No: 272, 19 August 2014

Some media outlets have published news items today (19 August) regarding the implementation of Electronic Visa system (e-Visa) to the effect that foreign nationals are not allowed to enter Turkey with e-Visa in Muğla, Dalaman and Bodrum airports, and that foreign nationals desiring to enter Turkey from these airports have been repatriated although they were in the possession of e-Visa obtained through the system. These news items do not reflect the truth. No difficulty concerning e-Visa has been encountered in the Turkish border gates recently, including Milas-Bodrum or Dalaman airports.

287,604 and 604,382 foreign nationals entered Turkey with e-Visa through Milas-Bodrum Airport and Dalaman Airport respectively, from 1 January 2014 until today.

E-Visa application system was initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 17 April 2013. The system allows the users to obtain e-Visa in about 3 minutes for 7 days and 24 hours from anywhere in the world having Internet connection. Currently, nationals of 98 countries use the e-Visa application and more than 4.5 million e-Visas have been issued as of 19 August 2014.

According to the 2013 data of the UN World Tourism Organization, Turkey is the 6th most visited country in the world with 35 million tourists. The recent increase in the number of tourists visiting Turkey is an attribute to the success of e-Visa system.

This application, which enables foreign nationals to obtain visa in the electronic environment in a fast and easy way, has contributed to the prestige of Turkey in the information technology age.