In a recent poll,
more than a third of Turks said that the EU is a more valued partner than
China, Russia, and the US combined. Yet, if tourist visas are any indication,
the EU does not hold the same opinion of Turkey.
اضافة اعلان
Schengen visa approvals for Turkish travelers have
fallen off a cliff in recent years, sparking outrage across the political
divide. After a nearly five-fold increase in visa rejections for Turkish applicants,
the Turkish foreign ministry accused the EU of burdening Turks with
“unnecessary and large amounts of paperwork”, and even suggested that the
refusals are a “planned and deliberate act” by European countries.
There is plenty of blame to go around for the
escalating visa crisis. With 5.5 million Turks living in Western Europe (out of
6.5 million living abroad), many believe that Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu
is derelict in looking out for Turks’ interests. Given the importance of Europe
to the Turkish people, why has Turkey not negotiated better terms for its own
citizens?
Cavusoglu had a chance to answer this question in
June. During a meeting with his Norwegian counterpart, Anniken Huitfeldt,
Turkey’s foreign minister granted Norwegians the ability to enter Turkey
temporarily by using only a Norwegian ID card. But instead of securing a
similar arrangement for Turkish passport holders, Cavusoglu received nothing.
On social media, the Turkish public was incensed.
“Such news can only be good if the same conditions
apply to Turkish citizens,” one person wrote on Twitter.
“Norwegian citizens …get an easy visa. Turkish
citizens [must] document …seven generation[s]” just to spend a few days on
holiday. It was an exaggeration, of course, but not by much.
For a short-term Schengen visa, Turks must provide
proof of travel insurance, accommodation, airfare, tax certificates, social
security documentation, work contracts, deeds, and evidence of sufficient
funds. Many applicants fail to meet this threshold. Today, 20 percent of
Turkish applicants are denied entry to the EU. In 2015, it was closer to 4
percent.
Turkish citizens have paid more than €26 million to obtain Schengen visas over the last five years. In 2021, Turks paid more than €3.6 million in fees for rejected Schengen visas, and that number is certain to increase this year.
The EU denies any mistreatment of a single country
and insists that Turkey is not in its bureaucratic crosshairs. The EU
Commission says the rejection of Turkish visas in 2022 is only 0.4 percent
above the global refusal average, and that a shortage of staff and new
regulations are limiting available visa slots. Meanwhile, the EU ambassador to
Turkey, Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut, says that most of the recent Turkish rejections
were the result of “incomplete and potentially fraudulent” applications.
To be sure, Turks are not without their own visa
transgressions. Official visas have been misused by Turks to stay in European
countries and seek asylum. In September 2020, 43 of 45 Justice and Development
Party members from Yesilyurt stayed in Germany after traveling there for work.
A similar incident occurred in October 2019, when Adana’s Karatas district, in
southern Turkey, sent 30 musicians to a festival in Germany; more than half
refused to return.
And yet, punishing every Turkish visa applicant for
the misdeeds of a few does not sit well with the public. At eksisozluk.com, one
of Turkey’s largest online communities, 55 pages of angry comments are
dedicated to the subject of Schengen visa rejections.
One user wrote that a friend with 10-year visas to
Britain and the US was rejected for the Schengen. Another speculated that
despite Moscow’s aggression in Ukraine, Russians appear to be having an easier
time entering Europe than Turks (this perception could change if a new EU
proposal to make it more expensive and harder for Russians to travel to the
bloc is enacted).
Whatever the truth, a consensus is growing on the
Turkish street that the Schengen visa is in place to keep Turks out.
The financial cost of such an exclusion is immense.
Turkish citizens have paid more than €26 million to obtain Schengen visas over
the last five years. In 2021, Turks paid more than €3.6 million in fees for
rejected Schengen visas, and that number is certain to increase this year.
Turks have a lot to be angry about. The devaluation
of their currency has not helped the visa debacle, but neither has their own
government, which seems more interested in luring foreign tourists to Turkey than
in helping Turks see the world.
Even if there was misuse of the Schengen visa system
in the past, Turkish and EU leaders have a duty to work through those
challenges. For Europe to remain the envy of the Turkish eye, the EU must let
Turkish travelers experience Europe for themselves.
Alexandra de Cramer is a journalist based in Istanbul. She reported on the Arab Spring from
Beirut as a Middle East correspondent for Milliyet newspaper. Her work ranges
from current affairs to culture, and has been featured in Monocle, Courier
Magazine, Maison Francaise, and Istanbul Art News. Syndication Bureau.
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