All the rest on the Turkish resorts from 7 July to 30 September 2012 had the opportunity to visit 5 Greek Islands (Rhodes, Chios, Samos, KOs and Lesbos) without a Schengen visa. This innovation can be used by hikers of any country, legally residing on the territory of Turkey. You only need to buy a ticket for the ferry for any of these Islands, in one of the Turkish ports, Bodrum, Dikili, Foca, Marmaris, Fethiye, Cesme, Ayvalik and Kusadasi) and/or to book a room in a hotel on the Islands. But to do this it is necessary with the help of a travel Agency, which officially provides such services in Turkey.
The principle of visa-free entry into the country is simple. It is necessary not less than days before departure apply to the tourist office the following documents: completed visa application, passport copy and made under Schengen sample one photo. Travel Agency, by scanning all the documents, sends them electronically to the immigration office of Greece. And during the passport control on the Islands vacationer shows the original visa application, passport and pay the fee of EUR 35.
If resting for some reason not presented to the tour operator all these documents before departure, it is possible to obtain permission to stay in Greece upon arrival. For this we need to bring a photo, passport, directly at the border to fill in a visa application and pay the fee.
Have undergone this procedure, travelers can stay in the Greek Islands up to 15 days. In addition, vacationers in Turkey the Russian tourists have the opportunity to apply for a free visa, which allows you to stay on the Islands during the day.
This experimental step the European Union has gone due to the common perception that the Schengen visa is a hindrance to the tourist flow to Greece. And now vacationers have the opportunity without a long visa delay to get acquainted with the unique monuments of five Greek Islands. Remarkably, access to included in the experiment Islands much faster on the ferry from Turkey than by plane from Athens. For example, the crossing of Bodrun on KOs is just a half-hour, and flights from the Greek capital on the same island lasts about an hour.
According to the representative GNTO (Greek national tourism organisation), if the experiment will justify itself, visa-free entry into the country will continue to be.