Health Alert – Mission Turkey – June 12th

Health Alert: COVID-19 Related Restrictions in Turkey 

New Updates:

  • International flights have resumed, mostly into Europe. U.S. citizens in transit can book these flights on routes back to the U.S. starting immediately, as long as they continue to meet the Schengen and U.K. exceptions as passengers in transit.
  • Turkish Airlines has announced flights to the United States from Turkey starting on June 19. However, flights in the coming days or weeks may be subject to change.
  • Are you having trouble with obtaining a HES code for domestic travel in Turkey and international travel out of Turkey?  A number of  our citizens, who are in Turkey in tourist status, have been successful with the following:  Send a text message to phone number 2023 that includes (a) the letters “HES”, (b) your nationality (USA), (c) you’re your passport number, (d) your year of birth, and (e) your surname.
    Example Text to 2023: “HES USA 12345678 1985 SURNAME”  
  • The Ministry of Interior has announced new policy changes affecting people who overstay their visa. Foreign travelers should be prepared to pay administrative fines as they depart.  Travelers may be able have fines waived by showing they had tickets but were unable to travel.  Final determination of fines and penalties will be determined by the Turkish government.  Please review the Ministry of Interior website for the full list of circumstances: Ministry of Interior: Visa Overstay
  • People under the age of 18 will be able to go out any time, in the company of a parent.
  • People above the age of 65 will be able to go out every day, between 10:00-20:00.

Actions to Take:

Assistance: