Turkish Citizenship by Investment FAQ

Akkas & Associates Law Firm is a globally recognized Turkish citizenship law firm with a long record of excellence and professional leadership in Istanbul, Turkey. Our Turkish citizenship lawyers are prepared to answer the Turkish Citizenship by Investment FAQ and handle real estate acquisitions to get Turkish citizenship.

We also represent our clients throughout the Turkish citizenship application process until they get their Turkish passports.

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Our Turkish Citizenship Lawyers do perform Turkish citizenship services with investment options. We have extensive experience in immigration law in Turkey and we have obtained more than 560 passports.

Our English-speaking Turkish lawyers will help you to get fingerprints and apply for a Turkish ID card and passport. Turkish passport and ID card will be mailed to our office address.

Turkish Citizenship by Investment FAQ

Turkish Citizenship Questions and Answers

1. How many ways of obtaining Turkish Citizenship via exceptional procedures?

• who make fixed capital investment at least 500.000 US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency or equivalent amount of Turkish Lira and for whom certificate of conformity is issued by the Ministry of Industry and Technology,
• who purchase the immovable property at least 400.000 US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency or equivalent amount of Turkish Lira and attached annotation at land registration not to sell this property for three years and for whom a certificate of conformity is issued by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization,
• who employ at least 50 employees and for whom a certificate of conformity is issued by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services,
• who invest at least 500.000 US dollars or its equivalent in foreign currency or equivalent amount of Turkish Lira and make commitment to hold the amount of deposits for three years at banks operating in Turkey and for whom a certificate of conformity is issued by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency,
• who purchase public borrowing instruments at least 500.000 US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency or equivalent amount of Turkish Lira and make commitment to hold these instruments for three years and for whom certificate of conformity is issued by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance,
• who purchase a real estate investment fund participation share or venture capital investment fund participation amount of at least 500.000 US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency or equivalent amount of Turkish Lira and make commitment to hold these participation shares for three-years and for whom a certificate of conformity is issued by the Capital Market Board.

2. How does the Turkish citizenship with Turkish Property Investment application process work?

Foreigners can obtain Turkish citizenship by buying real estate whose total worth is more than 400,000 USD or equivalent.

1. You must buy one or more real estate to achieve the 400,000 USD requirement.
2. You can buy any kind of real estate (house, apartment, office, shop, or land) in any province of Turkey.
3. You must get an official appraisal for each property.
4. Each of the property must be bought after September 19, 2018.
5. You must sign a statement that you won’t sell the property for 3 years at the Title Deed Office.

3. Will my family get Turkish Citizenship?

Yes. You, your spouse (wife or husband), and your dependents (your children under the age of 18, on the application date) can get Turkish citizenship. Turkish law does not recognize same-sex marriages, polygamy, and other types of partnerships.

So a spouse should be a person of the opposite sex and the couple should be legally married. If a male applicant has multiple wives, only one of them is eligible for Turkish citizenship.

4. If the property I buy is not worth 400,000 USD, can I buy several properties to fulfill the 400,000 USD limit?

You can buy several properties which have a total value of a minimum of 400.000 USD.  The values declared at the sale at Title Deed Office and appraisal values should be consistent with that value.

5. How long does it take to become a Turkish citizen?

After the property is bought and the application is filed, it takes between 3 to 6 months to get Turkish citizenship and a Turkish passport. Turkish Government is doing its best to reduce time.

6. Can I buy a commercial property with rental income and get Turkish Citizenship with investment?

Yes, any property you buy is eligible for citizenship. You can rent the properties to someone else. The only restriction is you cannot sell for three years.

7. It looks like it is complicated to apply for and get Turkish Citizenship. Can I get assistance with this process?

Akkas & Associates Law Firm offers full services until you get a Turkish Passport. We work with real estate agents from all provinces of Turkey to find the best residential or commercial property as per request.

8. I do not have time to come to Turkey. How can I get Turkish Citizenship?

If you give us power of attorney, we can follow up with the complete process. (Buy the real estate for you, get the appraisal report, transfer the title to your name, give the statement at Title Deed Office, and file all documents for your application.)

9. How many people can apply for Turkish citizenship with one Title Deed?

Only one person can apply for Turkish citizenship, his/her spouse and dependents are also eligible with this application.

10. I bought the property in Turkey previously. May I apply for citizenship now?

Title deed applications at the Property Register Office to obtain Turkish citizenship through a real estate investment of 400,000 USD. Before this date, the minimum value was 1,000,000 USD.

11. Which nationalities may apply for a Turkish passport?

All foreigners who are allowed to buy property in Turkey by Turkish law may apply for Turkish citizenship by investment.

12. Do I get a Residence Permit when I file the citizenship application?

Residence permit (no:6458/31-J) is granted to you, your spouse, and your dependents.

13. Is it possible to have dual nationality in Turkey?

Yes, Turkey allows dual nationality, as long as your original country allows it. If you are a citizen of a country which does not allow dual citizenship, you need to forfeit your original citizenship. But if your original country allows dual citizenship, you can have dual citizenship.

14. Does the applicant need to reside in Turkey prior to and during the application process? What are the detailed requirements?

No, there is no need for the applicant to reside in Turkey, the applicant should give us power of attorney to follow up on procedures and file a citizenship application. The PoA can also be given to purchase a property on behalf of the client.

15. What are the main investment options?

1) USD$ 400,000 in property

2) USD$500,000 in fixed bank deposit

3) USD$500,000 in fixed capital investment.

I would suggest options 1 and 2. We have filed several citizenship applications with property purchases and many for bank deposits. Bank deposit is easier to full fill, however not many people have 500,000 USD.

16. What’s the general time frame for the application?

For option 1, the property purchase process takes some time, for option 2, depositing money and getting the approval takes about 1 week and we can file the residency application first. The whole process should take between 4-6 months.

17. Do you help clients choose the corporate entity to invest for the capital investment option? Yes, we help clients to open bank accounts

If you choose the real estate option, it is better to travel to Turkey to view the property, but in theory, do they need to be in Turkey for purchasing the property?

It is better for them to be here to see the property, once they decided to buy, they can give us PoA to follow up property purchase and complete the whole procedure. So, they can come to see the property and give us PoA and can go back to their country in a couple of days.

18. Do you have some contacts from the local real estate developers that you can introduce to us?

Yes, we have companies that work together.

19. As for the bank deposit option, which bank do you work with?

We have access to several banks, clients have some banks in their mind. There are government banks, and private banks, and interests vary. It is important to find banks with English-speaking staff, we can help you. Banks will not request information regarding the source of the funds from their clients.

20. Regarding fees for citizenship application

Health insurance premiums: It varies and depends on the age, sex, weight, height, etc., and around 1,500 TL, visa fee (1,600 TL), official appraisal fees for property purchase are around 8,500 TL, notary, and translation fees are around 2,500 TL,  fee for residency permit = 1,600 TL, document fee =  500. TL.

Reach us for Turkish Citizenship by Investment FAQ

Akkas & Associates is a solution-oriented law firm that empowers clients to meet the diverse and changing demands of today’s citizenship with investment law. Since 1992, our lawyers have been helping clients’ with complex legal challenges and maximizing opportunities for success.

Our law firm is now one of the leading Turkish Citizenship law firms in Istanbul, Turkey. You may reach us for Turkish Citizenship by Investment FAQ through our Contact page.