American citizens and people from other nationalities will no longer be required to apply for an e-visa before entering Türkiye, according to the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
16 million tourists visited Türkiye in 2023, a 9% increase over the previous year.
According to a statement from the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Americans make up the fourth-largest group of visitors to the nation.
However, this most recent visa modification does not only benefit visitors from the United States. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Türkiye, signed an order exempting citizens of Canada, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Saudi Arabia from the need for an electronic visa.
This recent development is also confirmed by the U.S. State Department website, which states that visas are not needed for stays under 90 days in Türkiye.
The destination is still under a Level 2 warning from the State Department, advising travelers to “exercise increased caution due to terrorism and arbitrary detentions.”
The advisory states that there are higher risks in some parts of the country and advises visitors to thoroughly review State Department guidelines before visiting.
Since the terrible earthquakes that struck Türkiye in February last year and claimed over 50,000 lives, the country’s tourism sector has been unable to fully recover.
Other requirements to enter Türkiye
First and foremost, your passport must remain valid for at least six months after the date you plan to arrive. Put differently, if you intend to travel for two weeks in April 2024, confirm that your passport will still be valid by the end of October 2024 at the latest.
Additionally, you risk being denied entry at customs if your passport does not have enough room for entry and exit stamps. With the exit stamp, you can help ensure that you won’t be fined and can return to the country in the future.
You must apply for a residence permit if you want to work or study abroad, or if your stay will be longer than 90 days.
You’ll also save some money thanks to this change, as the visa previously cost $52.
Furthermore, despite being close to Europe, Türkiye is not a member of the EU, so you won’t need to worry about applying when the EU’s ETIAS visa program launches in 2025.