Border control at Turkey airports: what happens to travellers and their data

Arriving: the steps at the border

Entry to and exit from Türkiye must take place at official border gates with a valid passport or a document that replaces it. Foreign nationals must show these documents to officers when they enter and leave. These rules are in Articles 5 and 6 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, No. 6458 of 4 April 2013 ².

Article 7 lists people who are refused entry. They include people without a passport, visa or permit, people whose documents are forged or obtained by fraud, and people whose passport runs out less than 60 days after their permitted stay ends ².

Carriers have duties under Article 98. They must check passengers' documents, take back people refused entry, and pay for food, lodging and urgent medical care of refused passengers until they leave ².

At Istanbul Airport, police officers stamp passports. The automated gates there do not stamp them ⁵.

Entry permission: visa exemptions and the e-Visa

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says many nationalities can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. This usually applies to ordinary passports. Examples on its page include Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Official and diplomatic passport holders from some of these countries need a visa ¹.

The same page records dated changes. Chinese ordinary passport holders became visa-exempt on 2 January 2026. Namibian ordinary passport holders became eligible for e-Visas on 5 May 2025 ¹.

The e-Visa started on 17 April 2013. Applicants enter identity, passport and travel details and pay online. The e-Visa covers tourism and commerce only. Work and study visas come from embassies and consulates ¹. The official portal is evisa.gov.tr ¹².

The ministry says e-Visa fees are lower than fees for visas issued at the border, and it publishes the fee schedule separately. Some nationalities can get a single-entry, one-month e-Visa only if they hold a valid Schengen, US, UK or Irish visa or residence permit ¹.

Article 7 of Law 6458 requires a passport valid for at least 60 days beyond the permitted stay ². The ministry advises six months of validity from arrival ¹.

Biometrics and eGates

Istanbul Airport runs a fast passport pass system. Turkish citizens aged 18 or older with a chip passport can use it. The traveller scans the passport, then the system checks the face and fingerprints against the passport data. The airport lists 30 such points: 16 for arrivals, 10 for departures and 4 in transfer areas. The process takes about 18 to 20 seconds ⁵.

Sabiha Gökçen Airport started a trial of a biometric automatic passage system on 8 May 2019 with eight kiosks. Turkish citizens aged 18 or older had to register their fingerprints and face in advance. The airport operator and the Turkish National Police built it together ⁶.

The airport page does not say whether foreign visitors can use the gates ⁵. We could not confirm from an official source whether officers take fingerprints or photos of foreign visitors at arrival.

Passenger data: API and PNR

Article 98(2) of Law 6458 lets the migration authority ask carriers for all passenger and crew information before departure, at departure and after departure. It applies to carriers flying to and from border gates and inside Türkiye. Carriers that break these duties face administrative fines of 1,000 to 10,000 Turkish lira ².

An aviation services firm reported in April 2025 that the Presidency of Migration Management (PMM) oversees the system through the Türkiye Passenger Information Center. For general aviation, data is due at least 120 minutes before an international departure from Türkiye and 60 minutes before a domestic flight. Fields include name, date of birth, nationality, sex and travel document details ³.

A March 2016 news report said an API and PNR system had started under the Directorate General of Migration Management. By 2025 the same authority was described as the PMM ³. The 2016 report said the aim was to spot foreign fighters travelling through Europe and Türkiye to Syria ⁴. Airline guidance lists both API and PNR as required for flights to and from Türkiye ¹¹.

A 2017 article in the Turkish Bar Association journal said Türkiye had not yet discussed PNR cooperation with the European Union ¹⁰.

Watch lists and checks

Article 9 of Law 6458 lets the migration authority ban the entry of foreigners for reasons of public order, public security or public health, after consulting other bodies where needed. People deported from Türkiye are banned from entering. A ban lasts up to five years. The authority can extend it by up to ten more years where there is a serious threat to public order or security ².

The 2016 report said passengers flagged by advance data could be watched on arrival, refused entry and deported ⁴. Article 7 lets officers refuse people covered by an entry ban, even if they come from a visa-exempt country ².

Your data: the law and how to ask for records

The Law on the Protection of Personal Data, No. 6698, is enforced by the Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK) and its Board. Under Article 11 a person can ask whether their data is processed, why, and which parties in Türkiye or abroad receive it. They can ask for corrections and for erasure ⁷.

Under Article 13 the data controller must answer within 30 days, free of charge as a rule. A person can complain to the Board under Article 14 if the answer is refused, weak or late ⁷.

Article 28 excludes preventive, protective and intelligence work by authorised public bodies for national defence, national security, public security, public order or economic security. Some rights, including the duty to inform, do not apply where processing is needed to prevent or investigate crime ⁷.

Article 7 says data must be erased, destroyed or anonymised once the reasons for processing end ⁷. Law 6458 says the personal data of foreigners is taken, protected, stored and used in line with the law and treaties ². We could not find a published retention period for border records as of 19 October 2026.

Who runs the systems

The migration authority under the Ministry of Interior handles entry bans, visas and passenger data under Law 6458 ^2,3. The Turkish National Police staff passport control and worked on the biometric gates ^5,6. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (SHGM) leads aviation security rules ⁸.

The sources we opened did not name private contractors for the passenger data system or the gates, beyond the airport operator's role at Sabiha Gökçen ⁶.

Security screening on departure

A new Civil Aviation Security Regulation (SHY-Güvenlik) took effect on 22 May 2026, in Official Gazette No. 33261. The Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure issued it jointly, and SHGM leads its use ⁸.

The regulation requires screening of all departing, transfer and transit passengers and their cabin bags, and screening of hold bags before loading. Screeners must be certified. Checkpoint commanders are law enforcement officers with aviation security training ⁸.

Istanbul Airport has two checkpoints. The first is at the terminal entrance, with no liquid limit except for dangerous liquids. The second is airside, where liquids must be in containers of up to 100 ml in one clear 1-litre bag. Power banks and spare batteries must go in cabin bags ⁹.