“I applied first in Germany and then in France. Both rejected my application,” he said. “I’ve traveled abroad many times to watch and film matches and interview people, maybe 50-60 times. This is the first time I’ve had this problem.” Turks applying for visas in the 26 Schengen countries are increasingly being rejected, data shows, and tours are being cancelled. Ankara said this week it was a deliberate attempt to embarrass President Tayyip Erdogan ahead of tough elections next year, a charge the European Union denies. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register According to data from schengenvisainfo.com, 16.5% of applicants from Turkey were refused visas last year, compared to 12.5% a year earlier. Schengen rejections were only 4% in 2015 and started to rise in 2017 for Turks, it shows. The cost of the visa – which amounts to around 100 euros, or a third of Turkey’s minimum wage – is non-refundable whether a visa is issued or not. “Overall, rejection rates for Schengen visa applications have increased globally…however, compared to other countries such as Russia, Turkey’s rejection rate increase is much larger and consistent,” said Shkurta Januzi, editor-in-chief at SchengenVisaInfo. com. Okten said the German embassy did not give any reason for rejecting her application. A document from the French embassy, seen by Reuters, said there was insufficient evidence that the TV presenter could finance her stay in France or return to Turkey. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said he believed the long processing times and increase seen in rejection rates were intentional, adding that he had raised the issue in meetings with his counterparts. “Unfortunately, the US and some Western EU and non-EU countries give our citizens visa appointments a year, 6-7-8 months later. They also increased the rejection rate. This is planned and deliberate,” he said on Tuesday. Cavusoglu rejected “excuses” related to coronavirus measures or staff shortages and said, without providing evidence, that the visa rejections were intended to give Erdogan a headache. His ministry will warn the ambassadors of some Western countries about the issue in September, he said. “If the situation does not improve after that, we will take the opposite, restrictive measures.” Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, head of the EU delegation in Turkey, told Reuters that Schengen applications are treated on their merits and not for political reasons, adding that relatively more incomplete and potentially fraudulent applications are seen from Turkey. “Decisions are not made for political reasons, but for objective reasons,” he said, adding that Turkey’s rejection rate last year was close to the global rate of 13-14 percent for Schengen visas.
TOURS ARE CANCELED
Twenty-two of the 26 members of the Schengen area are EU states. Turkey and the bloc enjoy good trade ties and decades of immigration, but relations are strained over issues such as freedom of speech in Turkey and the EU’s policies on Syrian refugees. Before the coronavirus pandemic, Schengen states received more than 900,000 visa applications a year from Turkey, but that number had fallen to around 270,000 in 2021. Citizens from all Schengen countries are visa-free when visiting Turkey, most for up to 90 days, and some can enter with just their ID, according to Turkey’s foreign ministry website. As more and more Turks are turned away, tour operators have regularly canceled trips, Tur Andiamo president Cem Polatoglu said. “We have problems. Our tours are being cancelled. We used to schedule tours to Italy every week, now we have to offer them every fortnight,” said Polatoglou. At a visa application center in Istanbul, 57-year-old Hikmet Dogan said it was easier to get a visa on his previous trips to see his son in Sweden. “I traveled 2-3 times, but this time it’s more difficult, the cost has also shot up…Unfortunately young people are trying to leave the country as the Turkish economy is getting worse,” Dogan said. Beyond the Schengen area, the United States pledged on Wednesday to expand visa processing capacity in Turkey after the foreign minister’s public complaints. read more Okten, the sports presenter, said she would continue her efforts to secure a visa. “The season has started and I have to cover some matches on the spot. I have to be able to travel abroad to do my job… I will apply again and try my chance through Greece this time,” he said. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Additional reporting by Ece Toksabay in Ankara and Jonathan Spicer in Istanbul. Ezgi Erkoyun writes. Editing: Daren Butler and Raissa Kasolowsky Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
