Turkish passport

Turkish passport
The front cover of a current Turkish biometric passport
Date first issued	1 June 2010 (biometric passport)
Issued by	Turkey
Type of document	Passport
Purpose	Identification
Eligibility requirements	Turkish citizenship

Turkish Passports are issued in accordance with the Passport Act (No. 5682) from 15 July 1950 to Turkish citizens to travel abroad. Citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) are also eligible to apply for a Turkish Passport if they wish to, as well as the TRNC passport or the Republic of Cyprus EU passport.

Passports are issued by the Turkish Police (or by the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Nicosia for Turkish Cypriots) and applications are filed at police stations which have a passport office. Passports issued since 1 June 2010 are biometric and valid for up to 10 years (5 years for special passports).

Ranked in the Henley & Partners Visa Restrictions Index, a Turkish Passport placed 51st in 2016.

Turkish Biometric passports (Turkish: Biyometrik pasaport), compatible with the new ICAO standards, have been available since 1 June 2010. Applications for the new passports can be submitted online through the government's website [2]. Passports are then sent via mail.

The biometric passports have different colour covers; regular passports in maroon and diplomatic passports in black, in compliance with ICAO standards.

A Turkish passport has been one of the most expensive passports in the world for many years. As a result of increasing public demands, the cost of ordinary passports was almost halved in June 2010. Despite the massive reduction, the Turkish passport remains the most expensive passport in the world. The passport law was then amended to increase the maximum validity of a passport from 5 to 10 years. It currently costs TRY667.10 (c. USD190) for a 10-year passport, including the compulsory booklet fee. In addition to the expensive passport prices, the Turkish state charges TRY15 (c. USD5) from Turkish passport holders (excluding ship and aircraft crew, those who live abroad and those with dual citizenship) every single time they leave Turkey.

Holders of an ordinary Turkish passport may travel without a visa, or with a visa received upon arrival, to 100 countries, as of 2014 according to the Visa Restrictions Index.