Visas for Turkey could be obtained easier

Moldova decided to open visa facilitation talks with Turkey. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Iurie Leanca said the agreement will focus on stay visas for up to 90 days within a period of 180 days, Info-Prim Neo reports. The agreement will not apply to the persons who plan to stay in one of the two countries for more than 90 days or whose trips have such purposes as work, studies, scientific research, family reunification, and training. The agreement will facilitate the visa obtaining process, reduce the number of documents needed to obtain visas, extend the groups of people who could apply for long-stay visas, exempt some groups from paying the visa fee. The visas will be issued within three days, while in emergency cases – during two days. Iueire Leanca said the state budget will support certain changes, but the agreement will benefit many Moldovan people. In 2008, the Embassy of Moldova in Turkey and the Moldovan Consulate in Istanbul had issued 12,000 visas to Turkish citizens, collecting US$600,000 from them. On the other hand, Turkey was visited by 31,200 Moldovans, who paid US$938,000 for visas (US$30 per visa).