More than 100,000 express visas have been issued for Turkish tourists travelling to Greek islands since April 1, 2024, when Greece’s visa-on-arrival scheme became effective.
Such figures have been revealed by Greece’s Minister of Shipping, Christos Stylianidis, in a meeting held with the Minister of Transport of Türkiye, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, during his visit to Istanbul, Schengen.News reports.
Minister Stylianidis considered the scheme very successful. The program permits Turkish nationals to enter ten Greek islands for short-term stays without being obliged to apply for a Schengen visa at first by only holding a single-entry permit at a cost of €60.
The figures from Oikonomikos Tachydromos revealed that nearly 400,000 Turkish tourists passed through Greek islands during the peak summer season, while the traffic from the Turkish coast to the nearby Greek islands continues to remain high.
The same reveals that only in the three islands of the Northeast Aegean until the end of August, an additional 54,373 visas had been issued, according to the figures provided by the General Police Directorate of the North Aegean.
Commitment to Tighten Cooperation in the Maritime Sector
After the meeting held with the Turkish Minister of Transport, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, the Greek Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Christos Stylianidis, said that the two ministers reaffirmed their commitment to work together in order to strengthen cooperation in the maritime sector.
The Greek Minister mentioned three areas of cooperation in the meeting with the Turkish Minister of Transport among them:
• Support for the maritime sector, after both ministers agreed that maritime connections have created a “win-win” situation for everyone.
• The establishment of a successful scheme for providing short-term visas to Turkish nationals visiting Greek islands.
• Maritime tourism is on the rise; therefore, it has tangible results by boosting economic development in coastal communities.
Attempts to Continue Visa-On-Arrival Program in 2025
Authorities in Greece are attempting to continue the visa-on-arrival program throughout 2025 for Turkish nationals after the result was “very successful”.
Recently, Greece’s Northern Aegean Regional Governor Konstantinos Moutzouris proposed to expand the program for non-Schengen visitors, including those from Türkiye, for 2025.
The Hellenic Republic implemented a visa-on-arrival scheme for Turkish nationals on April 1, 2024, following the agreement reached between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The program allows short-term stays (one to seven days) for Turkish nationals to the following Greek islands: Rhodes, Chios, Kos, Lesbos, Samos, Kalymnos, Leros, Kastellorizo, Symi, and Limnos.
Source: https://schengen.news/more-than-100000-visas-issued-to-turkish-visitors-through-greeces-visa-on-arrival-scheme/
