The fee for traveling abroad, which Turkish citizens pay, is increased from 150 to 500 Turkish lira (about 14 euros). The Ordinance was published in the issue of the Turkish State Gazette (Resmi Gazete) dated August 2, 2024.
The fee for going abroad is a type of tax that must be paid by every Turkish citizen over the age of 7 when going abroad.
Inflation in Turkey, which was 71.6 percent in June, once again hit the pockets of Turkish citizens. Compared to 2022, the fee for going abroad has risen by 233 percent, according to the newspaper “Birgun”. This will put a heavy burden on families’ budgets when they travel abroad with children over 7 years old.
The fee for going abroad in the amount of the then 100 dollars was introduced in 1963 by a decision of the Council of Ministers and applied until 1996, when it was abolished. In 2001, it began to be applied again, and its amount was 50 dollars. Since 2007, it has been 15 pounds. After 12 years of implementation, in 2019 the amount of the fee was increased to 50 Turkish lira.
In March 2022, by decree of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the fee was increased to 150 Turkish lira.
The latest increase was proposed by Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek. According to media reports, the proposal was to make the fee 3,000 Turkish lira (about $90 or 83.50 euros), but that proposal sparked strong protests, including among the ruling Justice and Development Party, and was dropped.
According to official data, the revenue from fees for going abroad in 2023 was 1 billion 311 million Turkish lira. From the beginning of this year to the month of April, the revenue from the fee is in the amount of 427 million Turkish lira.
Fifteen Turkish liras of the fee are paid to TOKI – the State Agency for Housing Construction.
Turkish citizens holding dual citizenship are exempt from paying the fee.
The application of the new regulation entered into force on August 12 of this year.
Illustrative Photo by Enes Akdoğan: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-black-and-white-photo-of-money-in-a-glass-jar-28184340/
