Question about documenting ownership to enter Turkey with a cell phone
 

I was quite surprised to see what the Turkish Embassy's website in Washington says about cell phones:

>>Note: Cellular Telephones entering the country must be accompanied by a certification form showing ownership. Ownership must be documented in the passport of the owner and will be checked on entry and exit. For more information contact the Ministry of Transportation, General Directorate at Tel: (312) 212 35 72 - 212 60 10 (10 lines), Fax: (312) 221 32 26 or write to Ulastirma Bakanligi Telsiz Gn. Md. Emek - Ankara.<<<

http://www.turkishembassy.org/index....amp;Itemid=130

Does anyone have any experience with this? How does one go about documenting cell phone ownership in a passport? Forgive me if this has been asked previously, I have never heard of such.

I'm going to Turkey in July and would hate to have my cell phone confiscated upon arrival.

Well, just don't go or at least leave the phone at home. It won't work anyway since you have to have the imei # registered and activated.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMEI
Other phones may stop working after a few days.

They are crazy!

http://imei.tk.gov.tr/node/46

Difficult to read, but makes it rather clear that to avoid problems you'd better leave your phone at home. Not many other third world countries have such a policy.

Once you have registered your phone and bought a SIM card from a turkish provider, you can check here, if your phone has been activated to work in Turkey.

http://imei.tk.gov.tr/node/37

Enter your imei and turkish phone number.

Is this something new? I have taken my phone to Turkey several times with no problems. Granted, we only used it once or twice during our trip - but we used it.

My DH went on a golfing trip a year or so ago and actually got a phone call from his office!

Thank you, logos, for the information. I will check it out.

Grcxx3, Thanks for your response. When did you travel to Turkey? I really don't know if this is new or not as I have never traveled to Turkey. I found this information online just tonight and was both surprised and anxious about how to proceed. I doubt I will need to use my phone in Turkey since I can email friends and family from hotels or internet cafes, but I would like to be able to contact family in transit from U.S. airports en route to and from.

Clearly, I have more research to do. Hopefully, Murat will respond to this thread. He always provides accurate and helpful information.

The last time I was there was last March (2007).

But, I have international roaming on my phone, so I don't need to get a SIM card when I go to a different country. Maybe that is the difference.

Yeah this must be new. Someone better tell Rick Steves. He calls home from Turkey all the time.

Bizarre.

Thanks for the replies. I bought a new phone in July 2007; I made sure it was one that I could use internationally. This is SO confusing. This new requirement/restriction must be new.

Paging Rick Steves...

In summer 2006 took my quad band GSM phone with me to Turkey and used it with my AT&T SIM card as well as with a locally purchased SIM. No one ever asked me about a phone when clearing customs. The phone worked fine.

I am by no means a "phone expert" - so, if I am wrong...someone please correct me.

But, having a phone that you can "use" internationally and having "international roaming" are 2 different things.

I have a tri-band phone and I can use it pretty much anywhere. I have a chip (SIM card) that I use when I go the the US in the summers. This SIM card is one that I keep active all year long (so that I have the same phone number each summer).

But when we were vacationing in New Zealand a few years ago, I also got a chip (SIM card) to use while we were there. We had a Vodafone chip put in at the airport and when we returned it our credit card was billed for any calls we made.

I really didn't like the hassle of having to find a place to get a SIM card, so I had my phone service company (we live overseas) put "international roaming" on my phone. So, when I travel, my phone automatically "hooks up" to a compatible local mobile phone service BUT the charges go to my service company at home.

Now, this is NOT the cheapest option available, but for me - it is the easiest. Especially since I make very few phone calls when traveling.

I also bought an extra "international roaming" SIM card that I put in my kids' phones when they travel. My younger son leaves on Monday for Beijing, and I want him to be able to contact us periodically (text msgs are fine - don't need an actual call). When we were in Dubai a few weeks ago and my older son was out and about with a friend - he put the extra SIM card in his phone so that we could stay in contact and make arrangements to meet up later.

With the kids -I don't CARE what the extra cost is....I just like knowing they can easily reach me if needed.

Does that make sense????

As late as DEC 07 for me. No problems. Used it frequently.

This is the mentality of an officious bureaucracy. Forget about them and bring your phone. Nobody will ask anything.

Yes, this is rather new. Phones that aren't registered will be blocked after a few days if their serial number isn't registered. In other countries this technique is used to block stolen phones. In Turkey it's used on every foreign phone unless the phone is registered. This is independent of the SIM card.

This Turkish law actually mkes sense to me - specifically in light of mobile phones being used to set off explosives on Madrid trains.

I am not saying I support it, but it is logical.

Thanks to all for the responses.

Grcxx3, I'm no phone expert either, but I think you're right about the SIM card and international roaming. I had yet to start doing the research for what I needed to do for my phone to work in Turkey when I now see that I can't even take it.

I find it odd that the U.S. goverment web site (travel.gov) does not mention this in its advisory to travelers going to Turkey. I found this information on the Turkish Embassy in Washington's web site.

So, has anyone documented cell phone ownership in his or her passport? I just don't understand that concept.

I'm not making a judgement on the validity of the requirement/restriction; I just want to follow the rules.

Thanks, everyone!

People just go there and use their phones until they stop working. If you're lucky this will take longer than your holiday. You're free to ignore the law(s) like locals prefer to and be happy if the law ignores you. :-)

Maybe this attitude is better than how "we"'re doing it. (And this may also be a reason why so many immingrants get into trouble over here).
You'll always feel guilty, however :D

I think it also depends on how much you really plan on using your phone.

DH and I both had our phones (with international roaming) on our 10 day trip to Italy. I used mine twice when trying to get together with a friend in Rome and I sent a couple of text messages to DH when we were in different spots and trying to meet up.

On other vacations - we haven't used the phones at all. I really rely on emails to keep up with family at home and I always give my family (and DH's family) a full itinerary with hotels and phone numbers. So if they really needed to reach us - they could call the hotel.

I was there last August. I brought my quad-band unloccked phone and purchased a SIM card from Turkcel. I was there for two weeks.

But, my brother was there two weeks before me and had also purchased a SIM card for his phone. About 3 weeks into the trip his phone went inactive. We went to a cellphone shop, and they said that foreign cell phones can be made inactive by the carrier after a few weeks, unless he had filled out some forms when he first got the SIM card. Since we only had 2 phones, and I was leaving, and it would take several days to reactivitate his phone, I left mine with him.

Topping this in hopes of getting more info.
How do you register your phone? When you purchase the SIM card, or do you have to do this through more official channels?
I am taking my unlocked GSM phone and planning on buying a SIM card--I'll take my IMEI number and happily register my phone, but I cannot find out how to do so anywhere.
I don't want to pay for a SIM card and credit and then have the phone stop working.
I am assuming "Ownership must be documented in the passport of the owner and will be checked on entry and exit." means that the purchase receipt must show the name on your passport.
They aren't going to confiscate anyone's phone, it just may not work while in Turkey.