Do Ukrainian passport holders need a visa for Turkey?

By Aarush Chopra · Travel Writer, Tripmojo · Updated August 31, 2026 · Reviewed by Simran Raheja

No. Ukrainian passport holders are exempt from visas for travel of up to 90 days, and the Turkish foreign ministry adds something almost no other nationality has: Ukrainians may use a valid biometric identity card instead of a passport. It is written for direct travel from Ukraine, which since the closure of Ukrainian airspace means a land or sea crossing rather than a flight, so most journeys still need the passport.

Quick facts

Visa-free

Visa required: No
Maximum stay: 90 days
Passport types covered: Ordinary, diplomatic, official and service
Biometric identity card accepted: Yes, for direct travel from Ukraine, so land or sea
Travelling via a third country: Carry the passport
Passport validity if you use one: Duration of stay plus 60 days

Entry requirements

A Ukrainian passport of any type, or a valid biometric identity card if the journey is a direct one from Ukraine to Türkiye.
No visa. The ministry exempts ordinary passport holders, and separately diplomatic and official or service passport holders, for travel of up to 90 days.
If you travel on a passport, validity of at least 60 days beyond the duration of stay, which the ministry works out as 150 days for a 90-day stay.

Two documents work, and only one of them works everywhere

The Turkish foreign ministry states that Ukrainian nationals holding diplomatic and official or service passports are exempt from visas for travel of up to 90 days, and that ordinary passport holders are exempt for the same period. There is nothing to apply for and no fee.

It then adds a separate sentence: Ukrainian nationals may use their valid biometric identity cards for their direct travels from Ukraine to Türkiye. Only a handful of entries on the whole page mention an identity card at all, and this one attaches a condition about the journey rather than about the traveller.

Passport validity is set by statute. Article 7.1b of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection, no. 6458, requires a travel document valid for at least 60 days beyond the duration of stay of the visa, e-Visa, visa exemption or residence permit. The ministry’s worked example is that a 90-day duration of stay needs 150 days of validity at entry.

Good to know

The identity card allowance is written about the journey, not about you, and that is the part worth reading twice. The ministry says Ukrainian nationals may use their valid biometric identity cards for their direct travels from Ukraine to Türkiye. It matters more than it looks, because Ukrainian airspace has been closed to civil aviation since February 2022. There are no direct flights to take. Most journeys now begin with a land crossing into Poland, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia or Hungary and a flight from there, and that is not a direct travel from Ukraine in the sense the sentence describes. The transit country also applies its own rules to whatever document you are carrying, and an airline checking you in outside Ukraine will be looking for a passport. Read the identity card allowance as covering a direct land or sea crossing, and take the passport for anything routed through a third country.
Ukraine’s entry is worded without the 180-day window that its neighbours on the same page carry. The ministry gives Ukrainians exemption for travel of up to 90 days and stops there, while the entries for the Netherlands, Poland and Saudi Arabia all specify 90 days in any 180-day period. Two of the other three identity card entries, Romania and Bulgaria, also name the window. It would be a mistake to read the silence as a fresh 90 days on every arrival: the ministry drafts these entries inconsistently, and the safe assumption for repeat visits is that the shorter reading applies until you have confirmed otherwise with a Turkish mission.
The ministry’s own page carries entries that have visibly expired, which is the reason to check yours close to departure. Norway’s entry still describes an identity card allowance as running until 31 December 2022, a date more than three years in the past, and it is still published. That is not a reason to distrust the Ukrainian entry, which is written without an end date, but it is a demonstration that this page is not comprehensively maintained. Anything you are relying on should be read again in the week you fly rather than remembered from a previous trip.
Two Turkish rules are easy to conflate and only one of them concerns the passport. The 90 days is your permitted stay. The 60 days is an addition to it, required of the travel document itself, so a passport needs 150 days of validity at entry for a 90-day exemption. The exemption list published alongside that article on this page names two groups, holders of diplomatic and official passports, and citizens of countries who may enter Türkiye on a national identity card under the Council of Europe agreement on the movement of persons. Ukraine’s identity card arrangement is described in its own entry rather than under that agreement, so a Ukrainian travelling on a passport should meet the sum in the ordinary way.

Frequently asked questions

Do Ukrainian citizens need a visa for Türkiye?

No. The Turkish foreign ministry exempts Ukrainian ordinary passport holders, and separately diplomatic and official or service passport holders, for travel of up to 90 days.

Can Ukrainians travel to Türkiye on an identity card?

Yes, on a valid biometric identity card, and the ministry frames it for direct travel from Ukraine to Türkiye. With Ukrainian airspace closed to civil aviation there are no direct flights, so in practice that means a land or sea crossing. A journey connecting through a third country is outside the wording.

What if my flight connects somewhere on the way?

Carry the passport. The identity card allowance is written for a direct journey, and the country you connect in applies its own rules to the document you are travelling on.

How much passport validity does Türkiye require?

The duration of stay plus 60 days. For a 90-day exemption that is 150 days of validity at the time of entry, which is the ministry’s own worked example.

Is the 90 days counted within a 180-day window?

The Ukrainian entry does not say, while several other entries on the same page specify 90 days in any 180-day period. Treat repeat visits conservatively and confirm with a Turkish mission before relying on a fresh allowance.

Does the exemption cover working in Türkiye?

No. A visa exemption for travel does not carry a right to work, which requires its own permission under Turkish law.

Other passports for Turkey

Other destinations for Ukraine passport holders

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against the official sources below on 31 August 2026.

Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "Visa Information For Foreigners", Ukraine entry: "Ukrainian nationals holding diplomatic and official/service passport are exempted from visa for their travels up to 90 days. Ordinary passport holders are exempted from visa for their travels up to 90 days. Ukrainian nationals may use their valid biometric identity cards for their direct travels from Ukraine to Türkiye." Read 2026-08-31. https://www.mfa.gov.tr/visa-information-for-foreigners.en.mfa
Same page, the only other entries mentioning an identity card. Bulgaria: "Identity card and ordinary passport holders are exempt from visa for their travels up to 90 days in any 180-day period." Romania: "Identity card holder Romania citizens are exempted from visa for their travels with touristic purposes up to 90 days within any 180-day period." Norway: Norwegian citizens travelling to Türkiye from Norway for touristic purposes are exempt "by using their national identity cards with chips instead of their passports until 31 December 2022", a date still published on the live page. Read 2026-08-31. https://www.mfa.gov.tr/visa-information-for-foreigners.en.mfa
Same page, "Passport Validity Requirements While Entering Türkiye in Accordance with Law on Foreigners and International Protection": under article 7.1b of Law no. 6458, a traveller should carry a travel document with an expiration date at least 60 days beyond the duration of stay of their visa, e-Visa, visa exemption or residence permit; the worked examples are 90 days of stay plus 60 equals 150 days of validity, and 30 days plus 60 equals 90. Exempted from the article are citizens of countries allowed to enter on a national identity card under the European Agreement on Regulations governing the Movement of Persons between Member States of the Council of Europe, and holders of diplomatic and official passports. Read 2026-08-31. https://www.mfa.gov.tr/visa-information-for-foreigners.en.mfa

Entry rules change without notice and the official source is always the authority. Confirm with the embassy or immigration portal before you book.

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