CURRENT RESTRICTIONS WITHIN TURKEY
Local Restrictions
20 - 28 June - Limited lockdown in effect for the next two weekends.
On June 20
and 27 there will be lockdown from 9:30 am to 3 pm. On June 28 the lockdown
will occur from 9 am to 6 pm. During the lockdown, bakeries, markets,
grocery stores, and butchers will remain open. Workplaces that carry out
activities related to the production, transportation and sales of medicines,
medical devices, medical masks, and disinfectants will also remain open along
with animal shelters, hotels, fuel stations, logistics companies and intercity
public transports.(Source: Anadolu Agency https://bit.ly/30XsT72)
Past Restrictions
1 June - Turkey lifts nearly all restrictions as outbreak subsides. Restaurants, cafes, patisseries, cafes, tea gardens, swimming pools, parks and a variety of other places will open today, June 1, while the last inter-city travel curbs have been removed as Turkey enters the phase of “new normal” amid the coronavirus outbreak. Excluded for now are places of entertainment. Some restrictions will remain in place on the movements of those aged over 65 and under 18. Children under age 18 can go out on Wednesdays and Fridays between 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Children under the age of 18 would be allowed to travel in and between cities with their parents. Permits are no longer be required for inter-city public transportation vehicles. (Source: Hürriyet Daily https://bit.ly/36OCWMF)
23-26 May - Turkey will impose a 4-day nationwide lockdown over the Eid al-Fitr holiday between as part of measures taken against the coronavirus pandemic. Travel restrictions will be extended across 15 of Turkey's provinces for 15 days.
11 May - Izmir remains restricted and will be under a 4-day partial curfew beginning Friday midnight (15 May). People over 65 years will be allowed to leave their homes, remaining within walking distance and wearing masks, on May 17 between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time. Children under 14 years will be allowed out on May 20 and 22
during the same hours, also within walking distance and wearing masks. (Source Anadolu Agency https://bit.ly/2Ac2LKj)
5 May - President Erdoğan announces first steps toward coronavirus easing restrictions. While travel restrictions are lifted for 7 cities across the country, Izmir is expected to be restricted for two more weeks. Turkey will reopen barber shops, hairdressers, beauty salons, and some shopping malls starting May 11. People over age 65 will be allowed to go outside for four hours a day on May 10. On May 13, children up to age 14 will be able to go out within walking distance of their houses from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m., and people age 15-20 will be able to go out on May 15 under the same conditions. Barbershops, hairdressers, and beauty salons will open May 11. (Source: Anadolu Agency https://bit.ly/2L0NZs6)
1-3 May - Country-wide curfew starting on the Labor Day holiday (Friday) and ending midnight on Sunday, 3 May. Unless people are on official business, all citizens are required to remain indoors at all times unless they are seeking medical care or buying food. Anticipate weekend restrictions to last for the duration of May through to the end of Ramadan.
23-26 April - A phased curfew to be implemented across 31 provinces in Turkey, including Izmir. On 23-24 April, markets and convenience stores will be open to citizens/residents ages 20-65 years old from 0900-1400 (walking only, no personal vehicles will be allowed). These markets and convenience stores are also able to provide home delivery. From the start of Ramadan on 24 April until midnight on 26 April, restaurants will be open for home delivery only, and all citizens/residents will be restricted to their homes.
11-12 & 18-19 Apr 2020 - Izmir will implement a province-wide curfew to last for 48 hours over the weekend. Unless people are on official business, all citizens are required to remain indoors at all times unless they are seeking medical care or buying food.
30 Mar 2020 -
Beaches and other park areas closed to picnics and similar gatherings as well as to joggers. Intercity travel by bus was also banned except in cases of emergency. Travelers by bus are now required to receive permits from their governorate. The government also ordered governorates to set up “pandemic boards”
which will impose additional measures specific to the relevant city to contain the outbreak if needed. At least 12 towns were placed under quarantine. In all cities, police began checking body temperatures of occupants of vehicles arriving to or leaving the city. (source: Daily Sabah https://bit.ly/3dH5tqo)
25 Mar 2020 - Turkey’s Interior Ministry announced new rules
for grocery stores and public transportation to slow the spread of
Coronavirus. These include limiting supermarkets’ operating hours
to between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. and customers to one person per 10 square meters
of floor space. Buses within towns and between cities are only allowed to sell
tickets at half capacity under the decree. (source: Al-Monitor https://bit.ly/3avqqCN)
17 Mar 2020 - Restaurants, cafes, movie theaters, wedding and event venues, and
indoors children’s play areas added to the list of closures due to COVID-19. (source: Anadolu Agency https://bit.ly/2UcmpfF)
16 Mar 2020 - Bars, discotheques and nightclubs across all 81
provinces of Turkey closed as of 10 a.m. as
a precaution against the novel coronavirus. (source: Daily Sabah https://bit.ly/2IT5CsA)
12 Mar 2020 - Starting Mar 16, elementary and secondary schools in Turkey will go on
an early spring break, while universities will be closed
for three weeks to prevent the spread of coronavirus (source: Daily Sabah https://bit.ly/2TOpjZ3)
Flight/Travel Restrictions
11 June - International flights from Turkey resume. Flights resumed on Thursday to several countries, including Germany, Britain and the Netherlands. Passenger entry into the terminals is strictly regulated, with officials checking temperatures at the entrance and only allowing passengers with valid tickets to step inside. (Source: Daily Sabah
https://bit.ly/2Yrurn1)
11 June - Turkey eases border restrictions for travel. Exit, entry to Turkey lifted except land border transits with Iran. Turkish and foreign nationals who enter Turkey will go through health checks. Entries and exits will be in line with measures taken by Interior, Health and Transport ministries. (Source: Anadolu Agency https://bit.ly/2XTZCIA)
4 June - Turkey resumes limited domestic flights. Turkish Airlines and Sun Express, its joint venture with Lufthansa, announced they would restart domestic flights on Thursday, June 4, and international flights in mid-June. (Source: Daily Sabah https://bit.ly/2XTRGGe)
Previous Flight/Travel Restrictions
23 Mar 2020 - Turkey halts flights to 46 more countries over
COVID-19,
bringing the total to 68. The flight ban will include: Angola, Austria, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Czechia, China, Colombia, Djibouti, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Georgia, Hungary, India, Italy, Iraq, Iran, Ireland, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Montenegro, Mongolia, Morocco, Moldova, Mauritania, Nepal, Niger, Norway, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Oman, the Philippines, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Taiwan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, the U.K, Ukraine.
16 Mar 2020 - The health minister Fahrettin Koca said in a news briefing the country would also suspend flights to and from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates. The flights will be stopped as of 8 a.m. local time on March 17.
15 Mar 2020 - Turkey suspended all flights to and from: Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and South Korea. Foreign travelers physically present in these countries in the last 14 days are also barred from entering Turkey. Turkish citizens, including dual citizens, are exempt, but they could be subject to a quarantine requirement.
The Turkish government also closed its land borders with Iran and Iraq, as well as the Dilucu border crossing with Azerbaijan and the Sarp border crossing with Georgia.
Sources: Turkish Ministry of Health (https://hsgm.saglik.gov.tr/tr/bulasici-hastaliklar/2019-n-cov.html), US Embassy
Turkey (https://tr.usembassy.gov/covid-19-information/), New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-travel-restrictions.html)
For the latest restriction information pertaining to specific countries, contact Turkey’s International Embassy Calling Center:
+90 312 292 2929 (operator will connect callers to requested Embassy information offices)