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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Turkey

19th September 2014

The British Visa Application Centre in Istanbul – and Ankara – and five other places in Turkey

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I don’t usually write blogs recommending that you immediately click on a link to go somewhere else. But my recent visit to the new British Visa Application Centre in Istanbul leads me to commend to you the blog written earlier this year by Richard Moore, the British Ambassador in Ankara.

Richard’s blog is an excellent read, highlighting not only the magnificent scenery, creative buzz and fine cuisine of Britain (including many terrific Turkish restaurants); but also the fact that more than 90% of all visa applications from Turkey are successful.  Check it out.

The blog notes that you can now apply for a UK visa from seven different cities in Turkey: Istanbul, Bursa, Ankara, Izmir, Gaziantep, Adana and Antalya.  It also explains the priority visa service, for use if you are in a hurry; the case for applying for a 5- or 10-year multiple entry visa; and where you can go on-line to find data for exactly how quickly all visas are being processed.

The picture above shows the entrance to the visa application centre in Istanbul.  I was impressed when I visited, not only by the cool-looking taxi; but also by the polite and friendly staff; and by the award-winning standard of service they provide.

That service, by the way, includes questionnaires being sent to some visa applicants which invite them to describe the standard of service they received.  If you get one do fill it out – customer feedback is really important to help us give the best service we can.

10 comments on “The British Visa Application Centre in Istanbul – and Ankara – and five other places in Turkey”

  1. I am a Turkish citizen.I have UK visa . I want to go to Guernsey as tourists. Can I go to the Guernsey with UK visa ? Thank you.

  2. URGENTLY NEED A PHONE NUMBER FOR ISTANBUL VISA CENTRE IT IS NOT GIVEN ON THE WEB SITE

  3. hello sir / madam i have invaition from my cusin i like to go london for visit him in feberi or march i need apoitment for intervio at your embassy .can you give me a time to london from iran .iam irainan man have waif and chaild i jast need visa for my self thank you

  5. Turkish National unable to locate UK visa centre in ADANA!
    If it still exists please what are it’s contact details i.e. Address and Telephone Number as well as it’s opening times for December 2015.
    Web site is not any help.

    Thank you

Comments are closed.

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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