A meeting to organize the procedures required in order to start in a reasonable period of time in Lesbos the granting of seven-day entry visas to the country, to Turkish visitors, was held today in Mytilini with the participation of the Secretary General of Public Affairs Manos Logothetis and the Secretary General of Ports of the Ministry. Evangelos Kyriazopoulos Shipping in the presence of the island’s involved bodies.
The authorities of the island want the system to be ready by April 6, when the big Muslim religious holiday of Bayram begins and thousands of visitors from the neighborhood are expected on the island.
However, the Secretary General of Public Order did not want to make a time commitment as, as he said, “some procedures must be completed to be sure that everything will work properly, but definitely in a reasonable period of time to prevent disputed periods of high demand”.
It was decided to strengthen the Schengen data entry units at Mytilini customs, to strengthen the staff and to upgrade the internet connection of the services there. Be that as it may, it will not be possible to issue more than 120-150 new entry permits per day as it is a time-consuming process (estimated 20 minutes for each permit). The meeting was attended by the mayor of Mytilini, the president of the port fund, the president of the Union of Tourist Agents, the Association of Hoteliers and officials of the police, port and customs.
In 2023 there was a record arrival of Turkish visitors to Lesbos, 73.5 thousand people, while the messages this year speak of a further increase. In fact, this increase in demand caused a delay in the process of issuing a normal visa, through our Consulate in Turkey, which has stopped accepting new appointments until May.
The “fast” visa is cheaper for Turkish citizens, it will be issued on the islands and not in Turkey, it will have a duration of 7 days and it will be issued throughout the year.
Let us remind you that from 2012 to 2019, from June to September, the pilot program approved by the European Commission for the rapid issuance of a visa (Schengen Visa) for a short stay of 15 days was implemented in the islands of the Eastern Aegean, namely Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos , Rhodes, Symi and Kastellorizo. The islands of Lemnos, Kalymnos and Leros are also added to the new agreement, while the implementation of this program will start separately on each island where the system is ready to welcome visitors.
The meeting also discussed other issues that need to be improved to relieve visitors from long waits, especially during peak periods. The issue of the other two Entrance Gates of the island, Plomari, where visitors from Smyrna are expected, and Petra, which dynamically enters the connection line with Ayvali, was also raised in the General Public Order.
The two General Secretaries will travel to Chios tomorrow where a corresponding meeting will take place.
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