Do British passport holders need a visa for Turkey?

By Prajjwal Kohli · Travel Content Writer, Tripmojo · Updated August 31, 2026 · Reviewed by Simran Raheja

No, if you hold an ordinary British passport and are going as a tourist: Türkiye exempts you for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Two things trip people up. The passport validity rule is your length of stay plus 60 days, which for a 90-day exemption means 150 days whatever the trip length. And British National (Overseas), British Subject and British Protected Person passports are not covered by the exemption at all.

Quick facts

Visa-free

Visa required: No, for ordinary British passports
Maximum stay: 90 days in any 180-day period
Purpose covered: Touristic travel
Passport validity: Duration of stay plus 60 days, so 150 days for a 90-day visit
BN(O), British Subject, British Protected Person: Visa required
Where those visas are issued: Missions abroad, though the ministry also offers BN(O) an e-Visa

Entry requirements

An ordinary British passport valid for at least 60 days beyond the duration of stay, which the Turkish foreign ministry works out as 150 days of validity for a 90-day stay.
No visa, provided the passport is an ordinary British one and the trip is touristic. The exemption runs to 90 days in any 180-day period.
A visa obtained in advance if the passport is a British National (Overseas), British Subject or British Protected Person document, or a diplomatic or official passport. For BN(O) the ministry names both an online and a mission route, in different places on the same page.

Exempt, but only on one kind of British passport

The Turkish foreign ministry states that British ordinary passport holders travelling for touristic purposes are exempt from visas for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. That is the standard European arrangement and it needs nothing arranged in advance.

The exemption is written against the ordinary passport specifically. Diplomatic and official British passport holders are subject to visa. So are holders of British National (Overseas), British Subject and British Protected Person passports. On where those visas come from the ministry does not speak with one voice, and the difference matters: its United Kingdom entry sends all three to Turkish diplomatic or consular missions abroad, while its Hong Kong entry says BN(O) passport holders can obtain a three-month multiple entry e-Visa online.

Passport validity is set by statute rather than by convention. 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 gives its own worked examples: a 90-day duration of stay needs 150 days of validity at entry, and a 30-day one needs 90 days.

Good to know

The validity rule is a sum rather than a round number, and that is why the usual rules of thumb fail here. Türkiye asks for the duration of stay plus 60 days. A British visitor relying on the 90-day exemption therefore needs 150 days of passport validity at the moment of entry, not three months and not six. The ministry publishes the arithmetic itself: 90 plus 60 for a 90-day stay, 30 plus 60 for a 30-day one. Note what the sum is measured against, which is the duration of stay of the exemption rather than the length of your trip, so a long weekend does not reduce the number. Two categories are excused from the article, citizens of countries who may enter Türkiye on a national identity card, and holders of diplomatic and official passports. A British ordinary passport is neither, partly because the United Kingdom does not issue a national identity card that can be travelled on.
Three British nationality classes are outside the exemption, and on one of them the ministry contradicts itself. British National (Overseas), British Subject and British Protected Person passports are all subject to visa. Its United Kingdom entry says these holders can only get their visas from Turkish diplomatic or consular missions abroad. Its Hong Kong entry, on the same page, says Hong Kong citizens holding a British National (Overseas) passport are subject to visa and can obtain three-month multiple entry e-Visas through the website. Those two statements cannot both be the whole rule, and the online one is much the cheaper thing to test, so a BN(O) holder should try the e-Visa site before booking an appointment. No comparable statement exists anywhere on the page for British Subject or British Protected Person passports, so the mission route stands for those. The same Hong Kong entry sends holders of the Document of Identity for Visa Purposes to a mission as well.
The exemption is described as covering touristic travel, which is narrower than it first sounds. The ministry words the British entry as ordinary passport holders who travel for touristic purposes being exempt. Some other countries on the same page are described as exempt for travel generally, or for tourism and transit together. That is worth noticing if the trip is not a holiday: paid work, study and journalism are usually outside a tourist exemption wherever you are, and the wording here does not stretch to cover them.
The 90 days are counted against a rolling 180-day window rather than reset by leaving. The exemption is 90 days in any 180-day period, which is the same shape as the Schengen rule and behaves the same way: a stay in the spring is still on the clock in the summer. Someone with a house in Türkiye who visits repeatedly is the person most likely to be caught, because nothing at the border announces the running total. It is a separate clock from the Schengen one: Türkiye is not in the Schengen Area, so days spent there do not consume a Schengen allowance and Schengen days do not consume this one.

Frequently asked questions

Do British citizens need a visa for Türkiye?

No. The Turkish foreign ministry exempts ordinary British passport holders travelling for touristic purposes for up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

How much passport validity does Türkiye require?

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

Do BN(O) passport holders need a visa for Türkiye?

Yes, all three are subject to visa. On where to apply the ministry gives two answers: its United Kingdom entry says Turkish missions abroad, while its Hong Kong entry says BN(O) holders can obtain a three-month multiple entry e-Visa online.

Can a BN(O) holder use the Turkish e-Visa website?

The ministry’s Hong Kong entry says yes, for a three-month multiple entry e-Visa, while its United Kingdom entry points to missions abroad. Trying the website first costs nothing and is the faster route if it works.

Do British official or diplomatic passport holders need a visa?

Yes. The ministry states that diplomatic and official British passport holders are subject to visa, while ordinary passport holders are not.

How are the 90 days counted?

Against any 180-day period, so the allowance is a rolling window rather than something that resets when you leave and come back.

Other passports for Turkey

Other destinations for United Kingdom 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", United Kingdom entry: "Diplomatic and official passport holders are subject to visa. Ordinary passport holders who travel for touristic purposes are exempt from visas for up to 90 days in any 180 day period. UK passports holders with “British National Overseas”, “British Subject” and “British Protected Person” nationality are subjected to visa and they can only get their visas from the Turkish diplomatic or consular missions abroad." Read 2026-08-31. https://www.mfa.gov.tr/visa-information-for-foreigners.en.mfa
Same page, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of PRC entry, which contradicts the United Kingdom entry on where a BN(O) visa is obtained: "Hong Kong citizens who have 'British National Overseas Passport' are subject to visa and they can obtain their three month period multiple entry e-Visas via the website www.evisa.gov.tr. Holders of 'Document of Identity for Visa Purposes-Hong Kong (D.I)' must get their visas from the Turkish diplomatic or consular missions abroad." 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, foreigners wishing to enter Türkiye 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 ministry’s worked examples are 90 days of stay plus 60 equals 150 days of validity, and 30 days of stay plus 60 equals 90 days. Exempted from the article are citizens of countries allowed to enter Türkiye 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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