Turkey will allow Australian citizens to enter the country without a visa starting Friday under a unilateral decision aimed at boosting tourism, just days before the April 25 Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli.

According to a decree published in the Official Gazette on Friday and signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, holders of ordinary Australian passports will be permitted to travel to Turkey visa-free for tourism and transit for up to 90 days within any 180-day period.

The decision is not reciprocal. Visas will continue to be required for Turkish citizens seeking to travel to Australia.

Turkish passport holders are not eligible for Australia’s Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), a streamlined online permit available to citizens of several countries, including the United States, Japan, South Korea and most European Union members.

Turkish citizens seeking to visit Australia must apply for a Visitor visa, subclass 600, which generally carries a base application fee of around AUD 200 and is typically processed in about 20 to 33 days for tourist applications, according to Australia’s Department of Home Affairs.

The decree was issued a week before Anzac Day, when thousands of Australians and New Zealanders travel to Turkey each year to attend the Dawn Service at the Anzac Commemorative Site on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

The service marks the 111th anniversary of the 1915 landing of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I, a campaign that holds deep significance in Australia, New Zealand and Turkey.

Australia has become an increasingly important tourism market for Turkey, with visitor numbers nearly doubling since before the coronavirus pandemic.

Data from Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Ministry show that 205,874 Australian tourists visited Turkey in 2024, up from 192,770 in 2023 and about 120,000 in 2019.

The number rose further to around 219,000 in 2025, a 6.71 percent increase from the previous year.

Far fewer Turkish citizens travel in the opposite direction each year, according to official tourism data.

Turkey and Australia established diplomatic relations in 1967, with the Turkish Embassy in Canberra opening the same year and the Australian Embassy in Ankara opening in 1968.

The relationship draws heavily on the legacy of the Gallipoli campaign and on a Turkish community in Australia of more than 150,000 people.

Turkish Airlines launched direct flights from İstanbul to Melbourne and Sydney in 2024.

Bilateral trade between the two countries stood at around $2.2 billion in 2024, with Turkish exports to Australia valued at about $1.09 billion and imports at $1.14 billion, according to Foreign Ministry figures based on Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data.

Turkey introduced a similar unilateral visa waiver for Chinese citizens in December.

Erdoğan signed a decree lifting visa requirements for Chinese nationals, with the decision taking effect on January 2.

Turkey’s decision to lift visa requirements unilaterally for Chinese citizens sparked criticism on social media, with commentators and activists questioning the lack of reciprocity and raising security concerns.

Turkish journalist Mehmet Ali Önel described the move as a one-sided concession with limited economic benefit, arguing that Chinese tourists tend to spend less than visitors from other countries and warning that the policy could harm Turkey’s tourism sector.

Önel also said the decision carried potential national security risks.