Job Discussion Forums

[JRCash]

My parents are visiting me here in Turkey. First time since I started my job here.

My Dad has completed both their e-visa applications and has both of them printed off. When they asked for mother's name and father's name of the applicants they just put the surnames (maiden, in the case of the mothers) which would be normal back home. They have since realised, as my uncle is also coming, that they should have put the full, current, name of the father and of the mother. However, on the online form it say it is optional to put father's and mother's names.

I phoned the e-visa phoneline and they said as long as the passports don't mention the parents' names then there isn't a problem. They have checked and their passports don't make any official mention of anyone other than the passport holder. The only mention is where they themselves (my mother and father) have written in the details of their mothers as emergency contacts (it has a line which says what is the person's relationship to you, which they have written mother, but this is just their writing, nothing official). Does anybody know if this is an important mistake and whether they should buy new ones or is it safe enough?

[nichtta]

First of all, congratulations on the new job and welcome to Turkey! I don't know if you're new or have been here for a while, and your parents are just visiting now.

As for the e-visas, of course, you can always err on the side of caution, and there's nothing wrong with that, especially if spending another $25 is easy for them.

However, I personally wouldn't because the customs and border protection officials are extremely lax. They will scan their passports, give them a quick look and confirm its the identity of those standing in front of them, look quickly at the visa papers, stamp their passports with entrance stamps, then perhaps smile and say maybe a word or two of English, if any. The whole process, as you probably remember, takes less than a minute, and little care is given to details. I highly, highly doubt any of the CBP officers will look at their emergency contact information.

Now, if they were planning on staying long-term and getting a residence permit, then I would suggest investing the extra $25 just to be on the safe side. Even then, I don't think authorities refer to the actual e-visa and the information listed on it, but I might have forgotten. As for a visit that's not longer than 90 days within a 180-day period, I don't think it's necessary at all.

That's just my view, but I'm not an expert. As you probably have figured out by now, things in Turkey change quickly and dramatically. I hope your folks make the best decision and it's a smooth and easy arrival!

[JRCash]

Thanks. I rang the consulate again and they said that if its optional then they didn't need to enter it anyway. They said as long as the visa information and the passport information match then they can use the visas. They checked the passports and the emergency information just states the name and contact details of the people, not who they are, so they could simply be any relative or even friend.

The only possibility of the officer even seeing the father and mother names are if they scan the barcode on the visas and it popped up on a computer screen. It would look odd as there would only be surnames. However, from what you're saying, we're getting into the realms of fantasy here.