Check your passport in the ministry's table
Türkiye sets entry rules by passport, not by where you live. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs keeps one table for every country on its visa information page. Find your country, then read the line for ordinary passport holders; diplomatic and official passports often have different rules.
These are the ordinary-passport entries for common origin countries, as the table read on 30 October 2026:
| Passport | Status | Maximum stay |
|---|---|---|
| United States, Canada | Visa-free | 90 days in any 180 days |
| United Kingdom | Visa-free for tourism | 90 days in any 180 days |
| Australia | Visa-free for tourism and transit | 90 days in any 180 days |
| Ireland, Spain, Netherlands | Visa-free | 90 days in any 180 days |
| Germany, France, Italy | Visa-free | 90 days |
| Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia | Visa-free | 90 days |
| China (mainland) | Visa-free from 2 January 2026 | 90 days in any 180 days |
| Saudi Arabia, UAE | Visa-free | 90 days in any 180 days |
| Russia | Visa-free for tourism and business | 60 days |
| Thailand | Visa-free | 30 days |
| Indonesia | Visa-free | 30 days per entry, up to 90 days in 180 |
| Vietnam, Mexico | e-Visa, single entry | 30 days |
| South Africa | e-Visa, single entry | One month |
| India, Pakistan | e-Visa only with a valid Schengen, US, UK or Irish visa or residence permit | One month, single entry |
| Philippines | e-Visa only with a valid Schengen, US, UK or Irish visa or residence permit | 30 days, single entry |
| Taiwan | e-Visa if "certain conditions" are met | One month, single entry |
Some lines have extra conditions. British passport holders travel visa-free only for tourism, and holders of British National (Overseas), British Subject and British Protected Person passports still need a visa, which they can get only from a Turkish embassy or consulate. Egyptian ordinary passport holders aged 15–45 can get a 30-day e-Visa only with a qualifying Schengen, US, UK or Irish visa or residence permit and only when flying Turkish Airlines, AJet, Pegasus, EgyptAir or Air Cairo, while those under 15 or over 45 can get one without extra conditions. Mexican and South African travellers can instead get longer multiple-entry visas from a Turkish mission before travel.
If your country shows "visa required" with no e-Visa option, you apply at a Turkish embassy or consulate, not online.
How long your passport must be valid
The ministry gives two figures, and they are not the same rule. Its general visa information sets the legal minimum: your passport must expire at least 60 days after the end of the stay your visa, e-Visa or exemption allows. For a 90-day exemption that means about 150 days of validity on arrival; for a 30-day e-Visa, about 90 days. The visa-information page repeats this and adds that travellers are "kindly advised" to hold a passport valid for at least 6 months from arrival.
Treat 60 days beyond your permitted stay as the floor and 6 months as the safe target, because airlines check documents before boarding. Citizens of countries that may enter with a national ID card are exempt from the 60-day rule. The table names Bulgaria (ID card or passport, 90 days in 180), Romania (ID card for tourism) and Ukraine (biometric ID card, direct travel from Ukraine); the full list sits behind a link we did not open, so check it if you plan to travel on an ID card.
How the 90-in-180 limit works
The general information page says no foreigner may stay more than 90 days within each 180 days, and that holding two passports does not give you 90 days on each. Some lines are stricter: Russian ordinary passports allow 60 days, Thai passports 30 days, and Indonesian passports 30 days per entry.
The limit is counted across all your visits. If you spent 60 days in Türkiye in August and September, you have 30 days left until enough time rolls out of the 180-day window. Count your previous entry and exit dates before planning a long second trip.
Applying for an e-Visa
The ministry's visa information page directs e-Visa applicants to www.evisa.gov.tr, the government's online application system. Its general page adds that an e-Visa is valid only for tourism or commerce.
Apply only after you have checked that your passport appears with an e-Visa option. If your eligibility depends on another visa or residence permit, that document must be valid; carry it with you, because the ministry makes the e-Visa conditional on it.
Connecting through Istanbul without entering
You need the rules above only if you pass Turkish passport control. Turkish Airlines' transfer and transit page says transit passengers typically do not pass through immigration or leave the airport's transit area, and that on a single-ticket international-to-international transfer you do not go through further passport procedures.
That changes as soon as you leave the airport. A free city tour or a hotel night during a layover means entering Türkiye, so you need visa-free status or an e-Visa. Our guides to the Touristanbul layover tour and Turkish Airlines' free transit hotel and Stopover explain those options.
If you overstay
Overstays are handled when you leave. Istanbul Airport's Visa Violation Office is next to ticket sales island A in the terminal, and passengers who overstayed go there to complete the procedure after they have their boarding pass. The airport does not publish the penalties or opening hours; it refers travellers to the Presidency of Migration Management (goc.gov.tr), whose pages we could not open for this guide. Allow extra time at the airport if this applies to you; our guide to how early to arrive at Istanbul Airport covers the departure timings.
After you land
Once you are through passport control, customs is the next check. Our guide to Turkey's customs allowances lists what you can bring in duty-free. For the trip into the city, the Istanbul airports guide explains the two airports and the İstanbulkart.
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