Istanbul Customs

Our cruise ends in Istanbul. I have heard about Turkey Visas. Do I need one to go through customs prior to departure for the airport?

Any suggestions to make this process easier?

Hi Marty,

Can I presume that you are American?

 

Since your cruise ends in Turkey you will need a visa. There are three ways to obtain it.

 

1. It is probable that your ship will arrange Turkish visas for all passengers en-bloc and charge the cost to your on-board account.

You'll need to check that out with your cruise line - good luck with that cos cruise line office staff don't know their stuff, and may give you incorrect advice.

In fact, you'd do better to ask past cruisers on that cruise line's forum

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=9

or

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=22

 

Or find the Roll Call for a recently-returned cruise (same cruise line, similar itinerary) and ask on there. Sadly, you're more likely to get correct info from passengers than from the cruise line. :rolleyes:

You might not yet know your way around Cruise Critic. If you can't find the appropriate RollCalls, post the name of your ship on here and some kind soul will post a link.

 

2. You can buy your visa on-line at https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/

Be sure to use that official website - the cost to Americans is currently 20 USD.

Other official-looking sites are visa agencies and will charge you a fee.

Tourist Visas are only valid for six months from date of application, so don't buy too soon.

If you obtain an e-visa in advance, remember to ask in good time on the ship whether they're arranging visas for everyone. If, as I suspect, the answer is "yes", tell them that you already have visas so that you don't end up paying twice. :eek:

 

3. If neither you nor the ship have arranged your visas, they are currently available on-the-day at the port. Plans to stop offering visa--on-arrival after the introduction of e-visas have been put on hold. Price is the same, currently 20 USD per person - you will need a clean 20 USD note for each. Yes, that's US cash, and only in 20-dollar bills.

 

I'd advise buying on-line a month or two before your cruise, but there are those other options.

 

This note for anyone whose cruise visits Turkish ports but doesn't start or finish there - you don't need a visa for Turkey. Cruise visitors have dispensation for visits of up to 72 hours provided that they arrive & leave on the ship and that any overnites are on the ship.

 

JB :)

You do need a visa and I would highly recommend buying it on line as JB noted. Even our favorite cruise line which normally obtained the visas for us on our last cruise ending in Istanbul this past May required that we obtain them on line. It's very easy to obtain. Just do that and print out copies of it. I would print out two as you will give them one when you board the ship and have one just in case.

 

It will be placed in your passport and you will show your passport and this visa page when you go through immigration at the pier upon your disembarkation.

 

Again, this assumes you are from the USA.

 

Keith

Again, this assumes you are from the USA.

 

Please note that visa provisions vary wildly per nationality. Visas for Canadian and Australian citizens for example are only valid for 3 months, and not 6 months as mentioned for US, UK and New Zealand nationals. If you are from South Africa, you can only get a 1 month visa online.

 

The evisa-homepage gives excellent information for all nationalities and all passports. It will also tell you if you do not need a visa at all, or if you cannot apply online. You can also check this really handy official Turkish webpage: http://www.mfa.gov.tr/visa-information-for-foreigners.en.mfa

Thank you so much for your assistance. I should have mentioned...

I am a US citizen and we will be arriving in Istanbul on Celebrity Equinox.

Marty845, definitely get it on line.

 

Just print out a couple of copies of each just to have one backup.

 

Very easy.

 

Keith

Celebrity does not arrange visas for its passengers, so you'll have to take care of it yourself.

 

The e-visa now costs $20.70 (for US passport holders), with a little extra service fee "charged to cover the cost for international operations". If they are still offering visas upon arrival at the port, I suppose you could save 70 cents… :p But as Keith1010 mentioned, Celebrity may require you to have one before the ship arrives in Istanbul. So I'd get it on-line a couple of days before your trip. It doesn't need to be done far in advance (except I have a feeling that this "service fee" is not going to stay so low for very long…)

I highly recommend getting them on line. You will have them with no worries.

 

Keith

We just returned from a cruise that ended in Istanbul and overnighted there. We definitely had to have visas. We did them on line and it was very easy. Could have obtained them through Oceania, but much more expensive if the cruise line did it. Interesting that they only seemed necessary in Istanbul, possibly because of the overnight? We spent a day in Kusadasi/Ephesus and we only showed our shipcard going on and off the ship and through the port terminal.

The Turkish website is very user friendly. Got my wife's and mine in minutes.

If your cruise ends in Istanbul, you need to get your visa on line.

 

Keith

Interesting that they only seemed necessary in Istanbul, possibly because of the overnight? We spent a day in Kusadasi/Ephesus and we only showed our shipcard going on and off the ship and through the port terminal.

Yes, you do not need a visa for a port stop in Turkey, if you stay less than 72 hours. But you do need a visa if your cruise ends in Turkey, since you will be in the country and no longer on a cruise. (And obviously you also need a visa if your cruise begins in Turkey, since you need to enter the country on your own before the cruise starts.)

Thanks for this info. I found another reference to visas which took me to a link that mentioned $60 for one. Perhaps that was not the official Turkey link.

 

Note that, at least for Americans using the online service, you can only apply for a visa about 90 days before you will need it!

Edited November 7, 2014 by roothy123

I found another reference to visas which took me to a link that mentioned $60 for one. Perhaps that was not the official Turkey link.

 

 

That reference may relate to Canadians, for whom the visa costs $60

(I'm guessing that's probably because Canada charges Turkish citizens about the same sort of fee for a Canadian visa)

 

JB :)

Thanks for this info. I found another reference to visas which took me to a link that mentioned $60 for one. Perhaps that was not the official Turkey link.

You may have been looking at a site for Canadians or Australians. They currently have to pay US$60 for a Turkish visa. A few years ago it was $100 for Americans! These things change all the time, depending in part on how much Turkish tourists have to pay when they visit other countries.