Turkey is an attractive destination for tourists from all parts of the world, including Taiwan. Turkey and Taiwan have always shared strong, reciprocal ties. According to Taiwan's Tourism Bureau, in 2018, around 100,000 Taiwanese visited Turkey, recording a 35% growth in Taiwanese tourists in the previous years.

 Turkey Visa Policy for Taiwan:

In 2013, Turkey announced its new electronic visa system to allow foreign travellers from specific countries to quickly obtain a visa to make short trips to Turkey for recreation or business purposes. This new system replaced the need to visit the Turkish diplomatic mission or embassy to obtain a tourist visa. Taiwan is part of the list of countries eligible to apply for visa to Turkey.

The Turkey e-Visa is a multiple-entry permit allowing a 30-day stay per entry. All Taiwanese passport holders need this visa. Initially, Turkey offered single-entry e-visas to Taiwanese from 2013 to 2018. However, since 26 October 2019, they’ve been eligible for multiple-entry e-visas, enabling numerous trips within the visa’s validity period.

Ordinary passport holders can stay in Turkey for up to 30 days per visit, while official passport holders can stay up to 90 days, subject to visa validity. The Turkish e-Visa is valid for 180 days from the specified travel date in the application. Travel dates should be chosen wisely.

 Turkey e Visa Eligibility Criteria for Taiwanese Citizens:

Both official and ordinary passport holders need to obtain a visa to enter Turkey. However, applicants must meet specific criteria when applying for the visa. They must fulfil the following visa requirements to become eligible:

• The purpose of their travel is strictly tourism,commerce or visiting family/friends
• Travellers don't intend to stay in Turkey for more than 30 days on a single trip
• They must possess a valid Taiwan passport with at least 150 days left to its expiration after arrival in Turkey.

Documents required to Apply for Turkish e-Visa:

• A Taiwanese passport, valid for at least 150 days beyond the date of their arrival in Turkey.
• A valid email address where they intend to receive visa-related notifications and their eVisa.
• An active payment card, either debit or credit card, for paying the visa fees.

 Points to Note:

If your passport expires soon, do renew it before apply turkey visa online. Remember that your visa application may get rejected if your passport does not meet the required condition.

If you are applying for a group of friends or on behalf of your family members, you must possess all the information you need to fill in the application form beforehand. Please note that all travellers need to have a visa, including children. To add more travellers, click on the Add New Applicant button in the application form.

 Turkey e Visa Application Process for Taiwanese:

Applying for an evisa is a very easy and straightforward two-step process, which includes:

• Filling out the Turkey visa application form with your personal data and travel document details
• Paying the visa fees using a PayPal Account, or MasterCard/Visa credit or debit card.
• Upload your documents after verifying the information filled is correct.
• Receive your e-Visa by email

Your eVisa will be linked with your passport. Therefore, you must use the same passport when travelling to Turkey, which you used to apply for the eVisa.

If applying on behalf of multiple travellers, there's no need to enter each traveller's residential address or email ID, as the visas will be sent to the principal applicant's account. However, the rest of the details will be required mandatorily.

Taiwanese travellers may have to answer some questions on their travel itinerary, health, criminal records, and basic security questions.

 Visa Processing Duration

After submitting the Turkish e visa application, you can expect to receive the visa within three business days if you opted for standard visa processing. You might receive it within 15 minutes if you chose the urgent processing option.

The Turkish visa will be sent via email. You should get it printed immediately, and keep one printed copy and one digital copy when travelling to Turkey.

 Turkey eVisa Validity for Taiwanese Citizens:

From October 26, 2019, the Turkish government allowed Taiwanese citizens to apply for a multiple-entry e-Visa. Now Taiwanese passport holders can make multiple trips to Turkey within the validity period of their Visa.

Taiwanese nationals holding ordinary passports can stay in Turkey for 30 days on a single trip. The duration of stay will be mentioned on their eVisa. Official passport holders can stay for 90 days within the visa validity period. The Turkey visa will be valid for 180 days, starting from the travel date the applicant has mentioned in the visa form. This is a crucial point to remember. You must enter the estimated date of travel carefully.

 Vaccination Requirements:

Part of the eligibility criteria for Taiwanese citizens is providing health updates before travelling to Turkey. Every Taiwanese traveller must receive some vaccinations before going to Turkey. The applicant will have to answer several health-related questions in the visa application form, including information about the vaccines they have received. There are different categories of vaccines for foreign travellers. Here's a breakdown of the types of vaccines and who will need them.

Routine Vaccines: Before any foreign trip, travellers must get updates on routine vaccinations. These vaccines include the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccines, the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, the polio vaccine, and the chickenpox (varicella) vaccine.

Measles Vaccine: Every child aged between 6 and 11 months must receive one dose of the MMR (measles) vaccine. Children over 12-months of age must get two doses of the MMR vaccine with 28 days difference.

Rabies: This vaccine is recommended for travellers who will be indulging in outdoor activities, such as camping or hiking, intend to work around animals, and children who might get in contact with animals.

Hepatitis A and B: Travellers are recommended to receive this vaccine to prevent themselves from catching Hepatitis A or B in Turkey. They may get it via consuming contaminated food or water while getting a tattoo or undergoing piercing.

Typhoid: If you intend to visit rural areas in Turkey, it is mandatory to receive typhoid vaccination.

 Points to Note:

Travellers should start the vaccination sequence at least six weeks before the date of their travel to Turkey to prevent unnecessary delays in their journey due to incomplete vaccination.