Istanbul sits on many routings to and from Asia, and a connection there often becomes a day or a week in Türkiye. Whether you need a visa depends on your passport. Türkiye’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes the answer country by country.
US, UK and Canadian passports: no visa needed
For the United States the ministry’s list says: “Official passport holders are required to have visa to enter Türkiye. Ordinary passport holders are exempted from visa up to 90 days in any 180-day period.” Canada’s entry uses the same wording for ordinary passports: “Ordinary passport holders are exempted from visa up to 90 days in any 180-day period.”
For the United Kingdom the exemption depends on purpose: “Ordinary passport holders who travel for touristic purposes are exempt from visas for up to 90 days in any 180 day period.” Holders with British National Overseas, British Subject or British Protected Person nationality “are subjected to visa and they can only get their visas from the Turkish diplomatic or consular missions abroad.”
The US exemption is recent. Türkiye’s Official Gazette of 23 December 2023 carried Presidential Decision 7976, covering ordinary passport holders of the United States, Canada, Bahrain, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman on tourist trips. Its title includes “Her 180 Günde 90 Gün Süreyle Vize Muafiyeti”, Turkish for a visa exemption of 90 days in every 180. The decision states no separate start date, so we give only the publication date.
“Official passports” covers more than diplomatic ones: “The term “official passports” covers diplomatic, service, special and official passports.”
Asian passports: most are exempt, but not all for 90 days
| Passport | What the ministry states |
|---|---|
| Malaysia | “exempted from visa for their travels up to 90 days” |
| Singapore | “exempted from visa for their travels up to 90 days” |
| Japan | “exempt from visa for their travels up to 90 days” |
| South Korea | “exempted from visa for their travels up to 90 days” |
| Hong Kong SAR passport | “exempted from visa for their travels up to 90 days” |
| Thailand (ordinary) | “exempted from visa for their travels up to 30 days” |
| Indonesia (ordinary) | “exempt from visa up to 30 days for each entry” within 90 days in any 180 |
| Vietnam (ordinary) | “single-entry electronic visas valid for stays of up to 30 days” |
| Taiwan (ordinary) | “single entry e-Visas valid for one month”, on conditions |
For Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong, the ministry says “up to 90 days” and mentions no 180-day window, so we add none.
Hong Kong BN(O) holders. The ministry contradicts itself. Its Hong Kong entry says BN(O) holders “can obtain their three month period multiple entry e-Visas via the website www.evisa.gov.tr”, while its United Kingdom entry says British National Overseas holders can get visas only from Turkish missions abroad. We cannot tell you which applies. Ask a Turkish consulate before you book.
Australia and China: the pages disagree
The ministry’s country list says Australian ordinary passports “are exempt from visa requirements for touristic visits and transit travel for a period of 90 days within any 180-day period.” The e-Visa site’s own FAQ still lists Australia as eligible for an e-Visa, for a multiple-entry e-Visa, and for a visa on arrival. China shows the same gap. The ministry says ordinary Chinese passports are exempt “as of 2 January 2026”, and the FAQ still lists China for the e-Visa.
Everyone else: the e-Visa
The official e-Visa address, as the ministry names it, is www.evisa.gov.tr. Its purpose is limited: “e-visa is only valid when the purpose of travel is tourism or commerce. For other purposes, such as work and study, visas are given by Turkish Embassies or Consulates.”
Fee. The e-Visa site says only that it “varies according to country of travel document and type of travel document”. You see yours after clicking Apply and choosing your passport country. The site adds that “Service fee is charged to cover the cost for international operations.” The ministry’s page links to a fee table, but that PDF is dated “10 November 2014” and still lists the USA, UK, Canada and Australia as paying countries, so we do not print its figures.
Other terms from the FAQ:
- “We cannot refund payments for unused e-Visas”
- A change of travel dates means “You must obtain another e-Visa”
- Apply “at least 48 hours before your departure.”
The redirect. When we opened evisa.gov.tr, it first sent our browser to dtvgroup.com.tr, whose “E-Visa Online Application” link led back to the government portal. The portal states that “The e-Visa service is provided by DTV Consulting Intermediary Organization Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of the Foreign Affairs Strengthening Foundation.” The detour is the portal’s own routing, not a lookalike site. Check that the address bar reads evisa.gov.tr before you enter card details.
Your passport needs 60 days beyond your stay
This applies to everyone, exempt or not. The ministry states that foreigners “should carry a travel document (passport) with an expiration date at least 60 days beyond the “duration of stay” of their visa, e-Visa, visa exemption, or residence permit.” Its worked example: on a 90-day stay, that “totals to 150 days (90 days + 60 days/5 months) of validity at the time of entrance.”
On top of that legal minimum, the ministry advises: “You are kindly advised to have a travel document/passport valid for at least 6 months as from the date of your arrival in Türkiye.”
Connecting in Istanbul without passing immigration
The e-Visa FAQ says: “You do not have to get a visa if you are not going to leave the international transit area.” Stepping out of the airport, even for a few hours, takes you out of the transit area, so the rules above apply. That includes Turkish Airlines’ free Touristanbul city tour. Our guide to free airport transit tours across Asia covers its layover window and ticket conditions. If you connect through Istanbul often, look at Turkish Airlines’ Miles&Smiles tiers.
Staying longer than 90 days
The ministry states: “If you have a valid visa, you do not need a residence permit up to 90 days.” Beyond that, Türkiye’s Presidency of Migration Management says a residence permit is obligatory for foreigners staying “for more than the allowed time of visa, visa exemption or ninety days”, applied for through its e-Residence system. You cannot renew an e-Visa from inside the country: once it expires “you are not allowed to apply for a new e-Visa without departing from Türkiye”.
On overstaying, the FAQ says “you might be asked to pay fines, deported or banned future travel to Türkiye for a specific period of time.” The page does not state the amount of the fine.
If your route also runs through the Gulf, the UAE counts 90 days within 180 for US visitors too.