We spoke to Oktay Üçüncü of Latebreaks Travel Agency in Kaş. He told us that because they are routinely involved in organising trips to the Greek island of Meis (Kastellorizo), they are amongst the first to know of any changes to the law.

They recently received notification of changes to the visa rules, and Oktay told us that he went to the Chief of Police in Kaş to seek confirmation.

Based upon what Oktay has told us, we understand that nationals from 44 countries are impacted by the changes - one of them being the United Kingdom.

Other nationals affected include those from Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Spain. Countries not affected include France, Germany and Italy.

With immediate effect, for those nationals on the list of 44 countries, they will be able to apply for a visa to enter Turkey, giving them a right to stay for up to 90 days, in a 180 day period.

This effectively means you can stay for 3 months, but then you can't return to Turkey for 3 months.

This will impact on many foreigners. Those who have been staying in Turkey on a long term basis, by doing 3 monthly visa runs, now face the prospect of applying for a residency permit (ikamet).

We are advised that multiple visits are permitted, which would provide flexibility for those people who like to come out on holiday more than once a year. The new rules mean you can stay a total of up to 90 days, split into separate visits over a 180 day period - so for example, you could do 30 days in May, another 30 days in July and another 30 days in September, but within 180 days overall from the date of issue of your visa.

We should perhaps also spare a thought for people like Oktay and the ferry boat operators in places like Kaş, who face the prospect of a huge downturn in business, if the popular visa runs become a thing of the past.

We are not sure why this change has been introduced.  Perhaps the Turkish authorities are no longer prepared to let long term foreign residents get away with not having proper residency.  Nor is it clear why some countries are on the list and others not.  Maybe this will come out in due course.

When KTLN picks up news stories like this, we always aim to get confirmation from alternative sources. Please note, we are trying to get this confirmation right now, from a reliable source.  We have spoken to the British Embassy in Turkey, and they are currently seeking clarification.

None of the official Turkish government websites appear to have been updated as we publish this article.

However, as we have no reason to disbelieve the representative from Latebreaks Travel Agency, we assume the law has indeed changed. As soon as we receive independent corroboration, we will let you know.

Registered members of KTLN can find out more about applying for residency, in an article called 'Obtaining Residency', in the Knowledge Bank. Click here to go to the article.