In Kapıkule, where expats are concentrated, vehicle exit times have dropped from 2 hours to 39 minutes.

Edirne Police Chief Onur Karaburun noted that in previous years, wait times exceeded two hours, saying, "We've determined that a vehicle leaves Türkiye every 39 minutes. We're in a much better position than in previous years, and we'll continue to do so."

Expatriates living in various European countries, who arrived in their homelands for holidays on June 22nd, are continuing their return journeys. With their holidays over, the expatriates are forming long queues of vehicles at the Kapıkule border crossing from Türkiye to Bulgaria, their last stop before leaving their homeland. Turkish citizens are experiencing both the joy of spending their holidays in Türkiye and the sadness of saying goodbye to their homeland.

VOLUNTEER PERSONNEL FROM 40 PROVINCES

Edirne Provincial Police Chief Onur Karaburun chatted with expat citizens at Kapıkule and inspected the work. Karaburun stated that measures have been taken to expedite the entry and exit procedures for expats. He said, "We identified areas where we previously experienced problems and revamped these areas. We have made significant personnel additions. In Edirne, under the instructions of our Minister of the Interior regarding our expat season and with the support of our Governor, volunteer personnel from 40 provinces have been working at passport control for approximately two months to ensure our expat citizens can more easily process their permits, arrive and depart. They will be working here for another month. This is a significant boost for us."

"WE INCREASED PERSONNEL CAPACITY BY 100 PERCENT"

Karaburun said, "As you know, we have 12 platforms entering Türkiye. By assigning two personnel to each platform, we increased capacity by 100 percent. 24 personnel were able to serve here simultaneously. The same applies to the exit route; we have a nearly 100 percent staff increase. Of course, we also work with our Bulgarian colleagues in our exit procedures based on how quickly they can accept passengers into their country. The faster our Bulgarian colleagues accept passengers, the more exit procedures we can handle. We have more than enough capacity. We are in constant communication with them. We are working in constant communication with our counterparts at the police department, including the Governor, our regional customs director, and ourselves, to ensure they maximize their capacity, especially during peak periods."

'DIFFERENCE WIDES IN TRANSITION TIMES'

Karaburun, noting that in previous years, wait times exceeded two hours, said, "This year, compared to previous years, there's been a noticeable difference in transit speeds. We're very pleased with this. We want our expats to reach their homes and work countries safely as soon as possible. We're working diligently to improve this process even further. Two years ago, when we came here, we observed waits of 12 hours, 14 hours, 16 hours, and even seven hours. We have a waiting area near the mosque, and it was always almost full. Now, there's only one or two days a year where people move outside the customs area, and the areas outside this area are almost always empty."

'A VEHICLE LEAVES IN 39 MINUTES'

Karaburun said, "We've determined that a vehicle exits Türkiye every 39 minutes. We're actually much better than in previous years, and we'll continue to do so. Unless individuals have personal issues with their vehicles or passport control issues that require detailed review, we complete their procedures without any waiting. Last week, our measured time was 39 minutes when the Governor was here. Our goal is to expel our expats even faster. On peak days, this process can take a bit longer, depending on the speed of our Bulgarian colleagues. We're working to reduce this as quickly as possible."

TWO SEPARATE BROCHURES FOR EXPATRIATES

Karaburun explained that they distribute two separate informative brochures for expats entering and exiting Türkiye. "We have one for those entering Turkey, specifically for those entering, that details emergency phone numbers they might need in Türkiye, how to reach us, and how to get information from us. We've also prepared a separate brochure for those leaving. We want them to have at their fingertips our missions in Serbia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria along the way, our foreign representatives, or the hotlines they can reach in case of emergency. We've prepared a small brochure that acts as a guide. We've prepared a brochure to help them more easily contact us and the Turkish authorities there whenever they need help along the way. We've observed and seen that our citizens welcome this. This is a source of great pleasure for us," he said.

'WE DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW THE HOLIDAY WAS'

Zekeriya Şahin, who returned to France after a holiday in Mersin, said, "We spent three weeks in Türkiye, and now our leave is over, and we're heading back. We're sad right now. It feels like the holiday ended so quickly. We didn't realize how it went by. It was so short. It makes you sad, but we have to go back. There's nothing we can do."

'WE DON'T WANT TO GO BUT WE HAVE TO GO'

Yasin Durucan, who returned to Germany after spending his vacation in his hometown of Nevşehir, said, "Our vacation was wonderful. We saw our parents again, visited our family, and went to our village. From there, we toured Cappadocia. We really missed our hometown and family; we fulfilled that longing. We hadn't seen them for about two years. There's a bit of sadness because we're returning, but we left the children in Germany, and we miss them too. We're stuck between two choices. We don't want to go, but we have to. The system at the gate is actually good. Given how busy it is, it's normal to wait this long. We have soldiers, gendarmerie, and police; everything is well organized."

'IT'S BAD TO RETURN'

Güngör Ulusoy, who spent his vacation in Antalya, said, "We came from Antalya and are going to Germany. Our vacation was wonderful. It would have been better if there hadn't been any waiting at the exit, but there's nothing else to do. We had a great time during our vacation, but it's a shame to have to go back; we're sad."

DHA

Reporter: News Center