Pakistani citizens are granted “visas” for educational purposes if,

• they have been awarded the official scholarship within the framework of “Pak-Turk Cultural Exchange Program”. (The scholarship is granted for post-graduate studies by the Turkish Government. However the applications are taken and the selection is conducted by the Pakistan Government.)

• They have succeeded in the “Entrance Examination for the Turkish Universities and Faculties for Foreign Students (YOS)” and registered in a university.

• They were admitted to a certain academic program in one of the high education institutions in Turkey through individual interviews conducted by the universities.

Necessary “visa forms” are given to those persons categorized above. Complementary information is available on the web pages of Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) and Turkish Higher Education Council (YÖK).

www.osym.gov.tr (ÖSYM)
www.yok.gov.tr (YÖK)

Guide about High Education in Turkey for Foreign Students
http://www.studyturkey.metu.edu.tr/

The Examination for Foreign Students (YOS) has been organized by ÖSYM every year for the selection and placement of foreign students in the institutions of higher education. YOS is only for those applicants who wish to enroll in undergraduate programs. Students wishing to transfer to an undergraduate program must apply directly to the institutions concerned.

YOS is also offered in Islamabad every year to all Pakistani high school graduates who wish to enrol in Turkish undergraduate programs. The application documents are available at the Turkish Embassy after February of each year. The applicants are required to fill the forms and submit the applications along with the fee directly to the concerned authority mentioned in the forms. Those who complete their applications before the dead-line are sent “personal entry ID cards for YOS”. The date and venue of YOS is announced by the Embassy in June and the exam is held at the last week of June every year in Islamabad.

The first condition for those wishing to take YOS is that they must hold the nationality of a country other than Turkey (stateless citizens and refugees can also apply). Secondly, they must be in the last year of secondary education or have successfully completed secondary education in Turkey or at a school in which the education is equivalent to that of a Turkish lycée. Lastly, they must meet the specific requirements of the institution of higher education in which they wish to enroll.

The main center is Ankara, but there are usually centers in most Middle Eastern and some African and Asian countries. In all centers, the date and the hour (adjusted to local time) of the examination is the same.

The examination consists of two parts in a single booklet. The first part is The Basic Learning Skills Test which mainly assesses abstract reasoning. The questions have minimal dependence on language but explanations are given in Turkish and English. The second part is The Turkish Language Proficiency Test which assesses the candidate’s comprehension of written Turkish. Both tests consist of multiple-choice items.