Turkish citizenship by owning real estate

Many of us want to obtain Turkish citizenship for several reasons, and since Turkey is a country that receives all nationalities and facilitates them to obtain the rights they deserve, facilitating their acquisition of citizenship, several laws have been issued for those wishing to obtain Turkish naturalization, and according to the new naturalization laws in Turkey, there are conditions that each one is entitled to Any of them is satisfied to apply for Turkish citizenship, the most famous of which is owning real estate in Turkey and freezing it for a certain period without selling to qualify for Turkish citizenship by owning real estate.

Turkish citizenship law by buying or owning a property or an apartment

The Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urbanization issued a decision for those wishing to naturalize to grant Turkish citizenship to foreigners under certain conditions on 01/12/2017. The law provided for obtaining Turkish citizenship in exchange for buying real estate worth more than $1,000,000.

But this decision was amended on 09/18/2018, that is, the purchase value of the property became $250,000 thousand and above

-You can also obtain Turkish citizenship through previously owned properties in Turkey,

Conditions required to obtain citizenship through real estate ownership  :

All financial transactions to purchase real estate must be through banks, and financial transactions outside banks cannot be accepted exclusively

  • You cannot buy a property from any foreign (non-Turkish) person. But exclusively from a Turkish person.
  • The minimum value allowed is 250,000 thousand US dollars.
  • You cannot sell the property you bought during the first three years of purchasing the property, it must be frozen during this period.
  • The validity period of the real estate appraisal report does not exceed months.
  • The existence of bank notifications for the bank transfer process from the buyer’s name to the seller’s name exclusively,
  • The exact address of the property and as registered with the municipality must be mentioned, in addition to the reason for the transfer
  • If the property is mortgaged, the mortgage must be lifted within five days from the date of purchase
  • The purchase of real estate must be completed after the date of issuance of the real estate.

What are the documents required to apply or obtain Turkish citizenship by owning real estate?

You must prepare all the papers before applying for Turkish citizenship, which are:

  • A copy of the title deed of the real estate / property owned by the applicant
  • The real estate appraisal document, that is, the real estate appraisal document that you own in order to determine the value of the property, so the value of the property must be at the minimum price specified for obtaining Turkish citizenship.
  • Receipts of the amounts paid from the price of the property stamped by the bank through which the money was sent.
  • The tax number of the property.
  • A copy of the original passport, bearing in mind the expiration date of its validity, which should not be less than 6 months
  • A translated copy of the passport
  • Document not judged, extracted from Turkey.
  • Two personal photos of the property owner.
  • A form on the application for Turkish citizenship, stating whether the investor is only him or his family (usually done by a lawyer).

What papers are required for the family to obtain Turkish citizenship  ? 

  • A certificate for the husband and wife is not judged by Turkey.
  • A certified birth certificate for children.
  • 4 personal photos for the family for each person.
  • Residence address outside Turkey.
  • Power of attorney from the wife to the husband in the event that there are no family members inside Turkey.

Notes :

According to the new law included in the Official Gazette in Article No. 20, it is stipulated that a foreign person wishing to obtain Turkish citizenship, who purchases a property with a value of at least 250.000 US dollars, and a written undertaking is written as an additional clause of the conditions in the property title deed that it will not be He sold it 3 years ago, that is, freezing the property during this period. In this case, he is entitled to exceptionally apply for Turkish citizenship.

In addition, you also need:

-A certified and specialized report by the SPK Foundation.

The value of the property mentioned in the report is evaluated based on the price of the US dollar according to the criteria of the Turkish Central Bank in dollars

The deed of ownership of the property or real estate and its records in the Green Tapu Foundation must mention a pledge not to sell the property for a period of 3 years, and that the property in question was purchased under the law concerned with obtaining Turkish citizenship in an exceptional way.

Stages of obtaining Turkish citizenship by owning real estate

  • The first stage: buying the property with obtaining the evaluation and the letter of authentication.
  • The second stage: obtaining the investor's residence.
  • The third stage: submitting an application for citizenship. It is advised to have a real estate agent and an experienced lawyer to follow the previous stages in order to avoid any error.

Important laws for holders of Turkish citizenship by real estate investment:

There are some decisions that concern naturalized people in Turkey to buy a property, the most important of which are:

  • The property can be sold after 3 years of obtaining citizenship.
  • It is forbidden to sell the property to relatives for the purpose of obtaining citizenship as well.
  • It is forbidden to recycle the property or tamper with official papers in the transactions of obtaining Turkish citizenship.

What is the naturalization law in Turkey?

The Turkish Naturalization Law, published in the Turkish Official Gazette on 09-19-2018, includes the possibility of applying for Turkish citizenship, in one of the following ways: buying a property worth more than 250.000 US dollars, and not selling it for three years, a fixed investment with a value of not less than 500.000 US dollar Providing a job opportunity for at least fifty Turkish citizens Depositing in a Turkish bank an amount of at least 500.000 US dollars

Is it possible to obtain dual citizenship in Turkey?

Of course, Turkey allows dual citizenship, but you should check with your consulate regarding your original citizenship because some countries like India, China and Saudi Arabia do not recognize or impose certain restrictions regarding dual citizenship.

Some amendments made to the decision to obtain citizenship by purchasing a property

The Turkish government has issued a list of some changes related to the issue of obtaining Turkish nationalities, through real estate ownership in Turkey, as the decision was issued on 3/23/2021 and began to be implemented as soon as it came down, and these are some of the amendments related to buying a property in Turkey:

  • First: Preventing real estate recycling.
  • Second: It is not permissible to obtain more than one nationality on the same property.
  • Third: Preventing the return of the property to the original owner.
  • Fourth: Forged papers revoke citizenship.

One of the reasons for which some decisions and laws have been amended is to prevent deception of the Turkish citizenship law in exchange for buying a property. The Immigration Department found a number of fraud and forgery cases to obtain Turkish citizenship.