No Schengen left, how about a 'yengen' toast instead?

For days, the media has been churning out headlines titled “The visa ordeal of Turkish citizens”… 

The reports feature analyses such as “European countries, which can be traveled to with a Schengen visa, have closed their doors to Turkish citizens once again”!

But my friend, European countries never really opened their doors to Turkish citizens in the first place…

Do a simple Google search. Type ‘Schengen visa crisis’ into the search bar and see what comes up! 

Don't bother, I'll tell you. The first 6-7 pages of search results are filled with dozens of similar news stories from 2024, 2023, and 2022. News about this crisis has been published almost every 3 months!

So, as you can see, the crisis is not new. It has been very difficult to travel to European Union member countries as a Turkish citizen for years. 

In fact, you don't even need to live in Turkey for this. For example, if you are living in a country outside the European Union with any type of visa, you must obtain a Schengen visa with a Turkish Passport to travel to European Union countries. But even if you are in another country, you cannot find an appointment!

Appointments are opened sporadically and closed quickly, meaning it is becoming almost impossible to get one. There are even extra-paid options offered by application centers such as VIP, Premium Lounge, and flexible early-morning appointments, but those are also a disappointment because even if you find an appointment, the rejection rates are very high!”

Last week, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was in Turkey. After his meeting with his counterpart, President Erdoğan said, "We discussed the steps that need to be taken, primarily regarding the Customs Union and visa liberalization.” President Erdoğan has met with European leaders many times regarding visas and free movement. Sometimes he made friendly statements, and other times he showed very harsh reactions. 

President Erdoğan spoke at the 79th General Assembly of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) after winning the May 28 Presidential elections last year. 

There was a visa problem back then as well. In his speech regarding the visa issue, he said, “We will resolve the visa problem, which has been used as political blackmail recently, as soon as possible. We will continue to work with all our might to pave the way for you in every field and to remove obstacles. I want to address our entire business world. The conjuncture in the world may be offering us opportunities. We cannot waste these opportunities on fake agendas. I believe we have gained another 5 years worth their weight in gold.” However, the visa problem has still not been solved since that day. 

Erdoğan called it an artificial agenda, but the Europeans are not acting as if it is artificial at all; they are doing their best not to grant visas. Business people are missing their appointments, and tourists are having to postpone their travel plans. A sanction is being applied, as you know.

Some visa consultants and lawyers I spoke to made an interesting observation on the subject: “The real reason we are not granted visas is not political blackmail or anything like that; it is entirely a security issue,” they say.

Turkey has opened its doors to refugees, primarily from Syria and Afghanistan. Furthermore, Turkish citizenship is granted to any citizen of any country who makes a real estate investment of 400 thousand dollars. Europe sees this as a threat. Husseyin gets a Turkish passport, becomes Hüseyin, and applies for a visa as a T.C. citizen. However, it is difficult to reach the files from his previous country. Thus, European countries, unable to see the past records of the person they are granting a visa to, prevent the entry of individuals whose involvement in terrorism or similar crimes they cannot verify through such deterrent policies.

That is not the only problem, of course.

The number of Turkish citizens applying for asylum in EU countries has reached record levels.

It has emerged that the number of Republic of Turkey citizens applying for asylum in European Union (EU) countries in 2023 increased by 82 percent, reaching a record level of 101 thousand applications. The vast majority of these applications were made after traveling to Europe with a tourist visa.

Do you understand now why Schengen appointments are closed?

The article got a bit long. You must be hungry. Forget about the Schengen-mengen, order yourself a nice mixed 'yengen' toast and satisfy your hunger!