Why are European countries tightening their visa policies?
The reasons behind European countries tightening their visa policies for Turkish citizens are rooted in the immigrant population in Turkey and the processes for granting citizenship. A high-level European diplomat stated that security concerns and rising demands for permanent migration have made visa processes more rigorous.
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The difficulties Turkish citizens have recently faced when obtaining visas from European countries remain a prominent topic. A high-level European diplomat who spoke on the matter discussed the issue with journalist Fatih Altaylı and explained in detail why visa policies have been tightened.
According to the diplomat, one of the primary reasons European countries are acting more rigorously in visa processes for Turkish citizens is the immigrant population in Turkey and the citizenship granted to a portion of this population. The official stated that it is known that Turkey does not apply a sufficiently strict procedure in its citizenship-granting processes, and added the following:
“Citizenship has been granted to some of the immigrants in Turkey, but we do not have reliable information regarding the details of these processes. This situation makes it necessary to conduct deeper security investigations for visa applications. This creates a heavy workload for our visa offices. Even the slightest security suspicion can lead to a visa rejection.”
The European diplomat also raised the claim that Turkey has become a hub of attraction for international criminals. In addition, it was emphasized that the political and economic environment in Turkey has increased the desire of citizens to permanently migrate to European countries.
“It is known that many international criminals are settled in Turkey. Furthermore, the increase in the number of Turkish citizens who want to settle in Europe permanently must also be taken into account. This makes visa processes much more difficult than they used to be,” the diplomat said.
Finally, the diplomat stated that the root cause of the visa problems faced by Turkish citizens lies not with European countries, but with the current government policies in Turkey.
“TURKISH CITIZENS SHOULD ASK THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT, NOT US, ABOUT THE REASON FOR VISA PROBLEMS.”
These statements reveal that visa processes are not only a bureaucratic issue but are also influenced by Turkey's domestic policies. The tightening of visa policies by European countries is drawing significant backlash from Turkish citizens.