basis of this you can get a long-term residence permit that does not restrict the length of stay in the country.
There is one life hack that will make your arrival to crowded Turkish airports easier – local passport control service officers are very tolerant. Passport control booths in international Turkish airports are divided into two groups – serving citizens of Turkey and citizens of other countries separately.
However, if on arrival you will see that the queue consisting of Turkish citizens is much shorter than the international queue, do not hesitate and feel free to join the shorter one going to the window under the Turkish flag. Passport control officers serve citizens of all countries in order to distribute the pressure between the booths more evenly. If you have a residence permit obtained after buying a real estate property in Turkey – do not forget to show the document together with your travel passport at the check-in counter at the airport and at passport control.