e visa turkey

Hi

I am booked on my first cruise on MSC sailing out of venice I have had trouble getting an e visa for turkey it says I am exempt do I need one ?

That depends on what nationality you have and what you define as "trouble getting an evisa".

If it was a technical problem with the site/payment, AND you are eligible to get a visa (US citizens mostly are), you will be able to get that visa on arrival. Just be aware the price on arrival is $30 compared to $20 if you do it in advance.

Hi

I am booked on my first cruise on MSC sailing out of venice I have had trouble getting an e visa for turkey it says I am exempt do I need one ?

there are varying recommendations on web sites about this ... it appears that a visitors e-visa may not be required for cruise ship passengers in certain circumstances depending on your itinerary ... for information only, I post an excerpt from Visa Services Canada but suggest you check with your own government web pages.

Do I Need a Visa to Visit Turkey?

Canadian citizens using a Canadian passport need a visa to enter Turkey . This visa can be legally and easily acquired as an electronic "e-visa".

Canadian citizens using a Canadian passport must get an e-visa at if the purpose of the trip is pleasure, business or attending a meeting. This visa allows the holder to stay in Turkey for a maximum of ninety (90) days and is valid for multiple entries during that period.

There is no more visa-on-arrival available to Canadians at airports in Turkey. You MUST have an e-visa prior to travel.

Cruise Ship Passengers

Cruise ship passengers cruising in and out of a Turkish port within a single day do not require a tourist visa. This applies to multiple stops at multiple ports in Turkey.

However, Canadians sailing in Turkish waters and ports are advised to secure an e-visa prior to the voyage. The best travel advice currently is to get an e-visa. Click the link below to get your Turkish e-visa.

I'll keep it simple by concentrating solely on cruise passengers.

Cruise passengers do not need a Turkish visa for mid-cruise Turkish port-of-call visits of up to 72 hours in any port. I think this applies to passengers of all nationalities, it certainly applies to Canadians, Americans, Aussies, Brits & other EU nationals.

But most nationalities, including Canadians & the others that I listed, are required to have a visa if they fly in or out of Turkey.

Your cruise starts in Italy, so if it ends anywhere other than Turkey you don't need a visa. But if, say, your cruise ends in Istanbul & you fly from there you do need a visa.

One thing I don't entirely understand is you say that when you applied for an e-visa, the visa site said you were exempt. :confused:

Canadians aren't generally exempt, and I don't recall the Turkish govt's application process asking about the applicant's method of travel so it wouldn't know that you were visiting by cruise ship.

Having disagreed with the professionals (Visa Service Canada) on the matter of how long cruisers can remain in a port without a visa, I'll also query their "Canadians sailing in Turkish waters and ports are advised to secure an e-visa prior to the voyage".

I suspect that's aimed at folk spending a week or two sailing around the Turkish coasts & islands on a sailboat such as a gulet, rather than cruise ship passengers, but their phraseology is ambiguous.

And I certainly don't agree with their " best travel advice currently is to get an e-visa". It's complete a waste of money if you don't need one.

And at $60 a visa for Canadians used to be a lot higher than for most nationalities, though that may have changed since the introduction of e-visas.

Unless headhunterke and I are a few weeks out-of-date, that visa service is also wrong in saying that visa-on-arrival is no longer available.

It was the Turkish Govt's intention that when they introduced e-visas a couple of years back they would stop issuing visa-on-arrival. But they then decided to run both options until further notice. That has certainly been the case up until a few weeks back, and I've not heard of any change.

That said, if you do need a visa it's better to get an e-visa rather than visa-on-arrival, not only because of the higher cost but also because at many airports etc the "visa-on-arrival" is actually just an e-visa terminal & you don't really want to join a line or fight with a Turkish computer.

So, if it's just port-of-call visits you don't need a visa.

If you're flying in to join a cruise or flying out from a cruise, you do need a visa & it's best to get an e-visa in advance.

And if you do need a visa, use the Turkish govt. official site

https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/

It's very simple, doubtless cheaper than using an agency, and better than unnecessarily giving business to such a poor outfit as Visa Services Canada

Edited to add: I've just checked the FAQ on that Turkish Govt website, which confirms what I posted, including the 72 hour period for visa-free visits, US$60 (yes, US dollars) for Canadians' e-visa, and the alternative of visa-on-arrival is available for Canadians

JB :)

JohnBull, you are right. The visa on arrival SHOULD have been out of service for months now. But the Turkish government has not yet pulled it back. They simply have/had too many people arriving without prior evisa that they couldn't handle the process.

There is a lot of advice here about Canadians, but the OP says she is from Cleveland, which is in Ohio, USA. Unless there is another one in Canada...Apparently the cruise is on MSC Poesia, R/T from Venice, so Istanbul and Izmir are just port stops and no visa would be needed. EM

Interesting analysis and critique JB. I cannot say I disagree with your points. I would point out though, that I did say "for information only" and suggested that the OP (presumably American from Cleveland) check with their government agencies for information they offer to their citizens ... right, wrong or indifferent, when you google this topic, you get postings that vary on the e-visa (as I also mentioned) ...

There is a lot of advice here about Canadians, but the OP says she is from Cleveland, which is in Ohio, USA. Unless there is another one in Canada...Apparently the cruise is on MSC Poesia, R/T from Venice, so Istanbul and Izmir are just port stops and no visa would be needed. EM

Living in a country does not mean you also have the nationality of that country, beware!

Interesting analysis and critique JB. I cannot say I disagree with your points. I would point out though, that I did say "for information only" and suggested that the OP (presumably American from Cleveland) check with their government agencies for information they offer to their citizens ... right, wrong or indifferent, when you google this topic, you get postings that vary on the e-visa (as I also mentioned) ...

Hi Slopoke,

Yes, just to clarify - I clearly understood that the info was from a website & I wasn't trying to shoot the messenger. ;)

Apols if it came out that way.

I homed-in on the erroneous info, at the expense of the background of your post. And since that was a Canadian website I kinda presumed the OP was from Canada & didn't notice the home town.

Yes, there are a couple of Clevelands in Canada, I just checked out Googlemaps. But I won't use that as an excuse - the fact that it's way past my bedtime here is hopefully a good enough excuse. ;)

Regards

JB :)

Hmmmm....Well, to muddy the waters more, in her first two posts on CC, the OP states she lives in the UK...So, JB, do you have any Clevelands in the UK? EM

Hi Slopoke,

 

Yes, just to clarify - I clearly understood that the info was from a website & I wasn't trying to shoot the messenger. ;)

Apols if it came out that way.

 

I homed-in on the erroneous info, at the expense of the background of your post. And since that was a Canadian website I kinda presumed the OP was from Canada & didn't notice the home town.

 

Yes, there are a couple of Clevelands in Canada, I just checked out Googlemaps. But I won't use that as an excuse - the fact that it's way past my bedtime here is hopefully a good enough excuse. ;)

 

Regards

 

JB :)

:D no issue ... love reading your posts on CC ... in hindsight, I figure I could have been more clear in my message but was just trying to provide the OP with a starting point ... :D

Hmmmm....Well, to muddy the waters more, in her first two posts on CC, the OP states she lives in the UK...So, JB, do you have any Clevelands in the UK? EM

that is hilarious ... hahahahaha

If you are from the USA and your cruise starts or ends in Turkey you need to get the e-visa.

It's that simple.

It was not like this until 2014 when before then you could get a visa at arrival or departure.

Most other rules stayed the same (eg., if you are transiting through on a cruise and not staying at a hotel or staying more than 72 hours at a port).

Very simple and you get the visa instantaneously.

I wish other countries were like this including our own.

Keith

If you are a US citizen and Turkey is just a port of call, you DO NOT need a visa.

Have done Kusadasi a couple of years ago as a POC and just did Istanbul. No visa needed.

Hmmmm....Well, to muddy the waters more, in her first two posts on CC, the OP states she lives in the UK...So, JB, do you have any Clevelands in the UK? EM

Thanks a bunch for that - just what I needed after a heavy night :D

Yes, nice work Sherlock, there is indeed a Cleveland in the UK. But it's way up in the wild & woolly north-east of England, where maps give little information other than "There be dragons here" :p

And as you mention, we know the OP's location (we think) but not necessarily their nationality.

Fortunately, other than the cost of a visa, the requirements are the same for all the nationalities mentioned.

Slopoke - don't blame yourself. Blame me. Everyone else usually does. ;)

Now I have to go take a lie-down ;)

JB :)

Yes, the original Cleveland is in North Yorkshire, home of Captain James Cook...I took it as such when I read this post, especially with a cruise in the Med on MSC.

John Bull....hide your Southern head from we northern dragons! :eek:

Hi

I am booked on my first cruise on MSC sailing out of venice I have had trouble getting an e visa for turkey it says I am exempt do I need one ?

As a US citizen unless your cruise ends in Turkey you do not need a visa, you are exempt.

As a US citizen unless your cruise ends in Turkey you do not need a visa, you are exempt.

I think you left our something in your post.

How about when it begins in Turkey?

 

I think you left our something in your post.

Since the OP said that the cruise begins in Venice it really wasn't necessary to answer the question, unless they have moved Venice to Turkey.

As a US citizen unless your cruise ends in Turkey you do not need a visa, you are exempt.

I understand what you mean but best to keep it simple.

If your cruise starts in Turkey or ends there an e-visa is needed from those from selected countries including the USA. If you transit through Turkey you don't need one.

Keith