You and Your Passport in Turkey

The most important item when traveling is your passport. It gets you from one country to another and acts as a form of identification when needed. To many people, a passport is more important than money.  If it is your first time traveling to Turkey, or indeed to Antalya, the region of Turkey that we are usually concerned with telling you about, you may be wondering what happens to your passport, so in this article, we outline the journey that your passport will take when coming to Turkey, or indeed Antalya.

Your Passport Needs a Visa

The citizens of most countries need a visa to enter Turkey and the cost will vary depending on which country you are from. Don’t waste time obtaining your Turkish holiday visa before you leave your departing country. Just go to passport control when you enter Turkey, pay your money and they will put a sticker into our passport which lets you travel around Turkey for up to 90 days. Ensure that you passport is valid for at least six months after your traveling date.

Checking into the Hotel

The second time that you will need to produce your passport is when you are checking into your Antalya accommodation. By Law, the receptionist has to take your passport number and make a note of it however they will return your passport back to you straight away.

Keeping Your Passport Safe

As your passport is very important when you are on holiday, you must take steps to ensure that is safe. Consider renting a safety deposit box at your hotel. These are very cheap and give great peace of mind.

Road Side Stop Points

When you are entering from one town to another in Turkey, road side stop points in some of the town entries are normal and nothing to be wary of. They are normally manned by the local Jandarma who may ask you to produce your passport for identification. They will check it straight away and give it back to you so you can continue on your journey.

Carrying your passport as Identification

When you are in Turkey, you have to carry your passport on your person.  We understand that you may not want to carry your passport around with you; however a photocopy is also accepted. From our experience, it is not often that you will be asked to provide identification if you are within a town. It will only be used in the event of an accident or involvement with the police.

Handy Tip for Your Passport

Have you ever thought about what you will do in the event that you lose your passport while abroad? Our handy tip is to photocopy your passport before leaving home and if you lose it while abroad; you can ask someone to fax or email the photocopied version to you. Alternatively, write down your passport number and expiry date and keep in a different place to your passport.

Losing Your Passport in Turkey

So what do you do if you lose your passport? The first step is to contact the nearest consulate that operates on behalf of your country who will either issue you with a new passport or emergency traveling papers. To speed up the process, it is very helpful if you have the photocopied passport copy that we mentioned above.

Follow our tips on looking after your passport while in Turkey and this will ensure peace of mind to have a great holiday.