Turkish visa applications on the up

Akbuk, Turkey - a popular destination with foreigners Photo: e-basak

Turkish visa applications are rising rapidly, as a growing number of people from overseas visit the country, with many planning to stay permanently.

6.1 million people used Turkey's online visa application in 2014, according to the Turkish foriegn ministry. The millions werer made up of both tourists and business, both eager to take advantage of the electronic system that was launched in 2013.

Up to 10,000 weekly requests were being logged by Turkey at one point last year. Applications were primarily driven by Brits, followed by visitors from the Netherlands, Iraq and Belgium, which highlights how broad Turkey's appeal has grown in the wake of its decision to open up real estate investment to a wider number of countries.

Indeed, many tourists who visit choose to make a move to Turkey permanently, according to agents.

Aydin, for example, is the third most popular real estate destination for foreigners according to data from the first 10 months of 2014.

Osman ÇoÅŸkun, the President of Didim Real Estate Advisors Association, told Anadolu Agency that many are tourists who have previously visited on vacation, only to be won over by the "warm disposition of the locals", as well as natural beauty.

Budgets range dramatically, from TL 70,000 to TL 500,000, but the affordable prices have seen buyers snap up units before construction has even begun. Since 2000, 15,000 homes in Didim have been sold to foreign buyers, 70 per cent of them coming from britain.

"Apart from the Europeans, people coming from Middle Eastern countries have begun to buy acquire property in KuÅŸadası," Müslüm Yıldırım, President of KuÅŸadası Real Estate Advisors Beneficial Association, tells the Daily Sabah.