Can I stay 1 day in Istanbul on Schengen visa?

owais.truefriend Contributor

Member since 18 May 2013

owais.truefriendContributor31 August 2013 04:39:50

143

Hi,

I am planned to fly Karachi, Pakistan to Helsinki, Finland via Istanbul, Turkey by Turkish Airlines in October and will return in December.

My question is that can I transit without any problem in Istanbul for one day trip of Istanbul city, and come back to airport before my flight schedule. I am going to Finland for 88 days on Schengen visa, is this possible for me to spend one day in Istanbul before going to Finland or on returning to Finland? In both cases my flight will be connected at Istanbul airport.
Do the concerned authorities of Turkey allow Schengen visa holders to stay one day in Istanbul, Turkey? I am extremely interested to see this beautiful city (Istanbul). Will I need to get visa for Turkey or Schengen visa is acceptable.

One more question suppose if my Schengen visa expires on the same date I leave Helsinki, Finland and landed to Istanbul, Turkey then will I be allowed to stay one day in Istanbul and get my schedule flight for Karachi on next day.

Please tell me the Turkish law regarding this issue.

Thanks

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ECS Norway Expert

Member since 21 July 2006

ECSNorway Expert31 August 2013 10:40:05

1565

Turkey isn't a Schengen member state so why would having a Schengen visa give you any special permissions there? It's like getting a visa for the United States and expecting it to work in Mexico just because they're neighbors.

ABJSYED Active member

Member since 18 November 2012

ABJSYEDActive member31 August 2013 14:55:26

Hi Owais,
Any Pakistani having a valid Schengen, US, UK or Canadian visa can get maximum 30 days Transit visa at Istanbul Ataturk Airport.
Vice-versa for Turkish people going to Pakistan, mutually agreed by both countries.
I heard that you can also get this visa online, but I am not sure about that. You can call Turkish consulate for confirmation.

Frozen Blue New member

Member since 18 August 2014

Frozen BlueNew member15 December 2014 08:25:11

ABJsyed is totally right..
one can get this visa online for evisa.gov.tr

ABJ how is IStanbul these days?

James ViP

Member since 20 June 2010

Brazil & Canada Expert

JamesViP15 December 2014 20:13:16

11272

Owais,

The operational word in ABJSYED's message is VALID so you would have to leave Helsinki, Finland on the DAY BEFORE your Schengen Visa expires, it must still be valid for you to transit through Turkey.

Cheers,
James Expat-blog Experts Team