Turkish citizenship through real estate investment has caught the attention of many investors around the world in order to obtain the advantages of the Turkish passport in general and also because it is considered a guaranteed and safe investment.

In this article, we will show you everything you need to know about Turkish citizenship through real estate investment…

First: The phases of Turkish citizenship for foreigners Law:

• In 2012, the law that allows foreigners to own property in Turkey was announced for the first time.
• In January 2017, a law was issued to grant Turkish citizenship to foreigners through exceptional means, namely ownership or investment, and it stipulated that Turkish citizenship would be granted to foreigners who own real estate worth one million dollars, or make an investment equivalent to 2 million dollars, or open a bank account worth 3 million dollars.
• On 9/19/2018, the new presidential decree was issued adding amendments to the law on granting Turkish citizenship to foreign investors, and according to It, foreign owners of ready real estates worth 250 thousand dollars - instead of one million dollars previously - have the right to obtain Turkish citizenship, or investments equivalent to 500 thousand dollars instead of 2 million.
• On 7/12/2018, a new amendment was issued granting the right to obtain Turkish citizenship to those who own property under construction as well, after it was for the owners of ready-made properties only, which opened the door strongly for foreign investors to benefit from the naturalization law.
• On 6/1/2022, the last amendment to the Turkish Citizenship law on granting Turkish citizenship to foreigners through investment stipulates that a foreigner wishing to obtain Turkish citizenship, through one of the investment methods, must sell his specified foreign currencies to the Central Bank of Turkey.

Second: Conditions for obtaining Real Estate Citizenship:

The Turkish Ministry of Environment and Cities has set some conditions in the Turkish citizenship law for foreign investors, and this law included a set of conditions:

First condition:

The investor must meet one of these five conditions in order to be able to apply for citizenship, which are: buying a property worth at least 250 thousand dollars, or a fixed investment of 500 thousand dollars, or providing job opportunities for at least 50 Turkish citizens, or depositing an amount of 500 thousand Dollars in a Turkish bank with no withdrawals for three years, and finally buying state bills worth 500,000 dollars.

Second condition:

 A pledge must be made not to sell property acquired for the purpose of citizenship for a period of three years, after which the ban on selling the property can be lifted based on an application submitted by the property owner.

Third condition:

 Obtaining a report prepared according to valuation standards and by a real estate appraiser approved by the Turkish Capital Authority to determine the value of the property that the buyer wishes to purchase in the market.

Fourth condition:

That the property is only purchased from a Turkish owner or a Turkish construction company, and that the bank transfer is done in a regular manner according to the latest amendments in the new decision of 2022.

Fifth condition:

The real estate buyer must be an adult and one of the nationalities that applies to the decision to naturalize real estate investment, and the owner’s wife gets citizenship, and their children as well if they are under 18 years old.

Third: Steps to Obtain Citizenship through Real Estate:

1- Owning a real estate that meets the conditions, obtaining the real estate title deed and the real estate appraisal report, and then extracting the tax number.

2- Applying for investor residence through a certificate of conformity of the property to the conditions of Turkish citizenship.

3- After receiving the residence permit, submit an application for Turkish citizenship by the real estate residence.

Fourth: Papers and Procedures Necessary for Obtaining The Citizenship:

1- A copy of the title deed of the real estate “Tabu” or the deferred sale contract if the purchase is on the map from the Notary Public.

2- The real estate appraisal report, which is done by an appraiser approved by the Turkish government, bearing in mind that its validity period is only 3 months.

3- The original payment receipts from the buyer’s account bearing the stamp of the sending bank, and receipts for the price of the property from the seller with the seal* of the receiving bank, as these receipts, are considered proof of the sale and payment of the value of the property.

4- Copies of the agency made by the buyer to the legal team authorized to apply for citizenship, and this agency is carried out by the notary and gives them the right to submit and follow up the citizenship file with the official departments.

5- An official translation of the passports of all family members, and their attestation by the notary.

6- Translating and ratifying both the marriage contract and the family statement document.

In the event that all the conditions and papers necessary for accepting Turkish citizenship are met, the official procedures usually take a maximum of 90 days to obtain the naturalization document and receive the ID card.

Edited By Aldar Real Estate ©