Italy cancels visa appointments for Turks: DMM statement says Erdoğan claims are manipulation

Italy canceled the visa appointments of approximately 5,000 Turks, causing an outcry among agencies and citizens.

iData stated that the cancellations were due to incorrect category selection, while the Italian Consulate General in Istanbul attributed the issue to a system error.

The Center for Combating Disinformation announced that claims stating "Erdoğan requested visa facilitation, Italy canceled the visa appointments of 5,000 Turks" are entirely manipulation.

REASON: CATEGORY MISMATCH

iDATA, which handles visa applications for the Italian Consulate, cited a mismatch between the application type and the documents submitted as the reason for the cancellations.

It is alleged that some applicants accidentally selected the "business" or "family visit" category instead of "touristic." However, agencies find this justification unfair. Industry representatives argued that even experienced firms that have been processing visas for years were affected by the same issue and that the process was not transparent.

"SYSTEM IS UNPREPARED"

With the holiday period in May, a surge in travel demand to Schengen countries was expected. However, agencies stated that despite the high demand, the system was unprepared and hundreds of people were victimized. The cancellation of appointments that had already been paid for caused both time and financial losses for travelers.

Another claim echoing in the sector is that some individuals were notified of the cancellations in advance. It was alleged that the system only opened appointments on the Italian or English interface, while this option was not visible on the Turkish interface. This situation led to criticisms that certain groups were given an advantage and that the right to apply was not distributed equally.

iDATA: INCORRECT PURPOSE OF TRAVEL MARKED

iDATA issued a brief statement regarding the matter, noting that appointments made with the incorrect purpose of travel were canceled and that applicants should reapply under the correct category. However, this explanation satisfied neither the agencies nor the travelers. Disruptions in refund processes and clogged communication channels have increased complaints.

Industry representatives called on authorities, stating, "This uncertainty harms both tourism and Turkey-Italy relations."

STATEMENT FROM THE CONSULATE GENERAL

In a statement made on the X account of the Italian Consulate General in Istanbul regarding the issue, it was said:

"Due to some technical problems in the system, a limited number of appointments have been canceled as a precautionary measure. iData will contact the relevant users to create new appointments."

DMM: ERDOĞAN CLAIMS ARE MANIPULATION

In a statement made by the Center for Combating Disinformation (DMM), it was stated that the claims that "Erdoğan requested visa facilitation, Italy canceled the visa appointments of 5,000 Turks" are manipulation. The statement said:

"The claim, which appeared in some media outlets and was shared on social media accounts, that 'Erdoğan requested visa facilitation, Italy canceled the visa appointments of 5,000 Turks' is manipulation. The Italian Consulate General in Istanbul has announced that a technical failure occurred in the visa appointment system and that the authorized institution canceled some appointments as a precautionary measure in this context.

Contrary to what is claimed, the cancellation of visa applications has nothing to do with the statements made by our President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, during his visit to Italy. Do not give credence to baseless claims."

News Source: 12punto