I just got my passport and I want to briefly tell you what kind of process you go through. The passport I got was an Ordinary Passport. You can look at passport types here. What we call an Ordinary Passport is the burgundy-colored passport that people not in officer or diplomat-type situations get for themselves. If you check the link you can learn everything in detail.

Things to know when getting a passport: they ask for 2 biometric photos. You pay according to how many years you’ll get it for. Your fingerprints are taken. And when you go to pick up the passport they ask for the bank receipt for the amount you deposited. Now let me explain each one. For the photo, when you go to a photographer and say I want to have a passport photo taken, they’ll help you. Don’t worry about that one.

When it comes to depositing money, you pay different fees for 1-year, 2-year, 3-year and 4-to-10-year periods. To see the latest pricing you can check this link. As for fingerprints, all your fingers are taken one by one. If you got a driver’s license beforehand, your fingerprints were already taken so there won’t be any issue. You don’t need to give fingerprints.

And if you have a question about where to deposit the money, the page I just gave for the fee list says which banks to use. To avoid lines I went to Türkiye Finans. If you don’t want to wait in line at Ziraat Bank, I recommend heading to less-preferred banks.

Everything is done. What do I need to do? Before applying, you need to take an appointment from e-pasaport. When I asked in Istanbul, the police station told me “we don’t process without an appointment.” For this reason I took an appointment in the city where I was studying — Kütahya — and got my passport there. But apparently for Kütahya you don’t need to take an appointment. Everyone can just come and randomly join the line. The appointment thing seems to be an issue only for big cities from what I understood. To take an appointment let’s take you here.

So you’ve taken your appointment and you have 2 biometric photos, the receipt for the money you deposited at the bank, your TC-numbered ID with you — that means you’re ready to apply. When you go you submit your documents and the procedure goes through. Then they take your fingerprints. Then they ask where the passport should go. For instance I had mine sent to my home, but I’m studying in Kütahya — I asked whether my father can pick it up. They noted that as extra and asked for my father’s TC number. But what happened is that on the date the passport arrived I was home so I picked up the package myself. They send your package by PTT and it arrives in 3 to 7 days.