Turkey visa and e-Visa: what you actually need

Do you need a visa for Turkey?

There are broadly three categories, and which one you fall into depends entirely on your passport:

Visa-free

A large and growing list of nationalities, expanded significantly in 2024 to include the UK, US, Canada and others, can enter for short tourist stays with no advance paperwork.

e-Visa

Many nationalities apply online before travel, receive a PDF by email, and show it on arrival. It takes minutes and costs little.

Embassy visa

Some nationalities, and most people travelling for work, study or longer stays, must apply through a Turkish consulate in advance.

The official portal has a checker: enter your nationality and travel document type and it tells you which category applies. That takes thirty seconds and is the only reliable answer.

The only official site

This matters more than anything else on this page. There is a large industry of copycat visa sites that look official, rank well in search results, and charge several times the government fee for submitting the same form on your behalf.

• The official site is evisa.gov.tr. Nothing else.
• Be sceptical of any site with "official", "portal" or "application centre" in the domain name.
• Check the URL before entering passport details — these sites collect exactly the data identity thieves want.
• If the fee looks large, stop. The official e-Visa fee is small.

How to apply, if you need to

For nationalities that still require an e-Visa, the process is genuinely simple:

1. Go to evisa.gov.tr and select your country and travel document.
2. Enter your details exactly as they appear in your passport — full name, number, dates. A mismatch is the most common cause of problems at the border.
3. Give your arrival date. The visa's validity period runs from this, so get it right.
4. Pay by card in US dollars.
5. Save the PDF that arrives by email. Download it, screenshot it, and print a copy — do not rely on having signal at the border.

Passport validity

Turkey commonly applies a 150-day validity rule: your passport should be valid for at least 150 days beyond your arrival date. This is stricter than the six-month rule many travellers assume, and in practice lands in a similar place.

Airlines check this at check-in and will refuse boarding if it fails, so it is not a rule you can negotiate at the gate. Check the expiry date on your passport now rather than the week you fly.

At the border

Arrival is usually quick. Have ready:

• Your passport, meeting the validity rule.
• Your e-Visa PDF, if your nationality needs one.
• Your accommodation address for the first night — occasionally asked for.
• Evidence of onward or return travel — occasionally asked for.

Turkish passport control is generally efficient, though Istanbul Airport at peak arrival times can involve a substantial queue. Build that into any tight domestic connection.

Common mistakes

• Using a copycat site. The single most expensive mistake, and the easiest to avoid.
• Name mismatches. Enter your name exactly as printed in the passport, including middle names.
• The wrong arrival date. The validity window starts when you said you would arrive, not when you actually do.
• Forgetting the 90/180 rule is rolling. Previous trips in the past six months count.
• Assuming visa-free means unlimited. It does not — there is still a maximum stay, and overstaying carries fines and possible entry bans.
• Leaving it to the airport. Applications are usually instant, but "usually" is doing work in that sentence.

With the paperwork sorted, the next two things worth reading are what a Turkey trip actually costs and how to get around once you land.