After we became aware that Syrians with valid entry visas to the UK were being denied exit from Turkey, we contacted the Turkish embassy in London and the British embassy in Ankara and the issue seems to have been resolved. Syrians with UFF forms (forms for affixing the visa) should now be able to leave Turkey to the UK.
Letter from British consulate in Ankara:
I am replying to your email on behalf of the British Ambassador to Turkey. We were aware that there had been problems for Syrian national exiting Turkey on UFF forms. We have written to the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (12/12/2014) explicitly stating that holders of UFF which are endorsed with valid UK visas, are fully acceptable for entry into the UK. Contact information of the UK Immigration Liaison Manager who can assist the GoT authorities on UFF related issues was shared, as well.
There was a slight delay in the communication filtering through the Turkish system, but we received confirmation from the Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM) they have received our letter on 3 February 2015 and that instructions on the recognition of UFF will be sent to all border gates in the following week.
We did not receive information on similar cases since then and assumed that the problem has been solved, as the DGMM reported. We will ask colleagues in London to write to the Turkish Embassy confirming the process.
