Balgarianovinite.com Greece’s fast-track visa scheme for Turkish citizens visiting Aegean islands has become a successful tool for boosting tourism and supporting local economies, the Burgas Chamber of Commerce and Industry said on Wednesday.
Known in Turkiye as “kapi vizesi” (visa at the border), the programme has been operating since April 2024 and allows Turkish visitors to travel to 12 Greek islands without a pre-issued Schengen visa. The permit allows stays of up to seven days and applies only to participating islands.
The Burgas Chamber said the scheme had become a popular option for short-term travel between Turkiye and Greece and suggested that a similar approach could help attract more tourists to Bulgaria’s Black Sea coast, given its success in Greece.
According to data from Greek Central Bank, Greece welcomed around 1.5 million Turkish tourists in 2025, up from about 1.2 million in 2024, with many trips made possible through the simplified visa procedure. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has described the initiative as a success, with both countries expressing interest in continuing it. Tourism representatives on islands such as Samos have also credited Turkish visitors with contributing significantly to the local economy. Burgas Chamber of Commerce Highlights Success of Greece’s Fast-Track Visa Programme for Turkish Citizens 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-08-05 12:54:56 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law