Delays in visa applications from Turkey to abroad turned into a crisis. Increasing rejection rates and extended approval periods were on the agenda for US and Schengen visa applications from Turkey.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu announced this week that the number of visa refusals has increased. “planned and deliberate” describing it as; developments “Steps taken to force the AKP government before the election” had evaluated.
According to the news of Reuters, according to the sector representatives and citizens, in addition to the political motivations towards Turkey and the concerns that the Turks who will go to Europe will not return due to the deteriorating economy, the intermediary companies that carry out the visa procedures, reducing the staff during the pandemic period and the protracted processes in the security investigation are also effective. noted that.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated that Western countries postponed the appointment for visa applications 6-7 months later and the rejection rate increased. “At the beginning of September, our friends will call the ambassadors of these Western countries to the ministry, and they will make the necessary warnings. If it does not improve after that, we will also take countermeasures.” said.
NOT EVALUATED ON POLITICAL BASES
Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey Nikolaus Meyer-LandrutUpon Reuters’ question on the subject, he stated that Schengen applications were not handled on a political basis, but according to concrete criteria; He said that they encountered applications that were relatively more complex and open to deception in Turkey.
“Decisions are made based on objective, not political, grounds” Meyer-Landrut said that the rejection rate for Turkey was close to the global average of 13-14 percent last year.
The Schengen region, which received more than 9,000 visa applications from Turkey in 2019, the last year before the coronavirus epidemic, when international travel decreased, received approximately 270 thousand applications last year. According to Schengenvisainfo.com data, the rejection rate in applications, which was 4.4 percent in 2016, increased every year to 12.5 percent in 2020 and 16.5% in 2021.
The editor of the website, Shkurta Januzi, stated that visa refusal rates in Turkey have increased more rapidly and steadily when compared to other countries.
Accordingly, while Germany rejected 6.7 percent of visa applications from Turkey in 2016, this rate increased to 11.9 percent in 2018 and to 22.2 percent in 2021. France’s rejection rate, which was 3.2% in 2016, rose to 5.8% in 2018 and 13.1% in 2021. There is no 2022 data on Schengen visas covering 26 European countries, 23 of which are EU members.
Yavuz Yabaş, 60, a dual Turkish and Dutch citizen, said that they waited in line for about three hours in front of the intermediary institution to get a Schengen visa for his wife. “In our holiday visa application to the Netherlands on May 24, an appointment was made for today (August 24). I have both Turkish and Dutch citizenship. We have to get a visa only because my wife is a Turkish citizen. Although we lived in the Netherlands for 35 years, our appointment was only given today. Getting a visa is very difficult right now” he said.
“I LIVE FOR THE FIRST TIME”
Sinem Ökten, 32, a sports announcer, is one of those who suffered because her Schengen application was rejected twice.
“I applied first to Germany and then to France for a visa. Both were rejected. My previous visa was from Germany for three years. That’s why I applied from Germany again, but it was a big disappointment” Saying that, Ökten explained the reason for one of the refusal decisions. “We weren’t sure if you would come back” stated as.
Ökten, showing dozens of entry-exit stamps in his passport, “Because I am a sports announcer, I went abroad 50-60 times to follow the matches, interview and shoot. This is the first time I have such a problem” said and added:
“I collected the documents completely, not only did I make a reservation, I also bought the ticket in order to avoid any problems, but they all burned. It cost about 8-10 thousand TL. It was painful considering that I did this twice.”
TOURS CANCELED
Istanbul-based Tur Andiamo Chairman of the Board of Directors, Cem Polatoğlu, said that they first reduced the tours to Italy, which they used to organize once a week, to once every 15 days, and then canceled or postponed them due to visa uncertainty.
Polatoglu, “We are experiencing a big problem, our tours are being canceled. We used to take these tours alone, but since it is not full anymore, we started to lift tours by joining a few agencies” said.
Polatoğlu stated that due to the problems in the Schengen area, they turned to destinations that do not have visa problems. “We have started to shift our tours to the Far East, but the cheapest Far East tour is approaching a thousand euros. However, we sell 7 nights and 8 days European tours for 329 euros. In this case, people refuse to give a thousand euros and leave.”
Gürsel Tarba, owner of Antalya-based Arya Gezi, said that they applied for a Schengen visa, which normally takes one or two weeks, on a tour to Germany, six weeks in advance, but they lost thousands of euros because the visa could not be reached.
tarba, “They and we suffered because of those who could not participate in the tour because their visas did not reach them. They both paid a visa fee and made a certain prepayment.” said and added:
“You can’t apply for a visa without a plane ticket. We bought plane tickets for them and made hotel reservations. We waited until the last minute for a visa to be issued. When we didn’t, we lost about 5 thousand euros.”
Hikmet Doğan, a 57-year-old retired person waiting in line to apply for Schengen with an invitation from his son, who lives in Sweden, states that the application process he made for Sweden, which he had visited several times before, was much more challenging this time.
“I went with an invitation 2-3 times before, but this time I’m having a harder time. The cost has also increased a lot, I paid 2 thousand 120 liras, the cost tripled” said and added:
“I’ve been in line since 8 o’clock, it’s 11 o’clock and I’m still waiting. Unfortunately, young people are trying to leave the country because Turkey’s economy is getting worse. That’s the meaning of this crowd.”
Those whose visa applications are rejected continue their Schengen hopes by re-applying through different countries. Ökten, who was rejected first by Germany and then by France, states that she will continue to try:
“I have to go to do my job. I also had a few travel plans for my personal life. So I will apply again. This time I will try Greece.”
.