Turkish eVisa in Few Clicks
A great benefit of flying with Turkish Airlines is their offering of both short and long stopover flights. The longer layovers present an excellent opportunity to explore the vibrant city of Istanbul, allowing you to embark on an adventure and immerse yourself in its rich culture.
My husband and I recently applied for a Turkish visa. We are flying from the United States to Bangladesh and we picked the flights that offered a 12 hour layover in Turkey although having shorter period layover option.
Although Turkey offers a “Transit Visa”, not all nationals qualify for this one. The other option is “eVisa”. Please check which one is eligible for your travel document prior application. The Turkey transit visa allows you to leave the airport and spend 24 to 48 hours in Turkey before returning to your destination. Whereas, A “eVisa” holder is eligible to stay for 30 days or 90 days depending on the nationality of the holder.
The Turkish airline offers a free Istanbul tour, if you have a 6+ hour layover in Turkey. If the stopover is more than 20 hours, then you can choose from either city tour or hotel accommodation. Application for accommodation is needed 72 hours before the first flight. But transits lower than 12 hours are only eligible for free city tours. There are options to schedule the tour ahead of the first flight time or the city tours can also be booked on the counter at the Istanbul Airport.
The application process for Turkish “eVisa” was pretty smooth. The information requested is mostly related to the travel document. However, a supporting document is needed which is a valid Schengen member or USA, UK, Ireland visa or residence permit. Once all the information is inserted, they will ask for final verification of the information before the submission of application. Right after the submission of the application, and the visa fee payment Turkish eVisa will be available to download at that moment. This will be a single e-Visa valid for six months, where you can stay 30 days at a time.
The visa application cost $60 per person+ $12 servicing fee+ $2 dollar processing fee.
More on Touristanbul will come soon!