US /Turkey suspend visa issuance [now lifted]
Nov 18, 2017, 6:14 am
#196
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 29
@hfly right? Now dave is saying, and I quote, "And enigma i did see the letter feom the ministry today at focument check." as the apparent source. Really weird as the hotline has said nothing about anything new on the procedure for US citizens getting a VoA. Really starting to think this guy is just posting random stuff just cause.
Edit: Heres the full post that makes it even more more strange, apparently he got in, but the other guy couldn't get in that is his business partner ..hmmmm
"Enigma i made it to Istanbul but the guy i came with for whom we switched all our trip and stayed 3 days in Athens could not come in because of this new rule. And enigma i did see the letter feom the ministry today at focument check. I will update again tomorrow ."
Yeah this dude is making stuff up as he goes.
Edit: Heres the full post that makes it even more more strange, apparently he got in, but the other guy couldn't get in that is his business partner ..hmmmm
"Enigma i made it to Istanbul but the guy i came with for whom we switched all our trip and stayed 3 days in Athens could not come in because of this new rule. And enigma i did see the letter feom the ministry today at focument check. I will update again tomorrow ."
Yeah this dude is making stuff up as he goes.
Nov 18, 2017, 8:21 am
#197
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,710
Honestly I don't think he is making this stuff up. Bates I will dismiss but Dave I am a bit more cautious dismissing. He actually appears to have been let in but his co-worker has not. I also don't think whatever happened with Athens TK personnel caused blow back with Turkish immigration personnel that just makes no sense. Basically there are four possibilities I can come up with:
- He is making it up whole cloth, I mean this is the Internet after all but that doesn't seem that likely to me.
- Policy has indeed officially changed. In the absence of other reports at this time and the fact that various visa requirement check services are still reporting the 24 hour rule this also seems unlikely.
- Policy is YMMV and depending on who you get at immigration you may have different experiences. This seems possible. The TPG write up seems consistent with this and yes I acknowledge they may have very well written it to be more interesting than it actually was. It is possible that immigration officials have certain level of discretion with this informal rule and thus why we get reports that are divergent from the documented 24 hour rule.
- Guy he was travelling with had some "issue" and was rejected for some other reason that wasn't well communicated or was mis-communicated.
Last edited by 36902BRF; Nov 18, 2017 at 8:31 am
Nov 18, 2017, 9:27 am
#198
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,710
In any event if something has truly changed there will no doubt be additional reports in the coming days and or an update timatic in the near future. I'll certainly wait to see what shakes out.
Last edited by 36902BRF; Nov 18, 2017 at 9:34 am
Nov 18, 2017, 12:58 pm
#199
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 29
Honestly I don't think he is making this stuff up. Bates I will dismiss but Dave I am a bit more cautious dismissing. He actually appears to have been let in but his co-worker has not. I also don't think whatever happened with Athens TK personnel caused blow back with Turkish immigration personnel that just makes no sense. Basically there are four possibilities I can come up with:
- He is making it up whole cloth, I mean this is the Internet after all but that doesn't seem that likely to me.
- Policy has indeed officially changed. In the absence of other reports at this time and the fact that various visa requirement check services are still reporting the 24 hour rule this also seems unlikely.
- Policy is YMMV and depending on who you get at immigration you may have different experiences. This seems possible. The TPG write up seems consistent with this and yes I acknowledge they may have very well written it to be more interesting than it actually was. It is possible that immigration officials have certain level of discretion with this informal rule and thus why we get reports that are divergent from the documented 24 hour rule.
- Guy he was travelling with had some "issue" and was rejected for some other reason that wasn't well communicated or was mis-communicated.
Nov 18, 2017, 2:00 pm
#200
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,710
FYI some interesting recent data points of both of success and failure in the comments of the original TPG blog posting from October. https://thepointsguy.com/2017/10/ent...ring-visa-ban/
There is one mention of a denial based on a 3-day rule in the last day. However he does seem to imply that if you have 3-days you are ok (which differs from Dave on TA).
There is one mention of a denial based on a 3-day rule in the last day. However he does seem to imply that if you have 3-days you are ok (which differs from Dave on TA).
I am sitting in front of the document control desk right now and they are denying me entry because I was not at the non-US origin for a minimum of 3 days. I flew from LAX to Zurich, then Budapest. Stayed the night at Budapest and then flew to Istanbul the next morning.
I even called the Turkish consulate in London while I was there to confirm that the consulates are not telling people about the minimum 3 days.
They will pay for a flight back to Budapest and they said I can return in two days as early as midnight.
They will not reimburse me for my original flight from Budapest to Istanbul. And they will not pay for my next flight from Budapest to Istanbul when I’ve completed the minimum 3 days.
This may not be the same experience everyone else is getting but this is what happened to me. There were other Americans there’s that did and did not fulfill the 3 days and they applied the rule consistently.
I even called the Turkish consulate in London while I was there to confirm that the consulates are not telling people about the minimum 3 days.
They will pay for a flight back to Budapest and they said I can return in two days as early as midnight.
They will not reimburse me for my original flight from Budapest to Istanbul. And they will not pay for my next flight from Budapest to Istanbul when I’ve completed the minimum 3 days.
This may not be the same experience everyone else is getting but this is what happened to me. There were other Americans there’s that did and did not fulfill the 3 days and they applied the rule consistently.
Last edited by 36902BRF; Nov 18, 2017 at 2:10 pm
Nov 18, 2017, 2:12 pm
#201
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 29
FYI some interesting recent data points of both of success and failure in the comments of the original TPG blog posting from October. https://thepointsguy.com/2017/10/ent...ring-visa-ban/
There is one mention of a denial based on a 3-day rule in the last day. However he does seem to imply that if you have 3-days you are ok (which differs from Dave on TA).
There is one mention of a denial based on a 3-day rule in the last day. However he does seem to imply that if you have 3-days you are ok (which differs from Dave on TA).
Nov 18, 2017, 2:17 pm
#203
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 29
Yeah, best bet is to just wait and see on Monday from Sinter and see what their experience is like *shrug*.
Nov 19, 2017, 7:42 am
#204
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,710
So two more reports on TA this morning supporting the new residency permit requirement and one report of a person getting in without issue despite not having residence permit in a non-US country. One of the two reports of change quotes Turkish Airlines in Canada stating there was a policy change on 11/18. Timatic (at least the free web version) still makes no mention of change. I'll wait for some more data points but I am going to thinking about alternatives and avoiding Turkey altogether.
Last edited by 36902BRF; Nov 19, 2017 at 9:06 am
Nov 19, 2017, 1:44 pm
#205
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 29
So two more reports on TA this morning supporting the new residency permit requirement and one report of a person getting in without issue despite not having residence permit in a non-US country. One of the two reports of change quotes Turkish Airlines in Canada stating there was a policy change on 11/18. Timatic (at least the free web version) still makes no mention of change. I'll wait for some more data points but I am going to thinking about alternatives and avoiding Turkey altogether.
Nov 19, 2017, 2:01 pm
#206
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,710
I am more trusting than you but yeah I am going to wait a couple of more days for more data points before I pull the plug on my Turkish plans. None of my flights are on Turkish so their window does not make any difference to me though I'll take a hit on fees for cancelling award tickets but it is not an insane amount so I'll live.
Edit: It will be interesting to see if TK does in fact extend the window or whether the "limited availability" of visa services as Turkish missions in US gives them an out.
Edit: It will be interesting to see if TK does in fact extend the window or whether the "limited availability" of visa services as Turkish missions in US gives them an out.
Last edited by 36902BRF; Nov 19, 2017 at 2:25 pm
Nov 19, 2017, 5:33 pm
#207
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 29
I am more trusting than you but yeah I am going to wait a couple of more days for more data points before I pull the plug on my Turkish plans. None of my flights are on Turkish so their window does not make any difference to me though I'll take a hit on fees for cancelling award tickets but it is not an insane amount so I'll live.
Edit: It will be interesting to see if TK does in fact extend the window or whether the "limited availability" of visa services as Turkish missions in US gives them an out.
Edit: It will be interesting to see if TK does in fact extend the window or whether the "limited availability" of visa services as Turkish missions in US gives them an out.
Nov 19, 2017, 5:52 pm
#208
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,710
That honestly sounds like the best plan to just get a visa. I have toyed with that idea but for me I'd have to take two days out of my schedule to travel to to DC (closest one to me though I have family there) and I am not sure that is worth it for 6.5 days in Istanbul.
Last edited by 36902BRF; Nov 19, 2017 at 6:17 pm
Nov 19, 2017, 6:05 pm
#209
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 29
Yeah it sucks that I have to dole out the extra cash, but, at this point I rather have the security of having it and being able to board the direct flight in than having to re route and spend extra money for a flight in and a hotel room for the stayover. But I totally understand since you are further out, it will be a massive inconvenience for you.
Nov 20, 2017, 6:05 am
#210
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,710
Looks like Dave on TA was actually right. Timatic has been updated
Looks like Timatic is a "lagging indicator" as the economists would say. With this I am done it is not worth the time for me to get a visa in advance nor the risk that I won't get my passport back in time for an earlier trip to Easter Island at the beginning of January. Time to tweak my plans.
Nationals of the USA can obtain a visa on arrival for a maximum stay of 3 months. They must be arriving from a country other than the USA and have a residence permit issued by the country they are arriving from.
Last edited by 36902BRF; Nov 20, 2017 at 6:26 am