Romanian citizens can now travel to Türkiye for tourism and transit using just their national ID cards, as Türkiye has lifted visa requirements for Romanians. The decision follows a decree signed by Recep Tayyip Erdogan during Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu's visit to Türkiye. It is expected to take effect from the beginning of next month, once the technical changes related to the new rules are implemented.
As of March 31 this year, Romania has partially joined the EU's Schengen Zone, with air and sea borders included, while land border controls remain in place. Last month, the Romanian government approved the start of negotiations with Türkiye for a new agreement based on the Schengen acquis concerning visas.
Despite Türkiye's decision to abolish visas for Romanian travelers, Turkish citizens still need to apply for a visa to visit Romania. Data from the European Commission for 2023 shows that Türkiye had the second highest number of Schengen visa applications, totaling 1,055,885. Of these, 867,646 visas were issued to Turkish nationals, while 13,611 were denied.
According to the European Commission, Schengen countries received over 10.3 million visa applications last year. Chinese nationals submitted the most applications in 2023, with a total of 1,117,365. European Commission statistics indicate that the top five countries with the highest number of Schengen visa applications are:
1. China (1,117,365)
2. Türkiye (1,055,885)
3. India (966,687)
4. Morocco (591,401)
5. Russia (520,387)
The same data shows that Turkish nationals applied for Schengen visas primarily in the following countries:
1. Greece (254,377)
2. Germany (253,462)
3. France (140,104)
4. Italy (125,428)
5. Netherlands (93,870)
6. Spain (34,278)
The European Commission's figures also reveal that in 2022, Türkiye ranked first in Schengen visa applications, with a total of 778,409 applications submitted to Schengen countries.