Turkish citizens leaving IST
Jul 20, 2016, 3:43 pm
#1
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Join Date: Apr 2012
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Turkish citizens leaving IST
Has anyone here heard anything about Turkish citizens being detained at the airport while trying to leave the country? I'm trying to decipher if this is a rumor or if there is truth to it. Someone told me that they are making people register, and go to another agency to see if they owe money to the government, etc.
My wife is Turkish, but a naturalized US citizen traveling on a US passport. I am hoping she don't have any kind of problems leaving.
My wife is Turkish, but a naturalized US citizen traveling on a US passport. I am hoping she don't have any kind of problems leaving.
Jul 20, 2016, 6:45 pm
#3
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Currently Turkish citizens holding official passports (i.e. Government officials and relatives of government officials) are not allowed to leave the country. I know several people who have come and gone the last few days, no problem if they hold normal Turkish passports, so your wife should have no problem.
Jul 20, 2016, 7:55 pm
#4
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Currently Turkish citizens holding official passports (i.e. Government officials and relatives of government officials) are not allowed to leave the country. I know several people who have come and gone the last few days, no problem if they hold normal Turkish passports, so your wife should have no problem.
Jul 21, 2016, 12:12 am
#5
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It seems there is some kind of new rule in place since the state of emergency declaration. I've had it confirmed by several Turkish friends but it is unclear exactly what it is. It has something to do with making sure people don't owe taxes etc. I'll post more if I find out.
Jul 21, 2016, 1:41 am
#6
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He declared it last night, and it is supposed to be ratified and published in the official gazette today, so considering that the "declaration" you made was only perhaps 3 hours after he declared it, and before the state of emergency was actually in place, and no such thing has been declared (the registration thing), I do not see how any of your friends could have claimed, "they are making people register, and go to another agency to see if they owe money to the government, etc.".
OTOH, a friend of mine with an official passport did tell me two days ago that in order to travel abroad, he needed some sort of declaration, etc.
I think somehow your friends have combined this information.
OTOH, a friend of mine with an official passport did tell me two days ago that in order to travel abroad, he needed some sort of declaration, etc.
I think somehow your friends have combined this information.
Jul 21, 2016, 2:15 am
#7
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 15
No restrictions
Regular passports have no restrictions. Senior government officials (green passports) have an additional document/check before leaving.
The state of emergency is for the law enforcement to do searches and arrests. It has nothing to do with travel business etc.
The state of emergency is for the law enforcement to do searches and arrests. It has nothing to do with travel business etc.
Jul 21, 2016, 6:56 am
#8
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Yikes. I know a lot of Turkish academics, many with jobs abroad who return to Turkey every summer for vacation and to organize conferences there, etc. It would be even worse if the term academics is interpreted to include graduate students studying abroad who are supported by some form of assistantships (research assistant, teaching assistant, etc.). Of course, those who don't have jobs abroad are expected to travel to international conferences if they're employed in good departments/universities such as METU, Bilkent, Koc, etc.
Jul 21, 2016, 7:20 am
#9
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 27
He declared it last night, and it is supposed to be ratified and published in the official gazette today, so considering that the "declaration" you made was only perhaps 3 hours after he declared it, and before the state of emergency was actually in place, and no such thing has been declared (the registration thing), I do not see how any of your friends could have claimed, "they are making people register, and go to another agency to see if they owe money to the government, etc.".
OTOH, a friend of mine with an official passport did tell me two days ago that in order to travel abroad, he needed some sort of declaration, etc.
I think somehow your friends have combined this information.
OTOH, a friend of mine with an official passport did tell me two days ago that in order to travel abroad, he needed some sort of declaration, etc.
I think somehow your friends have combined this information.
Jul 21, 2016, 11:59 am
#10
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Having flown out of IST since this thread was starated and actually being on the plane now, I can tell you that there are no such checks going on for "civilians".
I should also note that actually living in Istanbul and being "plugged in" I have heard all sorts of ridiculous rumours and innuendo about lots of things, I just do not post most of them as 99% are garbage. Two examples related to this in the last 24 hours? "Be at the airport six hours before flights... due to intense security checks of everyone...." not true and in fact the airport was incredibly non busy. Not to mention transportation relaTed threat warnings. All of which are false.
I should also note that actually living in Istanbul and being "plugged in" I have heard all sorts of ridiculous rumours and innuendo about lots of things, I just do not post most of them as 99% are garbage. Two examples related to this in the last 24 hours? "Be at the airport six hours before flights... due to intense security checks of everyone...." not true and in fact the airport was incredibly non busy. Not to mention transportation relaTed threat warnings. All of which are false.
Last edited by hfly; Jul 21, 2016 at 12:05 pm
Jul 21, 2016, 3:43 pm
#11
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Yikes. I know a lot of Turkish academics, many with jobs abroad who return to Turkey every summer for vacation and to organize conferences there, etc. It would be even worse if the term academics is interpreted to include graduate students studying abroad who are supported by some form of assistantships (research assistant, teaching assistant, etc.). Of course, those who don't have jobs abroad are expected to travel to international conferences if they're employed in good departments/universities such as METU, Bilkent, Koc, etc.
How much more extensively is the Turkish government scrubbing international passenger manifests against blacklists? Not certain, but I would be surprised if they haven't been doing a bit more of that since the coup attempt flopped. This, however, is unlikely to impact most ordinary passengers using IST as a transit airport between two international flights.
Jul 21, 2016, 8:17 pm
#12
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I have a friend who currently works at the Univ of Ankara. She finished her PhD two years ago, and works in a faculty teaching position only. She is classified as "ordinary academic staff", and as of yesterday she received advisement that she i not able to leave the country for any reason until further notice. So, this is restriction is far wider reaching than people think.