Turkey passport reforms and demand shift

In early August 2026, Turkish travelers increasingly opted for long‑term passports lasting up to ten years as visa‑entry rules, especially for the Schengen area, required passports to remain valid for a period after travel dates. Higher fees for short‑term passports, annual revaluation costs and the inconvenience of repeated renewals made the longer‑validity option more economical for businesspeople, students and frequent flyers.

The following day, Turkey’s Interior Ministry announced a digital overhaul of the green and grey passport application process. Paper forms, wet signatures and stamps were replaced by electronically signed requests that feed directly into the Central Population Administration System (MERNİS). The reform aims to speed verification, cut processing times, reduce paperwork and minimise errors, applying to both civil‑service and special‑service passports and allowing applicants to complete the entire procedure online. Subsequent implementation eliminated wet seals and handwritten signatures, introduced instant digital verification and shortened processing from days to seconds, while also lowering error risk and improving environmental sustainability.