Transit visa to Istanbul turkey

Question

I have a trip to Sofia Bulgaria and I have a lay over to Istanbul turkey do I need a transit visa,and my aircraft is pegasus airline. I'm a Filipino citizen and self transfer

Answer 1

do I need a transit visa?

Yes. You would only be eligible to transit without a visa in the following circumstances:

Passengers transiting through Ankara (ESB), Antalya (AYT), Istanbul: Metropolitan Area (IST) and Sabiha Gokcen (SAW), or Izmir (ADB) with a confirmed onward ticket for a flight to a third country within 24 hours. They must stay in the international transit area of the airport and have documents required for the next destination.

TWOV in Antalya (AYT) does not apply when transiting between terminals 1 and 2.

You can check travel document requirements for your trip here. See also (Do I always need to go through immigration if I have a self-transfer?) regarding the risks inherent in a self-connection.

Answer 2

You definitely SHOULD get a transfer Visa. Technically you may not be required to have one but since this is a self-transfer, the first airline you fly with has no obligation to make that determination.

As far as they are concerned you are flying to Turkey and what you do there is none of their business. As such, they have to verify that you have sufficient credentials to enter Turkey otherwise they will deny you boarding.

As a courtesy they may look at your total itinerary and determine, that, indeed, no transfer Visa is required, but that this is totally up to the discretion (and skill level) of the check in agent.

So you may be all right, if you manage to get to a Turkish immigration desk, but the main hurdle here is check-in with the first airline and that feels like too big of a risk take.