Last updated: September 2024`
Rich in its history, vivid in its culture, and spectacular in its landscapes, Turkey often might turn out to be the country one regrets having to stay in a bit more. If you are visiting Turkey on a tourist visa or business visa for other short-term purposes and wish to extend your stay while in the country, one might wonder if one could extend the Turkey visa. Although Turkey issues different visa types in respect of different purposes, the procedure of extending a visa to Turkey is very much dependent on the type of visa and your situation.
Generally Turkey visa does not give permission for any visa extension in the case of short-term visas, like tourist or business visas. If you have an e-Visa or a sticker visa, generally the maximum stay is 90 days out of the total of 180 days, and once the period is over, you should leave the country. If you would like to stay even longer, you have to apply for a residence permit instead of an extension.
However, in some emergency or exceptional cases-for instance, medical reasons or other unexpected circumstances-an application for a short extension or humanitarian visa may be made through local authorities. Such applications are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, and approvals are few and far between.
Since the extension of a Turkish visa is not normally allowed, some of the options available for travelers wanting to be in Turkey for more than the period allowed by a visa are as follows:
One of the most availed options by travelers who want to stay longer in Turkey is through a short-term residence permit. This short-term residence permit will allow foreign nationals to legally stay in Turkey for a year or more, depending on their purposes.
Eligibility: You will be qualified for a short-term residence permit if your stay is due to tourism, business, family visits, or studying. Application Process: It should be started before your current date of the visa expires. The application is to be done online and in person at an appointment at the local Directorate General of Migration Management. |
Documents required for application of an extension include:
When it is approved, you will be mailed a residence permit card that allows you to legally stay in Turkey for a certain period of time.
Another way to extend your stay in Turkey is to leave the country and re-enter after some time. What this normally means is a visa run. However, you must consider that this route is limited by the 90/180-day rule dictated by Turkey.
Due to this, many tourists go to one of the bordering countries and enter Turkey again after a short holiday in countries such as Greece, Georgia, or Cyprus, starting afresh with a visa period. However, all this is possible only if you have leftover days from your 180-day period.
You can apply for a visa extension for humanitarian reasons in very exceptional and specific cases. You might apply for an extension of a visa for humanitarian reasons in the case of medical emergencies, flight cancellations, and other serious issues that mean you cannot leave Turkey in time.
How to Apply: Contact the local immigration office or Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM) in the city where you are staying. Required Documents: You will be asked to provide proof documents of your emergency, such as a medical report or flight cancellations. Result: The application of this kind of extension is rarely accepted and only in the worst scenario. |
Since it is not common to extend a visa, application for a short-term residence permit is the best way to stay longer in Turkey. Here's how you can apply:
Apply online via the official portal. This is the Turkish residence permit system. First, create an account on the website and follow through on completing the online application form by stating your personal data, passport details, and the motive for staying in Turkey.
Prepare the following documents before attending in-person:
Once an online application has been made, the applicant will then be required to attend an appointment in person at the local DGMM office. The applicant is then able to submit their documents and make the relevant application fees.
Application Fees: Residence permit fees vary depending on how long the individual will be staying and on the nationality of the applicant.
Step 4: Get your Residence Permit Card
If approved, you will get your residence permit card in a few weeks that enables you to stay in Turkey within the period written on the card, which can be up to six months or two years.
In case of visa overstaying in Turkey, you deal with major consequences, which include:
Keep track of your visa expiration date and act in time before overstaying.
Generally, while visa extensions are not granted in the usual sense in Turkey for short-term visas, there are ways to extend your time. The best alternative is applying for a short-term residence permit, which allows you to legally extend your stay for tourism, business, or other purposes. When this is not possible, leaving and re-entering Turkey may be an option, provided you do not violate the 90/180-day rule. Understanding all the rules and regulations in advance and preparing for them will let you enjoy a longer and stress-free stay in this wonderful, culturally rich country.
Yes, this might be possible; however, it will depend on a case for which one needs an extension and also a type of visa he or she possesses. The rules and procedures regarding extending a visa can be different depending on the type of visa you hold and also the reason behind extending it.
Common grounds for extending a Turkish visa include:
You need to submit the visa extension application to a local immigration office in Turkey or to the embassy or consulate in your country of origin.
The time it takes for the processing of a visa extension is subject to the reason for an extension, along with the workload of the immigration authorities. In general, one would recommend making an application well in advance of the date of expiry of the visa.
This may depend on the reason for extension and the particular regulations in force.
The fees for visa extension would vary depending on the type of visa and the reason for such extension.
If you have already overstayed your date of your visa, then the extension chances are minimum, so it is better to avoid such a risk by overstaying the initial visa granted to you in order to keep yourself away from any penalty or any other legal issue.
Disclaimer: The information on this page is for general guidance and subject to change. For current information, refer to the official websites or the official Turkish e-Visa portal before lodging an application. Please note that this page was last updated in September 2024; thus, some visa rules might change.