Visa Program for Turkish Tourists to Greek Islands to Run in 2018

Symi Island. Photo © GTP

A visa facilitation program that allows Turkish travelers and citizens of third countries to visit select Greek islands of the Eastern Aegean has been extended by one year.

EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos on Wednesday informed the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the European Commission agreed for the visa program to run for 2018 “for Turkish tourists and citizens from third countries, who are legally in Turkey, that wish to visit Greek Aegean islands.”

Karlovasi, Samos. Photo © Facebook – ΟΙ ΟΜΟΡΦΙΕΣ ΤΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΑΣ ΜΑΣ

The program allows travelers up to a seven-day stay on the Greek islands.

As the ministry noted, the visa program, which has been successfully implemented in previous years, is particularly critical for the economy of the islands.

“That is why its continuation for this year was a long-standing demand of all local bodies,” the ministry said.

The visa facilitation program allows non-European Union citizens from Turkish ports to visit Eastern Aegean islands in Greece without a visa from a Greek consulate. The program ensures that visa clearance is given at the border entry points (ports) of the islands of the Eastern Aegean (Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos, Rhodes, Symi, Kastelorizo).