Visa issues continue to plague Türkiye’s relations with the European Union. Turkish media reported earlier that some countries suspended issuing visas for Turkish citizens, an allegation refuted by diplomatic sources from European countries.
Sources insisted that there was no change in current visa policies, and they were still receiving visa applications. Answering a question by Anadolu Agency (AA), sources from the German Embassy in Ankara said their missions received a higher number of applications than they can give appointments. An official statement from the embassy said a new appointment program for applications was active in the capital, Ankara, Istanbul, and the western city of Izmir, saying that the new system facilitated visa applications, but due to a high number of applications, waiting times sometimes extended to a few months.
Diplomatic sources from Spain’s Istanbul Consulate also denied reports, saying that visa applications were open but noted that all appointments for May were full and new ones would be open in June “soon.” Italian Embassy sources, too, confirmed continuing visa service and their appointments were full, and like with the Spanish mission, new appointments would be available in June.
Delays in visas last year frustrated Turks seeking to travel to Europe, either for touristic purposes or business.
The lengthy processing times and a significant increase in rejection rates of Turks’ applications for visas to the 27 Schengen countries have disrupted travel and business plans and concerned Ankara, which denounced it as a deliberate effort and “political blackmail.”
Türkiye has been an official candidate to join the European Union for 24 years, but accession talks have stalled in recent years over a number of disagreements and political roadblocks. Türkiye suggests it has fulfilled most of the criteria for membership.
Since last summer, Ankara and the bloc have been working to rekindle ties, which, for many years, have operated not toward mutual trust and strategic goals but only out of necessity.
Türkiye launched a “visa liberalization dialogue” with the EU in December 2013. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told lawmakers last year that Schengen visa rejection rates were around 4% between 2014 and 2016. According to data from the European Commission, after 2016, it increased every year and reached 17% in 2021. He, however, noted a drop to 15.7% in 2022. Fidan said they invited ambassadors of several EU countries with high rejection rates to the ministry and voiced Türkiye’s demands and expectations on the issue.
The dialogue on visa liberalization aims to eliminate the requirement for Turkish citizens to obtain visas for short-term touristic, business or family-related visits (90-180 days) to all EU member states except Ireland and the Schengen countries Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Norway.
Türkiye has the most extended history with the union and the most prolonged accession process, which only officially started in 2005 despite the first agreement being signed with the EU’s predecessor, the European Economic Community (EEC), in 1964. Since then, the process has been essentially frozen due to political roadblocks by certain EU members, including Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, for reasons unrelated to membership criteria, according to Ankara.
After the presidential and parliamentary elections concluded last May, Brussels has shifted its rhetoric from “the importance of cooperation with Türkiye” to “continuing relations on a strategic and forward-looking basis.”
