Travel visa

As part of preparations for the prospective lifting of visa regulations for Turks traveling to the EU's Schengen countries, starting from late 2016, Turkey is expected to renew both its official identity cards and passports.

Turkish businessmen have experienced a range of hardships since the outbreak of the crisis with Russia, triggered by the downing of a Russian jet by Turkish F-16's on Nov. 24 - including arrest, transportation to Russian internment camps and deportation.

A senior government official has signaled a change in Turkey's long-standing visa policy that envisages the removal of visas with as many countries as possible in a bid to align with the EU's policy, as part of ongoing talks over visa liberalization for Turkish citizens starting from late 2016. 

British Prime Minister David Cameron is due to visit Bulgaria on December 3, government sources cited by website Dnevnik.bg have said.

Cameron is to arrive on Thursday afternoon and visit the Bulgaria-Turkey border, according to the sources, but more details are yet to be disclosed.

Turkey is to get some EUR 3 B in funding, visa liberalization with the EU, and the prospect of having membership talks renewed, EU and Turkish leaders have decided at a Sunday summit.

In return, Ankara will have to stem the flow of migrants trying to cross from its borders into neighboring Southeastern European countries.

Russia said on Nov. 27 it would suspend its visa-free regime for Turkish nationals from Jan. 1 as it retaliates against Ankara for the downing of a Russian warplane.

A group of 60 businessmen attending a business fair in Krasnodar were detained by Russian authorities, as Hurriyet newspaper reports.,

Russian authorities detained them because they attended the business fair on tourist visas.

Bulgaria's Tourism Minister Nikolina Angelkova promised to facilitate the procedure on the issuing of visas to Turkish citizens.

Angelkova hopes that the facilitated visa procedure for Turkish tourists will compensate the decrease in the number of Russian visitors to the country.

EU leaders approved on Oct. 15 an action plan with Turkey to help stem the flood of migrants in return for concessions from Brussels, including easier visa access.

The implementation of readmission and visa liberalization agreements will be executed in a simultaneous way, the Turkish prime minister has stated, offering the European Union to set the execution date for mid-2016 instead of the end of 2017.