ANKARA (Sputnik) — The Turkish government's official journal T.C. Resmi Gazete on Tuesday published a government decree to introduce a visa-free regime for EU citizens.
The decree will come into force once the European Union adopts a reciprocal measure, providing visa-free entry into the Schengen Area for Turkish citizens. Interestingly, nationals of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden can already visit Turkey without a visa for 90 days within a 180-day period. Latvians are allowed to stay for 30 days and all other EU citizens must either purchase a 20 USD visa in advance or buy one upon arrival for 30 USD.
Earlier on Tuesday, reports emerged of the European Commission planning to give a conditional green light to implementing the visa-free regime on Wednesday. Turkey has yet to meet EU requirements on human rights, press freedom and the treatment of minorities, which it must address before qualifying for the free travel deal.