General
The Turkish government welcomed the EU’s decision to ease visa rules for the only EU candidate country whose citizens need visas to travel to the Schengen area.
“We welcome the Implementation Decision of the EU Commission dated July 15, 2025, which envisions improvements in Schengen visa procedures for our citizens. Together with the relevant institutions and the EU Commission, we will continue our efforts to improve the Schengen visa application processes for our citizens,” the Foreign Ministry said on Friday.
For years, Turkish citizens have complained of the complexity and difficulty of obtaining Schengen visas.
The relaxed measures will only apply to citizens who previously got Schengen visas and returned home without violating visa rules.
Turkish Trade Minister Omer Bolat explained the details of the new rules.
“For those who have obtained a visa for the first time, the possibility will be introduced to issue long-term and multiple-entry visas in their subsequent applications, initially up to 6 months, then one year, two years, three years, and eventually up to five years,” Bolat said on Friday.
The Commission underlined in its decision that subsequent applicants, unlike first-time applicants, pose a lower risk in terms of migration and security.
According to EU data, Turkish nationals in 2024 submitted 1,173,917.Schengen visa applications, of which 993,875 were approved, including 645,583 multiple-entry visas.
Turkey ranked second after China, which submitted 1,779,255 applications. followed by India with 1,108,239.
Turkey has been an EU candidate member since 1999. However, due to human rights violations, democratic backsliding and conflicting international interests, Turkey’s membership process has been practically frozen.
The EU’s reluctance to issue visas to Turks also reflects concern about the increasing number of asylum applications from Turkey as a result of deteriorating human rights and the economic situation in the country. In 2024, nearly 47,000 Turkish citizens applied for asylum in the EU, 5.1 per cent of all asylum applications in the EU.