MP tables parliamentary motion on Turks’ visa-related problems

Turan Yılmaz - ANKARA

Sibel Özdemir, a deputy of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), has brought the difficulty experienced by Turkish citizens trying to obtain a visa to the agenda of the parliament by submitting a motion.

“While the process of obtaining a Schengen visa for Turkish citizens has become more difficult and the cost of obtaining visas has increased four and a half times, there has been a serious increase in the number of refusals in recent years,” Özdemir said in her parliamentary motion.

Özdemir reiterated that Türkiye presented a report to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) which says Schengen visa refusals of Turkish citizens rose from 4 percent in 2014 to 12.7 percent in 2020.

In addition to the prolongation of the process with unnecessary document requests, the increase in the visa fee, and the rejection of applications more than ever before, an appointment can be made after at least two months of visa applications, according to Özdemir.

“People who apply for a visa for commercial or touristic purposes experience various problems,” said Özdemir, adding that students who apply for education purposes, academics who want to participate in scientific events, projects and fairs cannot obtain a visa within the required time.

Stating that Turkish citizens are asked for visas even for transit passes and an increasing number of visa refusal decisions are made every month, Özdemir said, “However, the necessary explanations are not requested from the countries that make these decisions.”

“We don’t accept that EU member countries have an unfair approach towards our citizens in visa applications,” said Özdemir, calling the Foreign Ministry to step in and intervene in the process as soon as possible.