Turkish Nationals Face Problems Due to Schengen Visa Delays and Refusals

Despite the COVID-related restrictions being lifted and hoping to be able to visit the EU, Turkish nationals have been obliged to put their plans on hold as they were unable to find available appointment slots or they were refused a visa, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.

Several Turkish nationals have voiced their concerns on Twitter. A Twitter user named Tugba Bozcaga said that she was unable to attend one of the two conferences she was planning to as she got issued a 12-day single entry visa, despite requesting a multi-entry visa for several months.

“More conference-season Schengen updates (a.k.a. 3rd W Problems): Requested a multi-entry visa for the coming months as I’ll attend two conferences: Finland, 15-17 May; Sweden, 22-26 May; and a 3rd one in June I was hoping to attend. They gave me a 12-day SINGLE ENTRY visa,” Tugba wrote.

After receiving such a response on her visa application, Tugba said back in May that she is slowly giving up on travelling to certain places since repeating the same process for every single trip into the Schengen Area is frustrating and dehumanising.

A Turkish couple also faced Schengen-visa-related problems. The Schengen visa request of the couple got denied by Norway Embassy, citing poor conditions in Turkey as the main reason, despite submitting all the required documents.

“A Turkish couple’s Schengen visa request for touristic purposes has been denied by Norway Embassy over “poor conditions in Turkey”. So even if you have proper paperwork, money and a job in Turkey, you may not get a visa to go have some fun in Europe,” Turkey Bureau Chief for Middle East Eye, Rag?p Soylu, wrote on his Twitter account.

The high number of documents required from Turkish nationals applying for Schengen visas, as well as the period of validity, have also been seen as unacceptable. A Twitter user named Tamer said earlier in June that the treatment that nationals of Türkiye receive is despicable.

“Unacceptable how many documents you have to present to get a Schengen visa if you hold a Turkish passport. This treatment is despicable. Not to mention they usually give you a week-long visa unless ofc you apply from the US. Then you get at least a year,” Tamer wrote.

Apart from the above-mentioned, students have also been facing visa-related problems. Turkish students have been unable to pursue education in a Schengen-associated country due to the long waiting times.

Statistics show that the rejection rate for applications made by Turkish nationals increased significantly in 2021 compared to 2020. In 2020, the rejection rate was 13.78 per cent, whereas, in 2021, it increased to 19,02 per cent.

Previously, atozserwisplus.com reported that due to such problems, Turkish nationals have turned to the Golden Passport programme of the EU. Nonetheless, this programme permits only wealthy internationals and their family members to acquire citizenship in the EU, leaving the others hopeless.