Finance
EU eases Schengen visa rules for Turks; envoy urges further moves
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on July 18, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on July 18, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
The EU has eased Schengen visa rules for Turks, simplifying access to multiple-entry visas. The EU ambassador urges renewed talks on visa-free travel.
ANKARA (Reuters) -The European Union has eased rules for Turks to use its open-border Schengen area, the bloc's ambassador to Ankara said on Friday, calling for the urgent revival of negotiations on visa-free travel for Turks.
For years, Turks have complained about the EU's visa system. The EU has said the processes - managed by accredited visa agencies - have been slow due to the high number of applications and that it is discussing possible workarounds with Ankara.
Ambassador Thomas Hans Ossowski said the new rules would help address Turks' complaints over long bureaucratic processes, but warned it was not enough to permanently solve the problems.
"It will be much easier and much faster for Turkish citizens," Ossowski told reporters in Ankara, referring to the European Commission's new decision, in effect since July 15, simplifying the path to multiple-entry visas for Turks.
Turks who previously used visas correctly will be eligible for a six-month visa as early as their second application, followed by one-year, three-year and five-year multiple-entry visas.
Turkey has been an EU membership candidate since 1999 but its accession process has been frozen for years over issues ranging from human rights to democratic backsliding. There have recently been signs of increased engagement and economic cooperation.
Ossowski said the EU had for more than a decade offered Turkey the prospect of visa-free travel and stressed the need to return to the liberalisation process.
"Every other candidate country has visa-free travel except Turkey," he said. "It is urgent to re-engage in this process of visa-free travel in the Schengen space and the EU," he added.
The Commission is ready to restart formal negotiations after the summer and work with Ankara on fulfilling the six remaining benchmarks required by the visa liberalisation roadmap, he said.
"We are ready, the Commission is ready to work closely with Turkish authorities," he said.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu. Writing by Ece Toksabay. Editing by Daren Butler and Mark Potter)
The EU has eased the rules for Turkish citizens, allowing them to apply for a six-month visa after their second application, with the potential for longer multiple-entry visas thereafter.
Turkey's EU accession process has been frozen for years due to issues related to human rights and democratic backsliding.
Ambassador Ossowski stated that the new rules would make the visa application process easier and faster for Turkish citizens, but emphasized that they do not fully resolve the existing issues.
The EU has offered Turkey the prospect of visa-free travel for over a decade and is urging a return to the liberalization process to achieve this goal.
The European Commission is ready to restart formal negotiations with Turkey and work on fulfilling the remaining benchmarks required for visa liberalization.
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