Actions to be Taken Before Going Abroad

Required Documents Before Going Abroad

We have prepared a list of things to do before you go abroad so that you can have a pleasant time on your vacation or travel abroad.

Now think about it, you are flying to the country of your dreams in a very short time. Are you ready to learn life-saving tips that will be very useful for your trip abroad and during your stay there?

1. Passport

What is required to go abroad? answer to your question; First of all, it will be your valid Passport. In this topic, we will share tips that will be very useful for you about “Passport Transactions“, which can be considered the most important step and even the starting point of the work and transactions to be done before going abroad.

1.1. Types of Passports

1. Diplomatic Passport (black color)
2. Service Passport (gray color)
3. Special Passport (green color)
4. Pasaport (burgundy color)
5. Haymatlos Passport (issued to the stateless)

When you want to travel abroad with one of the land, air, sea or railway vehicles for Tour, Vacation, Business or any other purpose, you must have a valid passport with you in order to enter that country both when leaving Turkey and when you arrive in the opposite country.

If you do not have a valid Passport issued by the Official Authorities of your country of citizenship or a valid Travel Document that can be used instead, you cannot leave the country you are in.

In order to travel abroad, you must have at least one of the above types of passports. After checking the visa-regime table applied by the countries according to the passport type, you can travel to the country you want to go to.

2. Travel Document

Border gate; It can be an airport, sea port, land border gate or border crossing with a railway crossing. In fact, there are also documents or documents that you need to check before going abroad and that you can use instead of a passport.

But in order for them to be used, certain conditions must have occurred or there must be a special permission or a regulated law.

3.Temporary Travel Document

It is a disposable temporary passport that will be issued by the Consulates of the Republic of Turkey in case you lose your passport while leaving the country and staying in a foreign country.

Let’s say you lost or stolen your passport in the country you went to. In this case, if you apply to your Foreign Representation (Embassy or Consulate) in the foreign country you are in, a temporary document will be issued so that you can only return to your country of citizenship. This document is called “Temporary Travel Document“. It is imperative that you have a stamped image of you on it.

With a Temporary Travel Document you are only allowed to return to your home country. Let’s say you lost your passport in Amsterdam. You cannot travel to Spain or another country such as Italy with a Temporary Passport, which you will obtain by applying to the Dutch Consulate of Turkey. The ticket you buy must be located in Turkey.

4.ID Cards

It is a convenience provided to the citizens of the countries clearly stated in the Visa Regime Table. Countries such as France, Germany, Italy and Greece can enter our country with their ID cards. Likewise, citizens of the Republic of Turkey can only go to Ukraine, Russia (not in effect), Georgia and TRNC with their identity documents.

5.NATO – Otan Travel Document

The North Atlantic Pact is a document that facilitates the entry and exit of NATO member countries of persons assigned by NATO. With the NATO mission order, you can enter and leave abroad without the need for any passport.

Types of Passports in Turkey

1. Green Passport(Special Passport):

T.R. Green Passport can be issued to real persons on the Rical (public institutions and organizations) list defined in the Passport Law, for a limited, indefinite or temporary basis.

Persons who are entitled to receive a Green Passport are exempted from the Passport fee. They can apply for 2023 by paying 501 ₺ as the Green Passport Book Fee.

In addition, Civil Servants working in Public Institutions and Organizations under the Civil Servants Law No. 657, regardless of the institutions and authorities they work for, are entitled to receive a Green Passport when they reach the Retirement Basic Degree / Level 3, Level 1 (3-1).

With the Green Passport, you can enter and exit almost 150 countries without a visa. Before you go abroad, you can find out which countries you can enter with or without a visa from the Current Visa – Regime table on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

2. Passport:

It is the type of Passport that citizens of the Republic of Turkey of all ages can apply and obtain. With this type of Passport, it is possible to go to all countries while officially recognizing our country. However, there are countries where you can go with or without a visa. The list in which these are determined is called the “Visa-Regime Table to which Turkish Citizens with Public Passports are subject“.

Before you go abroad, you should definitely check the entry conditions for that country before you book a hotel or buy a flight ticket for the country you want to visit.

1. If visa exemption is applied to the Public Passports of our country, you do not need to apply for a visa.
2. However, if there is no exemption, you will have to apply to the representative of the relevant country in our country according to the visa conditions and prerequisites. You can find detailed information about visa under the heading of Visa Types.

The most common passport types used by the citizens of the Republic of Turkey are the Special (Green) and General (Burgundy) Passports. There are two other types of Passports that the citizens of our country can use under the conditions that they meet the necessary conditions.

These are the Service (Gray) Passport and the Diplomatic (Black) Passport. Before the new type of passports were issued, Diplomatic passports were in red, but in the new edition passports, red was replaced by black.

3. Gray – Service Passport

Gray Service Passports are issued so that people who work in State Public Institutions, University, School, KİK, Municipality, Union, Foundation or a Private institution can go abroad to represent the State of the Republic of Turkey. It is short-term and generally classified as a single use, valid for 6 months.

The beneficiaries of Gray Passport are exempt from Passport Fee and other taxes.

3.1. To Whom Are Service Passports (Gray) Issued?

• One-time missions abroad,
• Study Abroad,
• For sports or artistic purposes,
• Academic studies abroad,
• Bureaucrats (Mayors, Union and Foundation Presidents, etc.)
• Civil Servants with Temporary Overseas assignment,
• It can be given to Students, Teachers and Athletes. The only requirement is to represent the Republic of Turkey officially.

4. Black – Diplomatic Passport

It is issued for the holders of diplomatic missions who will serve temporarily or for a short time in our representations abroad. Ambassadors, consuls, embassy staff, military attaches, security and intelligence attaches and their families come first.

Special legal visas may be requested from Diplomatic Passports, albeit rarely. It is exempt from fees and taxes in the application within the framework of the Passport Law.

Lost – What is a Lost Passport?

Each country has its own “Temporary Travel Document” and has its own standards and security features. While the Travel Document of many countries is white A4 paper similar to a Diploma, the “Temporary Travel Document” of our country consists of a few pages in pink with photographs. It almost looks like a passport.

Since this document is for single use, it is received by the Passport Control Police to be destroyed when you enter Turkey. In addition, a lost (lost) record is entered in the serial number of your stolen passport so that no one else can use it, and this is how you enter the country.

When you are going to travel to a country other than your country of citizenship, before you go abroad, you must meet the conditions that the destination country applies to the travel documents of the citizens of your country of origin, more precisely to their passports.

Each country has different types of passports issued to its citizens. There are 4 types of passports issued in our country.

Fees Paid Before Going Abroad – Taxes

Whether for touristic or business purposes, there are taxes and fees that must be paid before going abroad.

1. Passport Fee

For those who want to obtain General Passports, they are collected before the application. It varies according to the validity period of the passport. One of the frequently asked questions is “How much are the public passport fees in 2023?” To answer the question,

Turkish Passport Fees and Stamp Taxes Effective in 2023:

How to Get Tax Free Refund?

Service Passport, Special Passport and Diplomatic Passport are exempt from fees. It is sufficient to pay only the book value.

2. Turkish Exit Fee 2023 (only Turkish citizens)

It is a price you have to pay when you leave Turkey for another foreign country. The International Departure Fee, which is updated every year, will continue to be 300 ₺ per person for the year 2023.

3. Who Pays the Fee Stamp?

Who has to take the Fee Stamp, which only Turkish citizens should have when going abroad?

Where and how is the International Departure Fee paid?

Where is the Fee Stamp that Turkish Citizens have to pay before going abroad?

1. To the cashiers of the Ministry of Finance at the airports,
2. Customs Accounting Offices,
3. Bank Branches,
4. Banks’ Internet Branches (Bank Applications)
5. Tax Offices
6. Revenue Administration Internet Tax Office and Mobile Application (IOS – Android)
   Fee Stamp is collected through. It will be sufficient to submit the receipt of your payment made through your TR ID number or the QR code pdf receipt to the Passport Control Police.

Visa Types

One of the procedures to be done before going abroad is the visa application. It is a privilege provided to you by the foreign representative (consulate) of that country in order to be able to enter or exit any country you are a foreigner, or to reside temporarily.

When you want to travel to a country that you are not a citizen of for educational, touristic or business purposes, all the entry requirements applied by that country to the country you belong to are called visa regime.

Generally, the political, commercial and common histories of the countries play an important role here. If the relations between the two countries are stable, there is a high probability that mutual visa exemption will be applied. This is called “reciprocity“.

1. Bandrole Visa

In some cases, you can enter with a “banderole visa” without exemption, provided that you pay the visa fee at the border gate of the opposite country. However, it is useful to check this before going to that country.

During the “Check-in” process before the flight, the ground handling officer of the airline company will not perform your Check-in process if you do not meet the visa requirements of the destination country.

Visas are divided into two as Tourist Visas and Special Purpose (Legitimate) Visas according to their types, and they are also divided into two as “Single (single)” or “Multiple (Multiple) Use” according to their duration of use.

2. Tourist Visas

It is a type of visa that is applied to your passport through the embassies of that country in cases where you want to go to any country for short-term and tourism purposes. It is usually given for periods of 1 month, 2 months, 3 months and rarely 6 months.

You are not allowed to work in any job during the validity of your visa in the country you go to by obtaining a tourist visa. If it is determined that you are working with a tourist visa, you will be deported back to the country you came from.

For example, you apply for a tourist visa to go to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower. If you want to go to work or study, you need to apply for special (legitimate) visas and then a residence permit.

2.1. Single Visa

Destination is a type of visa that allows you to enter and exit the country only once. You cannot use this visa a second time. Schengen Visa is the best example of this.

2.2. Multiple Visa

Multiple visas have a validity period. The sample is valid for 5 years after receipt. But don’t think of these five years as a residency period. It allows you to enter and exit only that country without the need for another visa within certain periods within 5 years.

For multiple visas, countries usually allow you to stay for a maximum of 3 months within 6 months. For example, when you get a tourist visa for the United States, a validity period of 10 years is defined. During this 10-year period, you can visit not more than 180 days a year.

Although this account may seem a bit complicated, it is my favorite type of tourist visa. Because you don’t apply for a visa for 10 years for whatever reason. The United States of America grants tourist visas valid for 10 years only to certain countries. Turkey is one of these countries.

3. Group Visas (Community of Countries)

3.1. Schengen (European Union) Visa

You can apply for this visa by paying a visa fee of 90€ for those under 12 years old (including babies) and 120€ for those over 12 years old.

However, applying for a visa before your trip to Europe does not mean you are eligible for a visa. If your application is evaluated positively as a result of your visa application, you will be asked for your passport and a Schengen Visa will be applied to an appropriate page of the passport. It is then delivered to you. Multiple entry, single entry or timed entry options are available.

With this visa, you have the right of free movement between the countries accepted in Europe and included in the Schengen Visa Union.

From which Schengen country you have obtained a visa, the first entry to Europe must be made from that country. Then you can switch to any EU Schengen country you want.

Schengen Visa is mandatory for the Public Passports of our country. However, Diplomatic, Service and Special (Green) passports do not have such a requirement for touristic trips.

You are not allowed to work in any workplace in the EU country you go to with a Schengen visa. Because the Schengen visa is not one of the visas (with special law) that provides a work permit. When such a situation is detected, the Schengen visa will be canceled and you will be sent back to the country you came from.

3.1.1. Schengen Visa Insurance

With the Schengen Visa application, the insurance cost of approximately 20 € per person can be deposited to the contracted insurance agencies. However, if you are going to Schengen countries without a visa, that is, with a Diplomatic, Service or Green passport, this insurance fee is optional. Italy and Spain require insurance from tourists who have come in recent years.

Green Passport holders do not have to have any prerequisites, permits or registration before going to any of the countries included in the Schengen Visa System in Europe. There is an ETIAS obligation, that is, pre-authorization – pre-registration, which came into force a few years ago and brought to some countries that can enter the European Union countries without a visa.

In order to have more information on this subject, we recommend you to read our article about the Green Passport Travel Permit.

4. ABD Visa

Its terms and obligations are very difficult, but it is one of the more advantageous visas when considering the validity period. There are multiple entry visa types valid for 5 years or 10 years and a residence period of 3-6 months.

USA. Long-term tourist visas such as 10 years only entitle the citizens of certain countries. The Republic of Turkey is among these countries. Turkish Citizens can obtain a US tourist visa valid for 10 years.

In visa application, many documents are requested from the job and profession group you work to your assets, the countries we have visited before, and even your bank account activity for the last 2 years. Due to the political tensions experienced in recent years and the differences in the new immigrant and tourism understanding of the USA, the conditions have been made a little more difficult both for our country and for other countries.

Visas are applied by the USA to all passport types of our country, including the Green Passport.

American Passport holders can come to Turkey with a Tourist or Annotated Visa, as well as with a Banderol visa.

4.1. Green Card – US Lottery 🙂

There is only the Green Card lottery system in the world, which is run by the United States. Citizens of countries that allow this system apply online (https://dvprogram.state.gov/) in October-November each year.

Although the application is extremely easy, in recent years, a prerequisite has been introduced that only passport holders can apply. You are also asked for your passport number and validity date at the time of application.

The lucky winners are chosen randomly among the candidates who meet the conditions and fill out the form completely. These winners are announced in May of the following year and are asked to apply to their US embassies.

When the bureaucratic procedures here are concluded, you will have the American Green Card, which means permanent residence in the United States. After you have a Green Card, you can apply for citizenship in the USA after an average of 5 years, if you do not get involved in any crime and do not delay your taxes and bills.

Telephone and Internet Usage Abroad

International Travel and Tour Packages

If you are going abroad for the first time (for vacation and travel purposes), it is strongly recommended to purchase a Package Tour from a reliable Tour Agency before going abroad. Tour companies will offer you many destinations and options. After purchasing the package that suits your budget and taste, it’s all about completing the preparations as soon as possible and stepping on the plane. You won’t even realize how time will pass.

For the first time, you will benefit from a holiday or tour abroad, leave the stress and boredom here and get on the plane. Otherwise, you will just go abroad and come back with unnecessary stress. You will only be left with tiredness, exhaustion and of course an empty wallet.

Some of the Points to Consider When Purchasing an International Tour

Let’s take a look at what you need to do when you want to go abroad with the tour and the golden rules that should be followed.

Kısaca ülke dışına çıkmadan önce Tur satın almak istediğinizde yapmanız gerekenleri özetle sıralayalım. Eğer daha önce kısa veya uzun süreli yurt dışında bulunduysanız yada yanınızda tecrübeli olan bir arkadaşınız var ise daha ekonomik bir seçenek olabilecek tur paketi satın almaya gerek kalmadan sadece otel rezervasyonu, uçak bileti ve pasaport ile hayalinizdeki yurt dışı geziye çıkabilirsiniz. Burada dezavantaj kesinlikle tur acentesinin gezdiği kadar yer gezemeyecek olmanızdır.

I do not even take into account the knowledge and experience of the guide. Another advantageous aspect of the tour package is that you pay in advance for almost every service (except gratuities): You can only take some foreign currency for shopping and tips, and you will be able to finish the tour and enjoy a holiday abroad full of good memories.

There are 2-3 day tours covering a single country and its cities, as well as covering several countries and cities (such as Benelux Europe Tours, Central Europe Tour, Northern Europe, Grand Spain Tours, Eastern Europe tour, Mena Region Tours, Middle East and North African Countries tour) You can also choose one of the long-term tours. My personal opinion is for long-term tours. Because you have visited many locations at more economical prices.

Although it seems more expensive to join the tour with tourism agencies, the rest of your payment is paid as they can negotiate much lower prices than the price that will be offered to you for city transportation, airport transfer and hotel transfers, the entrance fee to the places in the package and of course the hotel accommodation. They can offer tour options.

What Should Be Considered When Choosing a Tour Agency?

If you are going to travel abroad for sightseeing purposes with a Tour Operator, the most important thing to consider is that the Tour Company has proven itself. So how do we decide this? How to determine the best tour company?

There are many complaints, comments, forums and blog sites on this subject on the Internet. You can search for the name or services of the Tour Company you want to prefer on these sites. You can see many complaints or bad comments about each tour company. Of course, an opinion cannot be expected just by looking at them. People’s expectations can sometimes be very different and high, and unfortunately, when this expectation is not met by the company, unfortunately, it can leave bad memories and returns.

The decisive factor here is the user experience. You can find a lot of Customer Feedback on Tour companies, Airline companies and Hotels on independent tourism review sites. You can read about “independent customer experiences” on online booking sites like Booking.com and Trivago.

Price + Customer Experiences = Your preference

What Should Be Considered While Buying Flight Tickets?

Earning Miles and Spending Miles

Touristic tours abroad are generally offered for sale in the form of package tours. For this reason, you cannot have a lot of say on the flight ticket. Although tour companies say that you cannot earn flight miles, do not trust them.

You also earn Miles before check-in or when you receive an electronic ticket confirmation. At least, this is the case for the THY Miles System. Does it apply to other airlines? Gotta try. You can earn Miles from the ticket purchased in your name by the tour operator in the THY Miles system, but you are not allowed to use miles for this ticket.

How to Buy Cheap Flight Tickets?

If you are going abroad for touristic purposes, you will want to buy cheap flight tickets by making a hotel reservation rather than a package tour. Our primary condition is time in order to be able to buy flight tickets at an affordable price. Flight ticket prices vary inversely with time.

As the flight time approaches, the number of seats will decrease, and the price of airline tickets is expected to increase. In fact, 95% of flights are priced this way. Acting early and buying cheap “Promotion” tickets is the most economical way to buy plane tickets. Despite the price advantage of promotional tickets, there are 2 important disadvantages. The first of these disadvantages is that the purchased Promotion ticket cannot be returned or postponed except for extreme conditions.

Havaist: Airport Transportation Guide

Another disadvantage of cheap promotional airfare is that it is only valid for Economy Class seats. Since the prices of business air tickets are very high, no airline company will open a promotion. The only way to get a free Business flight ticket is to buy it using your accumulated Miles.

Each airline company opens its air tickets for sale a certain time before the flight date. This is the best time to buy the “cheapest ticket” or, in other words, “promotional flight ticket”. Airline companies determine ticket prices according to the availability of stock tickets. In other words, as tickets are sold on an airplane, prices will increase upwards. For this reason, the earlier you buy your flight ticket, the more profitable and economical it will be for you.

What Should Be Considered While Buying Flight Tickets?

Airfare is the most important step in travel and transportation, whether it’s at home or abroad. It is a success to be able to buy cheap economic tickets from a quality airline company. After purchasing the flight ticket, all you have to do is wait for the flight date.

When the flight date arrives, Online Check-in processes start within the last 24 hours. Physical check-in and baggage delivery starts hours before the flight. You can check-in from airline agencies, airports or online via the website.

What Happens If I Can’t Find Flight Tickets?

Especially during the holiday seasons, holidays and important days, plane tickets are sold out very early. It’s unfortunate, either you have an important job and you need a domestic or international flight ticket. Right here. For this, you have to do more than go door to door and find cheap bus tickets. Keep trying patiently.

However, don’t turn your back just because there is no ticket. Make your preparations and try to buy again from the airline’s website 5-6 hours before the flight time. You have a very high chance of success.

It has been tried both at home and abroad and is fixed with experience. It may seem very illogical to you why this is so. However, in the article I will write about it in a few days, I will cover this subject in more detail.

Baggage Delivery and Check-in

Another step in our list of requirements before going abroad is admission to the flight and delivery of baggage. At this stage, it is the stage where the baggage removal process takes place by coming in front of the counter allocated by the airline company for that flight at the airport. At the time of baggage delivery, each airline company may impose weight-size restrictions in line with its own standards. If you exceed a certain weight per passenger, the flight company may charge you an extra fee.

There are International standards and rules that must be followed when handing over baggage before your international flight. For example, it is forbidden to carry liquids over 100cc during the security call after passport control. While flying to some destinations, you cannot carry some electronic items with you. Laptops are not allowed on flights from USA, UK and Israel. You are told to give your luggage at check-in. Otherwise, your flight will not be allowed.

The last stage is the stage of admitting the passenger to the plane by checking the identity and ticket for the last control before boarding the plane called Gate. After that, all you have to do is find the seat assigned to you on the plane and sit back and enjoy the flight.

Packing Tips

After all this preliminary preparation, what’s left is to prepare your suitcase. If you are going to travel with an excursion or tour organization, be sure to take practical and space-saving items with you. Even put your heavy items in the suitcase or bag that you will put in your hand luggage. Because the important thing in hand luggage is not the weight, but the dimensions are checked.

Baggage preparation before your international trip, or rather, the most important issue in the preparation of the suitcase, is the baggage policies of the destination country, especially in international flights. For this, be sure to request information from your airline company before the flight or try to get information from the website.

Health Check Before Going On Vacation Abroad

If you are going to travel to some Middle Eastern countries, African countries and Far East countries, you must be vaccinated in order not to catch some infectious diseases (malaria, typhus, dysentery, tuberculosis, etc.). For this, you can benefit from the “Border Health Centers” of the Ministry of Health at the airports free of charge. They may even follow you when you return to the country and ask for some tests. You may be asked for a blood sample for some tests and analyzes on your return, as well as on your way to countries at risk of communicable diseases.

Today, due to the coronavirus epidemic, they are very meticulous at airports. Due to the isolation policies between countries, it is ensured that the disease is not transmitted. You can find detailed information on the subject in our article titled Travel in the Coronavirus Pandemic.

Our must-haves when traveling!

Briefly, we tried to summarize what should be done before going abroad, the precautions to be taken before traveling abroad and how to find cheap tickets before the flight. Since domestic air travel is mostly preferred for domestic holidays, this information in our article can be used, except for Passport and Visa issues. I hope this article will be useful before your flight. Have a good flight, have a nice trip, have a nice holiday to all travel lovers and holidaymakers in advance..