Missionaries will have to leave Turkey every three months and will be forced to remain outside the country for three months before returning, now that the Turkish government has tightened its visa regulations. The new policy, which came into effect on February 1, allows 180-day multiple-entry visas, but visitors can only spend 90 days in the country and then must wait another 90 days to re-enter the country. This will significantly hamper the work of foreign missionaries. Since early February, the Turkish government has expelled a number of missionaries who held resident permits, and other missionaries who have left the country and have tried to re-enter have been turned away at the border under the new visa regulations.
Please pray that these new restrictions will only encourage missionaries rather than discourage them as they rest in the knowledge that no man can thwart God's purposes (Job 42:2). Pray that the gospel will continue to spread and grow in Turkey.
To learn more about the struggles Christians face in Turkey, please visit the Turkey Country Report.
