Overseas Departure Fee is a kind of tax that must be paid when leaving the country with a passport of the Republic of Turkey. This tax, also known as the Overseas Departure Stamp , was made compulsory with the provision that ‘Those who depart abroad with the Turkish Republic passport will be charged a fee of 15 TL per exit’, according to Article 1 of the Law No. 5597 published in the Official Gazette dated 23.03.2007 and numbered 26471. As of July 2019, the international fee was increased to 50 TL.
In March 2022, the international exit stamp was 150. The international exit fee has to be collected by all other passport holders, including the green passport. We already use the most expensive passport in the world. Airfares are not cheap either. In fact, the international departure fee, which hinders the right to travel, which is a constitutional right, should be completely abolished. It’s like a ‘tribute’, not the fee we pay when we go abroad.
Is there any other country in the world that asks for money under the name of international exit fee stamp at exorbitant prices just because its citizens are leaving the country? The state collects taxes from you without providing any services here. In other countries, you pay as tax on the ticket you buy abroad.
In Turkey, on the other hand, there is a payment under the name of an irrelevant international departure stamp , as well as the state tax on the plane ticket . When money comes out of our pocket, it should be a service, but there is no service here. We give this money to a piece of paper that will be torn a few steps after passing the passport control.
The 2022 international departure fee of 150 TL is paid to the tax offices, customs accounting offices, fee offices of the Ministry of Finance or authorized banks by obtaining an international departure fee stamp from the sales points located at the exit gates of the airports.
You can buy stamps in someone else’s name or deposit fees in the bank. The receipt given to the bank in return for the fee you deposit by giving your passport number replaces the stamp. If you wish, you can buy more than one mortar stamp and store it as I did.
Sometimes when you are late for the airport, you don’t have to waste time in the queue to get a fee stamp. It’s a good idea to get a few stamps beforehand and keep them in your passport.
You have to pay the international exit fee before the passport control at the airport. The receipt or fee stamp is given to the control police at the exit point along with the passport. A foreign stamp is cut off and given back to you. After the security pass, the passport stamp is no longer valid. But keep it with you until you board the plane anyway.
Where to pay the overseas departure fee
It is purchased at the airport fee stamp counters or from the fee stamp vending machines . Fee stamps are sold at two different counters on the departures floor of Istanbul Airport. At Adnan Menderes Airport, no sales are made at the box office, and you can only buy international stamps from vending machines.
At Sabiha Gökçen Airport, there is a fee stamp sales booth on the departures floor. The fee stamp depositing point in the terminal is located next to the consultant on the international departures floor of the terminal building.
If you have time not to worry at the airport, when you pay the fees to the banks below, the receipt that is given to you replaces the stamp. These receipts you receive from the bank are valid for 1 month. When you give this receipt at passport control, the officer in charge stamps it and returns it to you.
You can buy the international departure fee stamp at the machines at the airport. You can pay by cash or credit card. You first select the payment type on the machine. Then you specify how many mortar stamps you want to buy.
If you are going to pay in cash, you have to enter paper money one by one. After the payment, paper money and foreign fee stamps, if any, are given to you from the compartment under the machine.
If you are going to pay by credit card, choosing the contactless one will make your transaction faster. If your credit card is not suitable for contactless payment, make your payment by entering your password following the instructions. In case of any problem, you can contact the number 0216 5888826.
Paying the international departure fee online
It is now possible to pay the international departure fee online. You can deposit the fee electronically through the ‘Payment of Fees and Valuable Papers’ menu in the ‘Fast Payment’ section of the Interactive Tax Office website www.ivd.gib.gov.tr.
When you make the payment here, you do not need to show a receipt, receipt or stamp to the officer at the exit gates. Control is done electronically. Due to the agreement with the banks, online payments cannot be made between 02:00 and 22:00.
Payment of international exit fee from banks
If you wish, you can pay the departure fee to the following banks. You need your TR Identity number and passport number when depositing the international exit fee. You give the receipt you get from the bank to the officer in charge when you go abroad.
| Ziraat bank | Garanti Bank |
| People’s Bank | Sekerbank |
| Is Bank | Finansbank |
| Building and Credit Bank | Denizbank |
| Akbank | Albaraka Turk Participation |
| Foundations Bank | Türkiye Finans Participation |
If you did not go abroad after paying the departure fee from the bank, or if you paid the fee even though you are under the exemption, you must apply to the relevant tax office for collections with a receipt. In order for the refund to be made, you must present the stamp or receipt.
Overseas Exit Fee Exemption
The fee charged on departure from the airport, customs and other means creates an exemption in some cases and for some citizens. Except for those who are exempt, every citizen with a passport of the Republic of Turkey, including students, has to pay this fee when going abroad.
Likewise, public officials assigned abroad on official duty cannot benefit from the exemption from fees if they do not have the following exemptions.
Those who are exempt from paying the Overseas Departure Fee:
- Those who have a residence permit abroad as of the date of departure,
- Those who have not completed 7 years of age,
- Those who are the crews of land, sea, air and railway public transport and freight transport vehicles traveling abroad for commercial purposes,
- Those who have a ’employee, worker’s family, worker’s child or indefinite residence’ stamp in their passports of those who have a residence permit (They are exempt from fees even without showing their residence documents.)
- For passports that do not have this stamp, those who have the stamp ‘There is a residence and/or work permit abroad between the dates of indefinite/……..’,
- Those who have dual passports and go abroad using the passports of the foreign country of which they are citizens,
- Those who present the Green Card that replaces the residence document,
- Those who exit with passport and similar documents,
- Those who leave the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with an identity document are exempt from paying the international exit fee.
Overseas departure fee is an application that makes life difficult for the public. Who knows how many people counting the seconds to catch the plane missed the plane because they did not have the stamp of this unnecessary tax in their pockets. I hope this ridiculous mortar gets removed.
