Tough New Penalties for Overstaying Your Tourist Visa
April 4, 2008 by Victoria Ice
Filed under News
A warning before you decide to overstay your tourist visa;
The Turkish immigration authorities are getting tough on people who over stay their tourist visa.
The new rules are as follows:
Over staying your tourist visa by between 1 and 15 days – There is no restriction on re-entering Turkey but you will have to pay the appropriate visa fines and you will need to obtain your new visa from a Turkish Consulate.
Over staying your tourist visa by 16 days or more – Not only will you have to pay the fines for over staying but you would also need to leave Turkey and would not be allowed entry for 3 months
Over staying your tourist visa by 3 months – In addition to the fines the person would have to leave Turkey and would not be allowed entry for 6 months.
For greater periods as above with fines but double the refusal of entry times – 6 months over staying, would not be allowed entry to Turkey for 12 months etc.
We think the penalties are very tough as those people who just make a minor date error and inadvertently stay an extra few days will now have to take a special trip to renew their visa outside of Turkey.
So it pays to renew your visa a little bit earlier to allow for any errors.
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hello, my name is Helen and last yr I visited Turkey 2 times within 3 months. I stayed for a month the 2nd time, but on entering the 2nd time I was told by passport control I didn’t need another visa as I had been there within the 90 days. However on leaving I was stopped as my visa had gone over by 6 days. I was offered to pay a 480 lira fine for myself and my 2 children but I didn’t have this fine, so instead they let me fly but banned me and my children for 60 months! We also on return had to apply for 3 new visas at £66 each. So beware, even if they do tell you you don’t need your visa take one as the hassle at the other end is ridiculous. I personally had to pay the policeman a back hander to leave the country. I have complained to every possible place however not one of the Turkish embassies is interested. It is all about the money! I am due to go back to see my friends there soon in 1 week and if anyone knows of any problems I may come across please send me an email. Thanks
I thought that you could obtain an new period of tourist residency by simply leaving the country for a few hours or a day and then returning. Unless you are living a long way from a border, that seems like the easiest thing to do.
I went to Ankara to stay with my friend for a while, and took a touristic visa on entry on 31st July 2009. I stayed for a while, and then on 16th September, came back to UK to visit my family, and I returned on 20th September, within my 90 day visa allowance…therefore, my visa was still running. I knew that I wanted to stay for longer, so knowing full well that my touristic visa would run out on October 31st, I spoke to two police officers in the local police department and explained that I wanted to stay for longer, and that I would like to extend my visa. They assured me that because my current visa had been stamped on my return to the country in September, my visa would automatically be extended for another 90 days. I questioned it, but they were sure and off I went. I decided to come back to UK on 22nd of December to visit my family. When I got to the border, they told me that I had overstayed my visa, and they fined me £160, and banned me from entering Turkey for 90 days. I was absolutely livid. I explained everything that the police officers in the police department had told me, and that I was honest with them, and I had absolutely no problems in purchasing another visa for another price if it meant that I was able to return when I liked. But they were insistent that it was government policy. I can’t believe that I’ve been banned from entering a country because of the mistake of two men who gave me the wrong information. Lesson learnt!!! ALWAYS TAKE A VISA!!!
I was deported from Turkey January 2009 and was told at the airport i was deported from that if i wanted to return to Turkey i would have to apply for a Visa from the Turkish Registry and have a fine to return back to Turkey. I applied to the Turkish Registry and was granted a visa but was not told how much i would have to pay.I was initially deported for an overstay in Turkey for 6 months,i was told at the airport i was deported from that i would have to pay 800 Turkish lira which is £300 for myself and my son.Are you able to verify this fine amount.I would appreciate if you could get back to me. Thanks
Hi helen Knowles – can you give me an update to let me know if you got in the country ok as per your last post? my friend is in exactly the same situation and has been advised to just try again and enter. thanks
This is for Helen Knowles or anyone else banned for 5 years. Last week 28th JuneI overstayed my visa by one day. It says on the embassy web site 3 months but we now know it is 90 days not quite the same thing !!! The fine was 156 lira but I only had 60 and a credit card which they would not take. I was told by a very nice and helpful airport woman and a very nice and helpful police officer to apply to the Turkish Embassy in London for a new visa £66 and still pay the fine on the way back through Dalaman. Question, What kind of visa did you get to go back and how long did it take to get it ? I have an appointmnet on the 28 th of this month at the embassy. Thanks Ann Downey
iv just come bk from turkey last monday and i didnt realise i overstayed my visa with my husband and two children by 3 days, i wa issued with a fine on the spot but didnt have the money to pay it there and then so i was told i would have to go to the turkish consulate to apply for another visa before returning to turkey also to pay a fine, now im haveing problems gettin in touch with them and iv just made an appointment to see them on the 7th of sept, but i was wondering do i have to go to see them to get this ban lifted or can i apply over the phone or internet, and will they take my passport as i am hopein to travel again soon, the fine im not bothered about i no i have to pay that, please can anyone help, my e mail is col70@yahoo.com
hiya helen the same thing happened to me it was my 3rd time in 8 weeks a asked the man and he said my visa was ok … but then when a went to come bk through it had ran out 7 days and a dint have the penalty money so they let me through ,, but now my passport has been put in to practice for 60 months too and a have to get a visa off the turkish consulate .. am just wondering was it ok going back am doing the whole summer next year but am scared for when a get there is that visa ok to get through ??? xx
this is a message to ANNE DOWNEY can u please tell me if u got ur visa wen u went to the turkish consulate on the 28th… i overstayed in sept 2010 by 7 days n i could not pay my fine so they banned me for 5 yrs. i am going to apply to the turkish consulate, do u have any advice. please write back or email me at lyndseyspence@hotmail.com thank you
hi my name is yvonne and travel to turkey all the time as i have an apartment there, my daughter came to turkey in july paid her £10 visa then returned home and came back in sept. she was advised she did not have to pay her visa as it was still vaild. when returning back to uk she was stopped and told she had over stayed by 8 days and needed to pay a fine of 224 lira but did not have any money to pay. she is now wanting to return to turkey in may with her friends for her hen party and has been to the turkish embassy in london and has applied for a visa. they have told her it can take up to 2 months. does anyone know how long it has taken to get a visa for over stay? because all her friends are wanting to book and they cant until they know if she will have a visa in time to go
hi i was deported from turkey last year because i entered another country illegale, i wonder if some one know how long im not alowed to go back to the country
really need help i overstayed my visa by 7 days and i didnt pay my fine so they put my passport in to practise for 60 months and am going for my visa in a few weeks to the turkish conslate as am going bk for 3 month but is really scared on my visa violation form it says ive been fined 66+def tl am just wondering has this happened to anyone and have they been back to turkey since it happened i really need your help could you please email me on gemmapittam202@gmail.com
That just happen to me! I was given the wrong information about my visa and on my way out of Turkey I was stoped by police telling me I had the wrong visa! they said I musted got the wrong visa sticker because they run out of the wright one!!! now I am banned from entering Turkey for 3 moths!!! someone made a misstake and I am being punished for it!!! oh, yeah and I had to pay 556 lira. My boyfriends live in turkey and we were suposed to gone to vacation in the end of April.
I am so so said