Koby

Out of principle, I don't connect in airports where I cannot at the last moment decide to enter the country (in case of a missed connection for instance). As far as I remember - over the last 15 years or so - I have never connected in such an airport. (Having a European passport helps of course...)
Being able to buy a VoA is fine for me, but I don't want to plan ahead and request (and pay) visas that I probably will not need.

But maybe I should have said "So that's the end of IST as a connection airport then FOR ME". I don't think this will stop lots of other people from using IST.

nomadic.relief

Weird question (well maybe not so weird as this is FT) - I know that the whole process of the e-visa is much simpler and faster, but can someone tell me the difference of the "in passport" bit? I.e. did the VoA involve an actual 'sticker' (as implied further up thread), or is it just a stamp either way? I'm a bit of a nutter when it comes to collecting passport stamps, but I am also starting to run low on pages so I'm in a bit of a quandary. Total first world problems, I am aware.

oziman

If it makes you feel any better, your passport still gets stamped even with the e-visa, and in addition they also stamp the e-visa, both on entry and exit (since it's multientry).

geirfugl

OP: Why are you talking abouth"totaly first world problems?" Turkey wants to be a first world country,and it passes itself up as such. Even realistically asesed Turkey is NOT a Third world country,even though there are forces inside it that wants to make it one!!

Oziman bey : Why are you moaning abouth visa problems,-get in With Mr E,make a few shoeboxes full of money,and boy,your Shengen visa problems are ower!!

GUWonder

It involved both (payment stickers and stamps), at least for those of us who had to pay on arrival as tourists on OECD country passports. The payment stickers weren't traditional visa stickers of the sort that include name of recipient, etc.

oziman

hahahaha. I was not complaining :=) I never said I needed a visa, either

nomadic.relief

Perhaps I should have been clearer - I'm not making any comments regarding the status of Turkey!

I was making comments regarding first world problems as it's not really a relevant issue (stamp vs sticker). "First world problem" is usually a reference to something that is utterly trivial.

But thanks for the other clarifications, much appreciated!

starflyergold

The mandatory e-visa has now been postponed to November.

Canada freak

Yep, and apparently they will also place self-service machines at the airports for people who arrive without an e-visa.

I also read that the best news for the Dutch is that online payments can soon also be done with Ideal. Apparently a big complaint here was that only credit cards were accepted for payment, as many Dutch don't have a credit card I find it hard to believe that you'd travel abroad without one, but hey, who am I...

Schwann

So (in theory) when I land in IST on my trip in April I can still get a visa on arrival and the sticker that goes with it? Again, like the traveller above it's just a trivial curiosity I have about getting more visa stickers and stamps!

oziman

correct

IAN-UK

What are queue times like for VOA?

Any nationality-specific lines or lines for premium-class passengers?

oneboyincoach

Last few times I was through the queue was empty, so no problem.

For premium TK give transiting passengers a bright red priority card, but then you wouldn't need a visa, right?

The visa desk is against the windows, opposite passport control, and the TK premium entrance is just after that, so probably there isn't any choice but to go to the public window.

My first e-visa I went to the window, and they gave me a stamp just like the old one. The second visit I went straight to immigration and it worked fine. The third visit I was staying for 10 days, and my e-visa expired exactly in the middle. Turkey is one of many countries where it is (or at least was) illegal to have 2 valid visas. I was traveling with a government ministerial delegation, so I took the invitation to the Turkish embassy, and got a full-page visa in my passport based on that. Still technically illegal, but better than leaving the country for 24 hours in the middle of a trip. Now I am overnighting this weekend on the way to Sochi, but the dates will cause the same problem for me in August, when I am usually returning from Canada after summer holidays.

IAN-UK

Thanks for that. I'm weighing up the faff of an e-visa (includes finding a printer while staying with dear-but-technophobe friends), against any benefits from avoiding sticker-visa queues.

Sticker-visa is also about 20% cheaper

starflyergold

Reminder that the new rules come into effect this week.