Turkish Foreign Ministry working to extend revolutionary e-visa system

ANKARA

Turkey is working to extend its e-visa system, which will enable tourists from 94 countries to obtain a Turkey visa in a few minutes, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said May 7.

Chinese and Afghan citizens that have a valid Schengen visa or a visa for any OECD country will be granted a visa, the statement said. Meanwhile, Iraqi citizens will also be able to use the e-visa system at land border crossings, the statement added. The duration of visas for Egyptian citizens has been raised from 15 days to 30 days.

The system categorizes countries under two large groups. The first group is composed of 40 countries whose citizens will get online visas without conditions. Among them are countries such as United States, Canada, Australia, Austria, Greek Cyprus, Qatar, Norway and the United Kingdom.

The citizens of the second group, composed of 54 countries, will get quick visas under certain conditions. A visa obtained from an OECD country will suffice for applicants from these countries to get an online touristic visa for Turkey. In addition, holding a residence permit from an OECD country is also sufficient for an online application. This group includes mainly African countries.