ISTANBUL, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Turkish sports activities presenter Sinem Okten was shocked to see her visa software to Europe’s Schengen space rejected twice, having visited typically to cowl matches and interview figures like Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon and Liverpool’s Juergen Klopp.
“I applied first to Germany then to France. Both rejected my application,” she mentioned. “I’ve travelled abroad numerous times to follow and film matches and interview people, maybe 50-60 times. This is the first time I am having this problem.”
Turks making use of for visas to the 26 Schengen international locations are more and more being rejected, information exhibits, and excursions are being cancelled. Ankara mentioned this week it was a deliberate effort to place President Tayyip Erdogan in a troublesome place forward of tight elections subsequent yr, a cost the European Union denies.
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According to information from schengenvisainfo.com, 16.5% of candidates from Turkey final yr had been denied a visa, up from 12.5% a yr earlier. Schengen rejections had been solely 4% in 2015 and began ramping up in 2017 for Turks, it exhibits.
The visa prices – amounting to some 100 euros, or a 3rd of Turkey’s minimal wage – should not refundable whether or not a visa is issued or not.
“Overall, the rejection rates for Schengen visa applications have increased worldwide…however, when compared to other countries like Russia, Turkey’s rejection rate growth is way bigger and consistent,” mentioned Shkurta Januzi, editor-in-chief at SchengenVisaInfo.com.
Okten mentioned the German embassy gave no cause for rejecting her software. A doc from the French embassy, seen by Reuters, mentioned it didn’t see sufficient proof that the TV presenter may finance her keep in France or return to Turkey.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu mentioned he believed the prolonged processing instances and an increase noticed in rejection charges had been deliberate, including that he raised the problem in conferences together with his counterparts.
“Unfortunately, the U.S. and some EU and non-EU western countries give our citizens visa appointments one year, 6-7-8 months later. They also increased the rejection rate. This is planned and deliberate,” he mentioned on Tuesday.
Cavusoglu dismissed “excuses” associated to coronavirus measures or personnel shortages, and mentioned, with out offering proof, that the visa rejections had been supposed to present Erdogan a pre-election headache.
His ministry will warn ambassadors of some Western international locations in regards to the problem in September, he mentioned. “If the situation does not improve after that we will take counter, restrictive measures.”
Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, head of the EU delegation to Turkey, advised Reuters the Schengen functions are handled on their deserves and never on political grounds, including comparatively extra incomplete and probably fraudulent functions are seen from Turkey.
“No decisions are taken on political grounds but rather on objective grounds,” he mentioned, including Turkey’s rejection fee final yr was close to the worldwide fee of 13-14% for Schengen visas.
TOURS CANCELLED
Twenty-two of the 26 Schengen space members are EU states.
Turkey and the bloc take pleasure in good commerce ties and a long time of migration nevertheless relations are strained over points together with freedom of speech in Turkey and EU insurance policies on refugees from Syria.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Schengen states obtained greater than 900,000 visa functions yearly from Turkey however that determine had dropped to round 270,000 in 2021.
Citizens from all Schengen international locations are exempt from visas when visiting Turkey, most for as much as 90 days, and a few can enter with solely their ID playing cards, in accordance with Turkey’s international ministry web site.
As increasingly more Turks are being rejected, tour operators have cancelled common journeys, Tur Andiamo chairman Cem Polatoglu mentioned.
“We are having problems. Our tours are getting cancelled. We used to schedule tours to Italy every week, now we have to offer them every fortnight,” Polatoglu mentioned.
At a visa software centre in Istanbul, 57-year-old Hikmet Dogan mentioned it was simpler to get a visa in his earlier journeys to see his son in Sweden.
“I travelled 2-3 times but this time it is harder, the costs jumped too…Unfortunately young people are trying to leave the country as the Turkish economy is getting worse,” Dogan mentioned.
Beyond the Schengen space, the United States vowed on Wednesday to develop its visa processing capability in Turkey after the international minister’s public complaints. learn extra
Okten, the sports activities presenter, mentioned she would proceed her efforts to safe a visa.
“The season started and I need to cover some matches on site. I need to be able to travel abroad to do my job…I will apply again and try my chance through Greece this time,” she mentioned.
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Additional reporting by Ece Toksabay in Ankara and Jonathan Spicer in Istanbul;
Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun;
Editing by Daren Butler and Raissa Kasolowsky
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
