Turkey is open to without testing or quarantine restrictions for most countries. Depending on the country, a test or vaccine is required.
Anyone showing symptoms of having COVID-19 will be taken to a hospital for examination and will have to undergo a 14-day mandatory quarantine.
Commercial airlines continue to resume their operation on a country-by-country basis.
Turkey Reopening Tourism – Latest Updates
August 14 – No restrictions but more vaccines, Turkey’s newest approach to handle COVID-19
Turkey has decided to change its approach to COVID-19. The government has announced they will not enforce more restrictions until at least October but instead will encourage the private sector to join the vaccination programs.
The situation in Turkey is “special.” The country has vaccinated 31 million citizens but conspiracy theories against the vaccines are playing a part in being unable to reach an important sector of the population, says the government.
The Health Ministry aims to raise awareness among the skeptics and immunize 70% of the population by September.
Source. Daily Sabah
August 1 – Turkey adjusted its entry requirements amidst COVID surge among unvaccinated
Turkey has made some changes on its entry requirements in an attempt to contain the “very rapid increase” in new infections.
According to Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca, 95% of hospitalized patients are unvaccinated.
In light of these developments, authorities have made some adjustments to its very generous entry requirements.
As of today, passengers from Bangladesh, Brazil, South Africa, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka will not be permitted entry.
Visitors who have been in the above-mentioned countries in the last 14 days but arriving from other countries will need to present a negative COVID-19 test and quarantine for 14 days.
Travelers from the United Kingdom, Iran, Egypt and Singapore must present a negative PCR test result taken in the last 72 hours prior to arrival.
Fully vaccinated visitors from any other countries will be allowed entry without testing or quarantine requirements.
Source: Turkish Airlines
Is Turkey open for tourists?
Yes, Turkey is open to tourists from all countries but Bangladesh, Brazil, South Africa, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Do visitors have to take COVID-19 test on arrival?
Only visitors from the United Kingdom, Iran, Egypt and Singapore might be retested on arrival.
Do visitors need to quarantine in Turkey?
Arrivals with travel history to Bangladesh, Brazil, South Africa, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka but coming from a different location will need to undergo a 14-day quarantine.
Can American tourists enter Turkey now?
Yes. Americans are allowed to visit Turkey.
Check the full list of countries open to Americans.
Is it safe to visit Turkey now?
The CDC warning is at LEVEL 3 (High Level of COVID-19) and only essential travel to Turkey is recommended. (CDC.gov)
What airlines are flying to Turkey?
These are some of the commercial airlines flying to Turkey at the moment.
- Anadolu Jet: https://www.anadolujet.com/en
- BelaviaAirlines: https://en.belavia.by/
- Pegasus Air: https://www.flypgs.com/en
- Qatar Airlines: https://www.qatarairways.com/
- SunExpress: https://www.sunexpress.com/en/
- Turkish Airlines: https://www.turkishairlines.com/ Direct U.S. flights available
- Keep in mind that restrictions are changing due to the second spike in COVID-19. So, although there is no curfew or other mobility restrictions in place for foreigners, rules like these can be enforced at any moment with little to no prior notice.
Current Coronavirus situation in Turkey
With 6,039,857 reported cases and 52,860 deaths, authorities have confirmed a decrease in infections in several provinces.
Travelers who test positive for COVID-19 are sent to a private hospital. Travelers are encouraged to check with their local authorities for restrictions when coming back home from Turkey.
Turkey Travel Restrictions: Updates Archives
July 14 – German, Russian and Arab tourists are giving a boost to the Turkish tourism
Turkey started a “normalization process” on July 1. Since then, businesses have been allowed to reopen and curfews have been lifted.
With a cheap currency, few COVID-19 restrictions and a strategic location, Turkey is attracting German, Russian and Arab tourists who do not want to risk it to test positive for the virus in an Asian country and have to undergo an endless quarantine.
According to the State Airports Authority, Turkish airports reported a record number of tourists in July, being Russians and Germans their biggest source of passengers.
Source: Reuters
July 1 – Turkey to start third stage of “gradual normalization” reopening on July 1
Turkey authorities lifted most COVID-19 domestic restrictions starting today at 05:00am, according to a circular by the Ministry of Interior.
The new third stage of Turkey’s reopening also known as “gradual normalization period” will allow all types of businesses that have suspended their commercial activities to reopen and operate through extended hours.
Also, open-air concerts, youth camps and festivals will be allowed at a limited capacity so participants can observe social distancing.
However, a particular ban on night music events will be enforced starting today at midnight, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
(Source: AATurkey)
June 17 – Turkey reopened to all countries without testing requirements from June 12
Turkey reopened its international land, sea and air borders to visitors from all over the world without any testing or quarantine restrictions from June 12.
“All passengers, of all nationalities, who meet Turkish immigration rules are permitted entry to Turkey from 12 June,” reads a statement issued by the embassy for the United Kingdom in Turkey.
The only requirements still in force are those that passengers had “before pandemic times.”
Upon arrival, all travelers will be subject to a medical evaluation for symptoms of coronavirus.
Passengers displaying COVID-19 associated symptoms will be required to undergo a PCR test and possibly quarantine. (Source)
June 1 – Turkey to drop COVID-19 test requirement for 16 countries from June 1
Turkey started a slow reopening process on May 17, after a 17-day full lockdown that greatly helped flatten the COVID-19 curve.
Given the positive results, the government went ahead with its scheduled dropping on domestic restrictions. So here is what the country will look like starting today.
Effective today, the new curfew will go from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. On Sundays the full lockdown curfew will continue until further notice, though.
Restaurants and cafes will be allowed to have customers from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Also, the government announced that travelers arriving from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Israel, Japan, UK, Latvia, Luxembourg, Ukraine, and Estonia will be allowed entry without COVID-19 test, said President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at Cabinet meeting in Ankara.
(Source: GardaWorld)
May 15 – Turkey to start reopening after 20-day full lockdown
Turkish officials will be analyzing the results of the 20-day full lockdown aiming to safely restart the economy.
As soon as the daily COVID-19 cases drop to 10,000, the government will start implementing their “normalization plans”. May 15 is a key date because it marks the end of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan so they can actually see if the restrictions worked.
“We will see the effects of the restrictions more clearly in the figures to be released on May 14 and May 15. Because when a measure is taken, the effect of this occurs after 12-14 days. But as of May 17, not everything will open up at once,” said an official.
If so, the country will reopen small businesses and face-to-face education. Weddings and other religious services that gather a considerable number of people will remain banned.
March 28
Starting March 15, all visitors arriving in Turkey (excepting transit passengers) must fill out the “Form for Entry to Turkey” within the last 72 hours before checking in at the airport.
Additionally, depending on local restrictions, national and foreign citizens may be required to use a HES code (a personal code implemented by governments lately in order to reduce the number of passengers at an airport who have tested positive for COVID-19 or have been in closed contact with a positive patient), but in this case to enter official buildings, and public spaces such as malls, restaurants, cafes, libraries, sport centers, wedding halls, barbers, beauty parlors, massage parlors and game halls.
March 5
Effective March 5, the Turkish government started enforcing a new four-tier system on COVID-19 restrictions. As of today, provinces are now divided into 4 different risk groups: low (blue), medium (yellow), high (orange), and very high (red) based on the number of infections and vaccination rates.
Visitors can check the map to see the restrictions that apply to their destination.