Ankara grants visa-free travel to eleven countries

ANKARA

Alamy Photo

Turkey will provide visa-free travel to eleven European countries, according to a presidential decree on March 2.

The visa exemption will be granted to Austria, Belgium, the U.K. and Northern Ireland, Croatia, the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, Malta, Norway, Poland, and Portugal.

Visa-free touristic travel to Turkey from the said countries will begin March 2, 2020, and will be valid for 90 days in every 180 days of the visits, the decree said.

Turkey has a complex visa policy, while it requires visas from some European Union member states and Schengen countries, it grants visa-free travel to some other.

A total of 78 countries, including European countries such as Germany, France, Sweden, Italy, Switzerland, and Finland, has been granted visa exemption for touristic visits to Turkey.

Turkey and the EU in December 2013 agreed to sign the Readmission Agreement in return for launching visa liberalization talks for Turkish citizens, after nearly two years of negotiation.

With a circular published on Sept. 18, 2019, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called for the acceleration of efforts to meet visa liberalization dialogue with the EU.