Turkey is quite a beautiful country, as I discovered on my trip to Izmir and is one destination that should definitely be visited by every traveller. Turkey, at the crossroads of East and West has quite a bit of pristine waters yet being entrenched in history. Now, every trip requires the visa and this article is about the process for obtaining the Turkish Visa for Indians. As we were trapped in Bali during the explosion of Mt. Agung, our visa application has been delayed quite significantly.
The Turkish Visa for Indians can be achieved in either of two ways. The first one being that you can apply for an eVisa if you already have a valid US, UK or Schengen Visa. Or, you do it like us, the good old-fashioned VFS way.
The documents that you need to have ready before heading to the VFS office:
- Return Tickets
- Hotel Booking
- Health Insurance
- Bank Statements (Last 6 Months): I have started printing out the last six month’s worth of statements from my Net Banking account and it works perfectly if you don’t want a trip to the bank.
- Passport: OBVIOUSLY
- Visa Photos: Turkey usually requires 3.5 cms by 5.5 cms photos but you should definitely print out your requirements and take them to your photographer. They sometimes tend to mess it up.
- Police Clearance Certificate: This is one certificate that can set your Visa back for quite some time, so try to achieve it a bit fast. These are issued at PSK Delhi, Bhikaji Cama Place. You can book your appointment for the PCC here.
As we just had Friday and Monday to get our visa done (I was flying out on Tuesday morning), I went straight to the PSK after landing from my flight from Bangkok on Friday morning. After getting my Police Verification certificate done within the hour, I rushed to VFS New Delhi to get my visa. I had decided to book the priority service as we were already late and further delays would mean that our trip might get canceled.
They made me fill up all the forms at their office instead of having to fill it earlier and it took me nearly two and a half hours to do so. As we had already had an invitation letter, it was quite easy to file my Visa. The VFS team then told me that the Visa processing was going to be sent on Friday itself and I should be present at the Turkish Embassy on Monday.
Turkish Visa for Indians Application Letter (Rough Format)
Dear Ambassador
I am Snigdha Bhowmick and am applying for Tourist/Business Visa as I am attending/travelling to Turkey from ________ to ________ . I am a travel, food and beverage writer and will be writing articles promoting your country as a Tourist Destination. I have worked with multiple Tourism Boards and have been invited to (countries). Kindly find my attached documents for your kind perusal.
Warm Regards
After two days of recovering from the shock of coming back from Indonesia and heading to another travel, I was back at the Embassy on Monday. Lo and Behold, the same guy who had processed my visa application was giving it to the Turkish Visa officer who asked me to come back again in the evening. After spending a few more hours stressed about the status of my visa, I headed back to the Embassy where I received my passport with a wide smile. We were finally going to Turkey.
Price of application for Turkish Visa for Indians: INR 5000
Additional price for Priority Service: INR 2000
Do let me know in the comments below about your experience of booking the Turkish Visa for Indians.
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