Turkish passport

For the 2011 documentary film, see Turkish Passport (film).

Turkish passport
The front cover of a current Turkish biometric passport
Date first issued	1 June 2010 (biometric passport)
Issued by	Turkey
Type of document	Passport
Purpose	Identification
Eligibility requirements	Turkish citizenship

Turkish Passports are issued in accordance with the Passport Act (No. 5682) from 15 July 1950 to Turkish citizens to travel abroad. Citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) are also eligible to apply for a Turkish Passport if they wish to, as well as the TRNC passport or the Republic of Cyprus EU passport.

Passports are issued by the Turkish Police (or by the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Nicosia for Turkish Cypriots) and applications are filed at police stations which have a passport office. Passports issued since 1 June 2010 are biometric and valid for up to 10 years (5 years for special passports).

Ranked by the World Passport Index, a Turkish Passport was ranked equal 29th with Trinidad and Tobago.

Types

• Regular passport (Turkish: Umuma mahsus pasaport), after 2010 also referred to as Maroon Passport (Turkish: Bordo pasaport). It is issued to Turkish citizens who don't qualify for any of the following passport types.

File:Turkish passport page.jpg

A page from a Turkish biometric passport

• Special passport (Turkish: Hususi pasaport), also referred to as the Green Passport (Turkish: Yeşil pasaport) allows the bearer to travel visa-free to some countries. As opposed to the regular passport, it is exempt from the passport fee and is only subject to the booklet fee (TRY87.5 [c. USD30] as of 2015). It is issued to;
  • Former members of the National Assembly
  • First, Second or Third grade public servants.
  • Retired First, Second or Third grade public servants.
  • Mayors
  • The spouse of special passport holders
  • Unwed and unemployed children of special passport holders who live with their parents until they turn 25.
• Service passport (Turkish: Hizmet pasaportu), also referred to as the Grey Passport (Turkish: Gri pasaport). It is issued to;
  • People who do not qualify for the Special or diplomatic passports, however, are assigned to travel abroad for official and/or government related purposes.
  • National athletes
  • Turkish citizens working for International organizations of which Turkey is a member
  • Employees of the Red Crescent
  • Employees of the Turkish Aeronautical Association
  • Spouse of the service passport holders
  • Unwed and unemployed children of the service passport holders who live with parents, until they turn 25.
• Diplomatic passport (Turkish: Diplomatik pasaport), after 2010 also referred to as Black Passport (Turkish: Siyah pasaport). It is issued to;
  • Members of the National Assembly, and the non-PM ministers
  • Head judges of the judicial organs, and their deputies
  • Diplomats
  • Negotiators that are to deal with international issues
  • Spouse of the diplomatic passport holders. However, this passport can only be used when accompanying the primary passport holder.
  • Unwed and unemployed daughters, and sons younger than 18 years of age of the diplomatic passport holders who live with parents. However, this passport can only be used when accompanying the primary passport holder.

Biometric passports

Turkish Biometric passports (Turkish: Biyometrik pasaport), compatible with the new ICAO standards, have been available since 1 June 2010. Applications for the new passports can be submitted online through the government's website [2]. Passports are then sent via mail.

The biometric passports have different colour covers; regular passports in maroon and diplomatic passports in black, in compliance with ICAO standards.

Fees

A Turkish passport has been one of the most expensive passports in the world for many years. As a result of increasing public demands, the cost of ordinary passports was almost halved in June 2010. Despite the massive reduction, the Turkish passport remains the most expensive passport in the world. The passport law was then amended to increase the maximum validity of a passport from 5 to 10 years. It currently costs TRY620.60 (c. USD215) for a 10-year passport, including the compulsory booklet fee. In addition to the expensive passport prices, the Turkish state charges TRY15 (c. USD5) from Turkish passport holders (excluding ship and aircraft crew, those who live abroad and those with dual citizenship) every single time they leave Turkey.

Visa requirements for Turkish citizens

Main article: Visa requirements for Turkish citizens

Countries and territories with visa-free or visa-on-arrival entries for holders of Turkish passports

  Republic of Turkey

  Visa free

  Visa issued upon arrival

  Electronic authorization or eVisa

  Visa required

Holders of an ordinary Turkish passport may travel without a visa, or with a visa received upon arrival, to 100 countries, as of 2014 according to the Visa Restrictions Index.

On 29 September 2011, the EU Commissioner of Interior Affairs, Cecilia Malmstrom indicated that the visa requirement for the Schengen area will eventually be discontinued. Visa liberalization will be in several phases. These will include the reduction of visa paperwork, more multi-entry visas, and extended stay periods.

Gallery

Current passports

• 

  Turkish Biometric Passport cover since 1 June 2010

• Pasaport2 001.jpg

  Turkish Biometric special passport cover issued in January 2012

• Passport turk.jpg

  Diplomatic

• Türk pasaportu turkish pasport türkischer pass passaporto turco.png

  Service passport

Historic passports

Listed chronologically:

• Turkish Regular Passport 1927 cover.jpg

  1927 - Republic of Turkey, Regular passport, cover

• Turkish DiplomaticPassports 1937 1934.jpg

  1937&1934 - Republic of Turkey, Diplomatic passports, covers

• Turkish Regular Passport 1943 cover.jpg

  1943 - Republic of Turkey, Regular passport, cover

• Turkish Regular Passport 1954 cover.jpg

  1954 - Republic of Turkey, Regular passport, cover

• Turkish Special Passport 1960 cover firstpage.jpg

  1960 - Republic of Turkey, Special passport, cover & first page

• Turkish Regular Passport 1965 cover.jpg

  1965 - Republic of Turkey, Regular passport, cover

• Turkish Passport.jpg

  Republic of Turkey, Regular passport cover until 31 May 2010

• TurkishSpecialPassport.png

  Republic of Turkey, Special passport, cover until 31 May 2010

See also

• Turkish identity card
• Visa requirements for Turkish citizens
• Visa policy of Turkey
• Turkish nationality law