Turkey visa

There will be special window where you purchase your visa before you head to immigration. Or you can purchase in advance via this website:

https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/

US or Canadian citizen? just pay cash and they stamp your passport very easy. just bring some dollar bills with you when arriving.

just make sure you go thru the line where you pay cash for the visa before getting into the other line. I saw some folks who did not do that and waited in the second line and then got told to go back to the other line and pay for a visa and then come back and get in line again.

My understanding, not experience, is that the cash has to be either US dollars or Euro.

The at the border visa fee and currency varies according to nationality. For example for British citizens it is £10, Bank of England notes only. For some it is free. For Canadians $60/€45.

There is already an evisa system working where you apply on line in advance. This will become the only system from 10 April 2014.

Turkeys need visas? At this time of the year I'd have thought that they would just try to run away and keep their heads down...

You do need to pay for the visa in the currency of country in which you hold your passport. We ran into a slight problem when we travelled there. We are American expats in London and usually don't carry US dollars on us. They do have a work around for this - they direct you to what looks to be a 3rd party who will take a debit/credit card and give you the US dollars needed for the visa. Btw - I LOVED Turkey!

I disagree with Nancy's conclusion about being obliged to pay for the visa in the currency of one's passport. I travel with a Canadian passport and had to fork over US dollars for the visa, 15 of them as I remember. Probably more now. I can't imagine the Turkish immigration people having to deal with euro, krona, peso, etc. for visa payment.

There's no easier way to get a Turkish Visa than to do it online and have it in hand before you arrive. Yes, it looked rather easy to stand in line and get one too. But why would you want to stand in line if you can get it for the same price online and NOT stand in line?

Sorry Norma but that is the way it was when I went there in May, 2012. And other American expats here traveling there have had the same experience.

As I recall the "pay in your national currency" rule only applies to UK, US, and Eurozone citizens. They don't take Canadian or Australian dollars. I thought U.S. citizens could pay in euros at least. All rather silly actually. The new e-visa will make it simpler for some-- though handing over a $20 bill was pretty simple for me when I was there in 2007.

Btw, bummer for the Canucks that they have to pay three times as much as Yanks. I guess they got into a little tiff with Turkey a while back.

Visa fees are generally reciprocal.

Yeah I guess the Turks would like to charge Americans a reciprocal $100 or whatever but don't want to put a crimp on U.S. tourist arrivals. Canada and Oz not quite big enough to worry about?

EDIT: Apparently the cost for Americans was $100 from 2002 to 2004.

I went on the Rick Steves Istanbul 7 day tour in September 2013. I got off the plane and went to the window, no line at all when I went. Paid the $20.00 for the Visa, they put a pretty sticker on one of your pages of the passport and then I got on line for passport control. Easy and simple. Just have exact change, bring dollar bills, they don't give you change I was told by the RS people. No requirements, just go to the window, pay the money, show your passport, get your sticker and that is it. If there is a line, you wait and just get your sticker. I could have done it on line, but then you don't get the pretty sticker I was told for your passport. It really is no big deal.

And to make it perfectly clear, it is $20.00 for the Visa and not $100.00.

Have a great time, Istanbul is an amazing city and I enjoyed touring it very much and would go back if I could.

Ann

When I went in November 2011 I had been living in Europe for a few months and had no USD to pay for the visa. They allowed us to pay in Euros instead.

I just returned from Istanbul 2 days ago and traveled to/from Istanbul through Ataturk Airport. When you land there will be signs indicating which citizens need to purchase a visa (almost all). Americans go to "Visa 1" to purchase their sticker visa, do not go to passport control first (the signage is clear and accurate throughout the airport). There was no line when I arrived. You can pay either in Euro, USD, or Lira (it was 15 euro/20 USD, I do not recall what it cost in Lira). Have exact change, it doesn't matter what currency you pay in (I'm an American and paid in Euros). They will literally put a sticker in your passport. Then proceed to "Passport Control 1". I found Turkey to be very quick with the entire process. From landing to Hotel Troya on Istiklal St. took no more than 1 hour.

I was in Turkey in May of 2012 landing at Ataturk. I just went up to the visa window and paid the fee in euros with no questions at all. No line, no fuss.

I will be driving into Turkey so I guess I should get the visa online?