Personal / Stories and Essays / Turkey

I Was Deported From Turkey

I wish that title was an exaggeration.

It’s not.

Perhaps you’ve been wondering why the blog has been so quiet. Maybe you follow me on some other social media (Facebook? Instagram? Twitter?) and you’ve noticed that I was in Amsterdam for an awfully long time.

Well, here’s the full story.

Istanbul

About a month after I arrived in Turkey and two weeks after I moved into my flat, I applied to get a resident permit. Though Turkey’s tourist visa only allows you to stay in the country for 90 days out of 180, it is relatively simple to get a year-long resident permit. You don’t need to be employed, you simply need to prove you have enough money to support yourself.

However, due to high demand there’s a backlog to get a resident permit—the earliest appointment was April 30th, nearly two months later. My tourist visa was expiring AND my parents were visiting around that time, so I looked into what exactly getting the permit would entail. I was reassured that, once I had the appointment, it was okay if my tourist visa expired—it’s a normal occurrence, since it takes so long to get the appointment.

In the meantime, my parents decided it would be dandy to turn their Amsterdam layover on their return trip into a weekend-long family trip. We would be leaving after my resident permit appointment, so I figured it would be no problem.

Boy was I wrong.

Contemplating

I realized a week before my appointment that they don’t issue you the resident permit the day of your appointment—you have to come back to pick it up a week later. My family was already in Istanbul at this point, and plans couldn’t be changed, so I started quietly panicking.

Also, even though the central police station spends all day issuing visas to foreigners, barely anyone speaks English. So in order to get my permit and make sure that I would be able to leave the country for the weekend, I needed to find a Turkish person to come along and help out. Luckily a friend of a friend was willing.

So I prepared everything, went through the whole (long, tedious, confusing) process, and got approved—I was supposed to come back on May 8th for my year-long resident permit.

That’s three days after I was to RETURN from Amsterdam.

So we explained the situation to the policeman who approved my resident permit and asked if I would be able to leave the country over the weekend.

He said yes—all I needed to do was to show the paper stating that I was coming back for my resident permit on May 8th. I would have no problem.

He was a police officer. He was responsible for issuing my resident permit. I believed him.

So, I left the country.

Amsterdam Canals

The first sign of potential problems actually came before I got on the plane to leave—I was forced to pay a fee for overstaying my tourist visa, even though I showed my resident permit receipt. It was 5am and our flight was leaving and I was in a panic… so I paid and got on the plane.

In retrospect, this was a mistake. The border people were only looking at my expired tourist visa, not the paper from the resident permit police.

I found out how much of a mistake it was when I tried to re-enter Turkey. I did just what the officers at the police station told me to—I gave the passport control officers my resident permit receipt and explained that I was going to pick up the actual document three days later, just like the paper said.

But instead of being stamped through, I was taken back to a small office room in the airport. The humorless border policeman there told me that because I had overstayed my tourist visa, I wouldn’t be able to enter Turkey again until August, and they were going to send me out of the country.

This is when I started to full-on freak out.

But wait, I protested. I have a resident permit. I have to pick it up on Wednesday. How am I supposed to do that if I can’t enter Turkey?

They didn’t know. They didn’t care.

They were sending me out of the country—to Amsterdam, where I had just flown in from.

Where I knew one person.

Except the next flight wasn’t until the following night—until then, they would hold me at the airport.

I spent the next 24 hours in a small windowless room in Sabiha Gokcen Airport that smelled like McDonalds and cigarettes. I slept on an unpleasantly stained couch with no blankets. At first I was alone—somehow I forced myself to sleep—and then I was joined by two nice Mexican girls who were studying in France, and a woman who I am almost positive was a Russian prostitute.

The border police brought us meals and tea and water bottles. We weren’t under arrest… we just weren’t allowed to leave the room. I spent my time pacing, frantically calling anyone who might be able to help, trying to read or sleep, and generally having a drawn-out panic attack.

This was the worst part. Being held for that long is awful. I didn’t know if I’d ever get back to my computer, my contact lenses, and all my other belongings; I didn’t know if the life I’d built up over the last three months would be inaccessible to me. All I wanted to do was go home—but I couldn’t go ANYWHERE.

After those 24 hours ended—after losing a day, after not seeing the sun, after my family had already arrived home in CALIFORNIA—I was put on a plane back to Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Bike

I spent nearly every morning for the rest of the week shuttling to the Turkish Consulate in Rotterdam to arrange a special visa that would allow me to re-enter the country and PICK UP MY RESIDENT PERMIT, which was waiting for me at the police station.

Let me just spell out this catch-22: To get my resident permit, I had to be in Istanbul. But I couldn’t enter Istanbul without my resident permit.

This is bureaucracy at its worst.

Luckily, the woman at the visa window in the Turkish Consulate must have taken pity on me (or recognized the absurdity of the situation), because after weakly protesting that I wasn’t a citizen of the Netherlands and therefore not exactly covered by the jurisdiction of the consulate, she issued me a temporary, single-entry visa anyway.

Amsterdam Tulips

By the time I received the visa, I’d already been in Amsterdam for over a week. A few days later I flew back and spent the whole three hour flight gnawing at my nails, trying to breathe and attempting to convince myself that everything would be okay.

I got off the plane.

I went to the passport counter.

The woman looked at my passport.

Asked me some questions.

Called a man over. He asked me to walk with him… back towards the border police offices.

My hands were shaking so hard that I had to stuff them in my pockets. Oh no. It’s happening again. OH GOD PLEASE DON’T PUT ME IN THE ROOM AGAIN.

My passport got handed off to another guy, who made another call.

This can’t be happening.

He asked me to come with him.

I followed him…

…to the passport window, where my passport was stamped and returned to me.

I’m not kidding… As soon as I had that stamped passport in my hands, I ran.

I was so flustered and relieved I actually forgot to pick up my checked bag and had to go back for it.

I MADE IT BACK TO TURKEY.

Kadikoy

AFTERMATH

Obviously this experience was hugely stressful, especially for a high-anxiety girl like myself. But I learned a few things, too.

First of all, DO NOT TAKE CHANCES WITH TURKISH BORDER POLICE and DO NOT PUT YOUR FAITH IN TURKISH BUREAUCRACY. Leaving without my resident permit booklet was, frankly, stupid. And unfortunately, the incorrect information I got about leaving the country without the booklet came from the Turkish Police, who obviously (in retrospect) had no idea what they were talking about.

Second, Amsterdam is a lovely city to get stuck in. I will be writing about it a lot more here (heck, I have a week and a half of pictures instead of just a weekend’s worth!), but for now suffice to say that a walkable city full of delicious food and nice people speaking English was probably the best  place I could have been during this stressful time.

Third, regular people are wonderful. My one friend in Amsterdam hosted me for the first few days I was there, after I showed up on her doorstep in the middle of the night. The rest of the time, I was hosted by a few excellent Spanish guys who were friends of a friend of a friend of a friend—an absurdly long chain that led me to some genuinely nice guys. You never know who might help you out.

Lastly, I learned that Turkey is the place I want to be right now. Maybe this sounds simple, but for me it is significant. This time I really had to fight to get to Istanbul. Before I moved here, my focus was not on Turkey as much as it should have been… instead, all my energy was spent on ending my long-term relationship gracefully. Now I had to decide whether or not it was worth the time, money, and work to get to Istanbul, and the answer was overwhelmingly YES. Perhaps this is a small gift, but it is a gift nonetheless.

So please, learn from my mistakes. Don’t mess with border police. Don’t take chances with your resident permit.

And please, for my sake, don’t ever get deported.

37 Comments

  • Lisa Eldridge
    May 16, 2013 at 12:27 AM

    So glad you were able to get back in and that your week outside Turkey was a positive one. I can only imagine how scary this must have been.

    Reply
    • Katrinka
      May 16, 2013 at 12:30 AM

      It was unbelievably scary and stressful! It’s hard to express just how all-consuming my anxiety was, now that I’m back and safe in Turkey. But Amsterdam was lovely, despite all of this. Thank you for your comment 🙂

      Reply
      • Rhea
        February 4, 2015 at 2:48 PM

        So If you overstay and even paying the penalties ur still can’t re enter turkey again for how many months?i paud the amount if 100 teli for 5 months overstaying.I’m a Filipina but residing in italy only with a reaident permit and i was supposed to go back to Turkey next week until i read this blog i was confused afraid after reading ur story i might get deported?

        Reply
        • Katrinka
          February 4, 2015 at 6:40 PM

          You can re-enter Turkey if you have a valid visa or are eligible for a visa. If you weren’t banned, then you just have to wait 90 days until you can purchase a tourist visa again. Every situation is different, but that’s my understanding of it.

          Reply
  • Eve Anderson
    May 16, 2013 at 6:17 AM

    I’m glad your o.k. Katie! It must have been crazy. Now you have this to put any mishaps you have in the future into perspective. Enjoy the rest of your time in Istanbul.

    Reply
  • Salih
    May 16, 2013 at 12:06 PM

    Dear Katrinka,

    I am so sorry to hear that you’ve deported, but glad to read that you are now in Istanbul. I hope your sympathy to Turkey and Istanbul particulary do not end. If you have any problems in Istanbul, I will do my best to help you as the follower of your blog.

    Reply
    • Katrinka
      May 16, 2013 at 12:14 PM

      Thank you so much Salih! It is a huge relief to be back here.

      Reply
  • Kelly
    May 16, 2013 at 10:27 PM

    I love this in particular, lady: “Now I had to decide whether or not it was worth the time, money, and work to get to Istanbul, and the answer was overwhelmingly YES. Perhaps this is a small gift, but it is a gift nonetheless.”

    Looking forward to catching up soon.

    Reply
  • Naresh Ramadurai
    May 29, 2013 at 7:53 AM

    The bicycle picture has some strong vibrant color composition. Wonderful pictures!!!

    Reply
    • Katrinka
      May 29, 2013 at 12:28 PM

      Thank you so much! The bicycle picture is one of my iPhone shots– I couldn’t get my film developed in time for this post!

      Reply
  • Sana Ne
    May 29, 2013 at 6:04 PM

    I feel for you. AS you said youself – don’t EVER trust turkish police, or other authorities, or turkish people at all! Sad but true…. but take it dead serious. But it is shitty when you’re in that kind of situation.

    Reply
    • Katrinka
      May 30, 2013 at 1:59 PM

      I wouldn’t wish it upon ANYONE.

      Reply
  • Abby H.
    June 5, 2013 at 6:08 AM

    Oh my goodness! It sounds like you managed to be quite level headed about the whole thing… all things considered. Glad you got where you wanted to be.

    Reply
    • Katrinka
      June 18, 2013 at 12:53 PM

      I’m glad it sounds like I was level-headed, though in actuality I was a mess most of the time 🙂

      Reply
  • Yu Zhong
    November 7, 2013 at 5:48 PM

    well, i have to admit, you are really a brave girl to handling all the things.
    and maybe i would experience the same as yours, as i got my visa expires and don’t know how to make it out.
    i am totally agree with you on some of your suggestions, expecially the one that the turkish officer can not be counted on.

    Reply
  • mytravelingjoys
    December 15, 2013 at 10:42 PM

    Wow! Not surprisingly, this is NOT the ffirst tume I’ve heard about a situation like this. Generally, if you do have all ypur paperwork in hand, it isn’t a problem. However, things in Turkey seem to change at drop of a hat and no one knows what to do! 😉 Hope yoh enjoyed your long stay though! I still miss Istanbul!

    Reply
    • Katrinka
      December 16, 2013 at 11:38 AM

      I did enjoy my long stay, and there’s been enough distance from the deportation now that I can look back on that week in Amsterdam without (too much) anxiety! But it sure made me glad to be in Istanbul; I’m so thankful for that. And I absolutely don’t take any more chances with border patrol.

      Reply
  • Jessica Korteman - Notes of Nomads
    May 6, 2014 at 9:26 PM

    Oh gosh! How did this story never make its way into conversation when we met in Istanbul?! While it sounds incredibly stressful and traumatic, I’m glad that, a year on, there’s some satisfaction in knowing you are exactly where you want to be right now.

    Reply
    • Katrinka
      May 9, 2014 at 7:00 PM

      Ha, I’m surprised I never mentioned it!

      Reply
  • Hossein
    August 22, 2014 at 2:17 PM

    Dear Katrinka,

    I am so sorry to hear your sad story but happy on how the story ended. Also I am very proud of you for controling your self and just not sat down to see what is going to be happen next. I know how hard for a girl like you to be jailed in small room for a day. But this the our lives we are students and we have to learn until the last moment of our lives.
    Good Luck
    Hossein

    Reply
  • Dimi
    August 27, 2014 at 4:07 PM

    Dear Katrinka,
    i am about to face same story with you, so since you experienced it, i would be more than obligated-thankful to you if you answer me the following:
    1. What amount of money you paid for fine? how they calculated that?
    2. Was there something appearing on your passport, like stamp etc, saying that you are deported or banned to enter the country or it just appears on their systems?Fr example if you don’t care to come back for your ikamet, but you only want to go home, is there a “black” page in your passport?
    3. From your description, if i go airport to ask, just to ask not fly to somewhere, all these questions i did to you, is there a chance they would keep me in that scary room as illegal?

    I wish you never experience anything same again and hope you are fine.
    Thank you in advance.
    Dimi

    Reply
    • Katrinka
      August 29, 2014 at 12:00 AM

      Hi Dimi. I can’t remember how much the fine was– this all happened over a year ago– but I believe it was about 200tl. It was calculated by the days overstayed (which for me was 3 days). That occurred when I left Turkey. When I returned, I wasn’t banned; I just wasn’t allowed to re-enter the country until I was eligible for another tourist visa, which due to the 90/180 days rule, was three months later. I use the word “deported,” but “not allowed entry” is probably more accurate. I was able to return with a valid visa, which I acquired in the Netherlands. From what I’ve heard, they don’t mark your passport, but they do enter it into their computer system.
      It never hurts to ask about your situation. Are you currently waiting for your ikamet? I recommend asking your local police station if you can; if your res permit is being processed, they can write you a letter that allows you to leave and re-enter Turkey.

      One last question for YOU– how did you find this blog post? It’s been getting a lot of traffic recently, and I’m not sure where it was shared!

      Reply
  • Hossein
    September 18, 2014 at 10:53 AM

    Hello dears,

    Good news

    I am working and living in Turkey and I have Ikamat (Blue card) and my family came to visit me last February 2014 to stay 3 months with me. But they change their mind and wanted to stay with me while I am in Turkey. Then I went to Police department (Emniyat) to apply for residence permit for them they gave me an appointment after 3 months. it was a long period and after the 3 months we went and did all the necessary documents. But they asked for Health insuranse as the new law asks for it, and this insurance costs about 550 USD then we asked the police officer if we can just leave the country with out taking the IKAMAT ? She said yes you may leave but they will ask for penalty fine for over staying to leave the country. She was very nice to me and my family and she was trying to help us but the insurance fee was too much for us to pay, then after a week we traveled to Iran through the land, and at the custom they said why you didn’t complete the Ikamat process? We said the insurance was too much to pay, They were very kind and nice to us and as a help they said go back to Istanbul we will give you a letter to help you doing the Ikamat without applying for insurance. but it was already to late to change our mind and return. so they gave us 2 choices either to pay the penalty fine for adult was 172 TL and 86 TL for each child and then they can leave Turkey and come back after 6 months. or just don’t pay the fine and leave but you will ban for 5 years. So my family decided not to pay and leave Turkey for 5 years.
    But really the officers tryed to help and they felt sorry for us to leave the country this way. but they gave us a penalty fine document for each they can return any time to Turkey if we pay the amount to the embassy of Turkey in my country the will remove the Ban,

    So please don’t be worry my family stayed 7 months in Turkey 4 month over stay and paid nothing to leave. They will come in next summer I guess they will pay the fine which is less than 100 USD and enter again.
    Good Luck
    Hossein

    Reply
  • Osas Izeddy
    September 22, 2014 at 5:50 PM

    Katie am really sorry u passed through thos stress,I have a question for u,what can I do to stay in Turkey when my tourist Visa got Expired?

    Reply
  • Osas Izeddy
    September 22, 2014 at 6:35 PM

    I don’t want to leave Turkey when my Tourist Visa got expire,what will I do?because I want to go Turkey

    Reply
    • Katrinka
      September 22, 2014 at 6:41 PM

      You need to apply for a resident permit. Otherwise, you have to leave the country and come back in three months when you can purchase a tourist visa again.
      I highly recommend that you don’t overstay your visa.

      Reply
  • Heinrich
    November 27, 2014 at 6:38 PM

    Hi. Im a south african citizen sitting with the excact same problem. And im now still struggling to get back to my apartment and personal belongings. And yet the same police officials that said i can just pay the penalty were suddenly the one who did not know what i was talking about and ended up being deported like a criminal.

    Reply
  • Meghan
    January 19, 2015 at 6:28 PM

    Hi! I found your blog when I was searching about problems with customs/overstaying in Istanbul. I had kind of a similar situation (a fee to pay) and the airport police told me I had nothing and would have no problem re-entering the country. This was absolutely not true and for the past month I have been dealing with trying to re-enter and all the problems that had been caused by them not allowing me to pay my fee at the airport when leaving. I was wondering, how was the procedure when you re-entered? Was it a quick experience? Was the visa you were issued specifically to let you pick up your permit, did you have any money to pay? Thanks a lot!

    Reply
    • Katrinka
      January 19, 2015 at 11:29 PM

      Hi Meghan,
      I got a single-entry tourist visa (valid for something like twenty days or a month or something) from the Turkish consulate in Rotterdam. I had to pay for the visa at the consulate. The process to get it in Rotterdam was pretty quick– I got deported on a Monday (I think), had the visa in my passport by Friday, and flew back to Istanbul three days later–and when I arrived at the airport, they were obviously a bit confused by the situation but called someone on the phone and ultimately stamped my passport and let me pass. (It was horribly nervewracking, but straightforward.) I had already paid the overstay fee when I left Turkey, so I didn’t owe any money– I have heard it’s a much trickier situation if you didn’t pay the fine upon departure.
      Good luck maneuvering all of this, and let me know if you have any other questions.

      Reply
      • Tania
        March 18, 2016 at 11:28 AM

        Wonder if you can help me…16 years ago I was deported from Turkey.. My visa had expired…not been back to Turkey since….my brother is getting married there in July..would I be allowed back in after 16 years?

        Reply
  • Derr
    February 27, 2015 at 10:36 PM

    Hello Katrinka,

    Thanks for this very interesting article!

    I would like to know if you paid the overstay fee at the immigration counter when you stamped your passport or at another office?

    Was the procedure straight forward and quick? Do you happen to know if they accept foreign currencies or only TL?

    Many thanks!

    Reply
  • goldenrose
    August 27, 2015 at 9:03 PM

    Turkey is the worst country to leave for foreigner. The rules is so complicated and all is about money. If you wanted to leave more than 180 days you have to apply resident permit at least short term permit. Then make appoinment via online however the system always off line. For your info there is no way to do the appoinment by yourself.Eventhough you keep trying everyday the system says offline. what you can do, go to 1 agent office nearby goc office which is 40 tl to do the appointment. After you get the appoinment wait and another problem you will face to open the account approve you have money to stay in turkey. Before you go to bank you have to go tax office get the tax number in order to open the account.

    Reply
  • Marios
    April 6, 2016 at 9:45 AM

    Hey guys my residence expires today and i left turkey on monday night the 4th. I applied for a evisa and got accepted does anybody know if there would be a problem going back into next day???marios

    Reply
  • Rij
    May 5, 2016 at 11:14 AM

    Hi Katrinka, I came across your post because I was searching about this issue. I was wondering if you remember the process of paying the fine at the airport when you first left for Amsterdam. Was it basically when you’re going through passport control and they noticed that you “overstayed,” on the spot you had to pay the fine right there?

    Reply
  • Caroline
    October 15, 2016 at 2:21 PM

    Katrinka,
    Boy it seems like a ‘hell’ you went through! Very sorry.. Just glad you’re where you need to be..

    My fiance is a permanent resident here in the US, but Norwegian citizen. He tried to fly out of Istanbul a few days ago when he was told his Visa expired. They now want a lot of money and I don’t know if he can fly out without paying the fee. We don’t have the money and I’m so scared for him! Do you know if he can fly out and just be banned from entering Turkey without having to pay administrative fee? Any help you could give would so deeply appreciate….

    Reply
  • Victor
    August 20, 2017 at 11:48 AM

    Your story was a sad one but am happy at the way the whole thing ended. I recently was a victim of deportation on August 2017. I never knew that I was having a fraudulent visa. The police detected It and was I taken to a room similar to the one you described. I was searched, checked d amount I was having which were all documented. They never saw any implicating item on me. And in about 10 hours time I was taken back to the plane which took me back to my country. It was like a dream, but I was deported. I felt like the whole world had gone against me. I had a schengen visa. I really need u to help me cos I want to go back to Istanbul. I need your advice. I love Istanbul. If there is any how I can go back Pls I need your quit response. Thanks

    Reply
  • Afroza
    July 19, 2018 at 10:09 AM

    Hello.
    I’m in a stress this time as i was fined at airport around 400 TL while leaving.I had applied for the residence permit my appointment was on 29 May2018 but I had to leave on 14 April 2018 back to home and I was said I can’t leave the country before appointment. So I waited till I attended the appointment and received an SMS on 7 June that the result was negative.so on 8 June I left and I was fined but they didn’t mention me about the ban or my passport wasn’t stamped for ban.I also told them that I had applied for residence permit and just yesterday I got the result but unfortunately they don’t understand english and I also didn’t like to say much .
    So i am not sure if I’m banned or what.

    Reply

Leave a Reply