Turkish Citizenship Through Real Estate Investment

No. The investment program sets no requirement to live in Turkey, to know the language, or to pass exams. When you buy property, it must remain in your ownership for at least three years; the citizenship itself does not need to be renewed.

For the first three years the property cannot be sold - the corresponding commitment is recorded in the land registry (Tapu). It can still be rented out during this period: the program restriction concerns sale. After three years the note can be lifted and the property sold. A sale once the mandatory holding period is over does not, in itself, affect citizenship that was lawfully obtained.

Together with the investor, citizenship can be obtained by the spouse, minor children, and dependent children in the cases provided for by law. Financially independent adult children and parents are not included in the investor’s application: for them a suitable basis for a residence permit or citizenship has to be determined separately.

Turkey allows multiple citizenship and does not require you to renounce your existing one. However, the consequences of acquiring a second citizenship are also determined by the law of the applicant’s country. In states that do not allow multiple citizenship, obligations to notify the authorities or to give up the previous citizenship may arise. This is checked before the procedure begins.

The approximate time for the full process is 6-12 months. It depends on the readiness of the documents, the bank procedures and the review times of the government authorities. A fixed date for the grant of citizenship is not guaranteed in advance.

At purchase, the title registration fee (tapu harcı) is payable: by law 2% on the buyer’s side and 2% on the seller’s side. The annual property tax depends on the category of the property and the municipality; for residential property, for example, the rate is 0.1%, and 0.2% in the larger metropolitan municipalities. Renting the property out creates taxable rental income, and a sale within five years may in certain cases trigger a capital-gains tax. Obtaining Turkish citizenship does not automatically make you a tax resident: that is determined by your place of residence, your actual presence and the applicable international tax treaties.

Yes. When buying property the number of units is not limited, and they do not have to be bought at the same time - what matters is that the total investment meets the set threshold and the program’s requirements. For deals under a notarised promise-to-sell contract, separate rules apply: the required amount must be provided for in a single contract.

Payments go through the banking system. Payment can be made by the buyer or a person connected to them; the link between the payer, the recipient and the parties to the deal must be verifiable. To register the deal, foreign currency is sold to a bank, which issues the Döviz Alım Belgesi (DAB) - a document confirming the sale of currency to the bank. Cash payments are not used to confirm the investment. The bank may request additional documents as part of compliance.

The investment amount is confirmed by the investment-value determination document (Tutar Tespit Belgesi, TTB), which is drawn up on the basis of the valuation report. The review also takes into account the price stated in the official transaction document and the confirmed bank payments - each of these figures must meet the program’s requirements. Before the deal we check all three, so that there are no discrepancies when the investment is confirmed.

Investment citizenship does not, in itself, exempt men from military service. Men who are 22 or older in the year they acquire Turkish citizenship are treated as having completed their service. For younger citizens the rules depend on age and education, and a deferral is possible. For minor sons we recommend checking the situation against their age at the time citizenship is granted.

The applicable requirements depend on the content of the specific changes, their effective date and the stage of the deal. There is no universal rule that the previous conditions are preserved for any process already started. That is why, before payment and registration, we re-check the requirements in force and the program’s transitional provisions.

Most procedures can be carried out by a representative acting under a special power of attorney. Your presence is required at the stages where the law provides for identification or biometrics. Some of the later procedures, including the preparation of documents in the cases provided for, can be handled through Turkish diplomatic missions abroad.

Turkey is one of the treaty countries whose citizens can apply for the U.S. E-2 investor visa. However, if Turkish citizenship was acquired through a financial investment and the applicant did not previously hold E-category status, U.S. law requires proof of continuous domicile in Turkey for at least three years before the first application. Meeting the other E-2 criteria is assessed separately; we recommend checking your specific case in advance with a U.S. immigration attorney.

Yes. If at the time of birth at least one parent is a Turkish citizen, the child acquires Turkish citizenship by descent regardless of the country of birth. For certain cases of birth outside marriage, additional rules on establishing parentage apply.