October 9, 2015
Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Feridun Bilgin stated that citizens living abroad will be able to use their mobile phones without registration for up to 120 days instead of 60 days during their travels to Turkey.
Bilgin, in a statement to an AA correspondent, recalled that Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had given good news to citizens living abroad at a meeting held in Germany regarding the use of mobile phones during their travels to Turkey, and said that the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) had decided to amend the Regulation on the Registration of Devices with Electronic Identity Information.
Stating that the regulation amendment in question would be published in the Official Gazette in a short time, Bilgin expressed that with the change made, the maximum period of 60 days, regulated by the relevant regulation for registering mobile devices brought from abroad with passengers, has been extended to 120 days.
Explaining that the regulation amendment would enter into force after its publication in the Official Gazette, Bilgin said, "Our citizens living abroad could use their mobile phones without registering them for up to 60 days when they come to Turkey. However, our citizens living abroad wanted this period to be extended. With the extension of this period to 120 days, our citizens abroad will now have the opportunity to use their mobile phones without registration for 4 months."
Wishing that this arrangement for millions of citizens living abroad would be beneficial, Bilgin noted that citizens of other countries coming to Turkey as tourists would also benefit from the new regulation and would be able to use their mobile phones without registration for 120 days.
Minister Bilgin added that with the new regulation, the period required for registering mobile phones brought from abroad with passengers has also been extended from 60 days to 120 days.
