The Greek Consulate in Istanbul is the largest in Türkiye and has already received the highest number of visa applications from Turkish applicants.

According to statistics published by EU Helpers, the Greek consulate in Türkiye received 152,778 visa applications in 2023. That is 60 per cent of the total 254,377 visa applications that were submitted in that year.

Greece Looking Into Issuing More Multi-Entry Visas to Turkish Applicants

In the interview with Daily Milliyet, Koutras, as the representative of the Greek consulate general, revealed that many of the 200,000 visas it plans to issue will be multi-entry visas.

In 2023, Turkish applicants filed over one million Schengen visa applications, with 24.1 per cent of them being filed to Greece alone. In addition, in 2023, Turk applicants were the number one nationality to file most visa applications for Greek Schengen visas.

While the Istanbul consulate received 152,778 applications, the second most popular was the one located in Izmir, which received 63,359. Consulates in Edirne and Ankara received 29,414 and 8,826 visa applications, respectively.

Visa Issuance to Boost Tourism Between Greece & Türkiye

In 2024, Greece launched a special visa program for tourists from Türkiye, which enables travel to certain ports and had a cost of €60. Visas on arrival are valid for seven-day stays and only for entry. This means that Turkish nationals who hold Greek visas on arrival cannot enter other Schengen countries.

These changes prompted an influx of Turkish tourists to Greece, with the latter expecting 50 per cent more arrivals in 2024. The decision to introduce visa-on-arrival for Turkish nationals has been taken in an attempt to relax the tense relations between the two countries, which came to this point due to issues with migrants.

While Turkish nationals head to Greece, many Greek tourists are also increasingly travelling to Türkiye, with Istanbul, Izmir and Bodrum being some of the most popular destinations.