Turkish Citizenship
by Buying Real Estate
There are exceptional ways of getting Turkish citizenship within the scope of Article 12 of the Citizenship Law in Turkey. One of these ways is those who obtain a special residence permit pursuant to subparagraph (j) of Article 31 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection.
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Provided that there is no obstacle to national security and public order; Those who do not work in Turkey but will make investments within the scope and amount determined by the President will be able to obtain a special residence permit for investors together with his/her foreign spouse, minor or dependent foreign children of his or her spouse. As they obtain residence permit the investor with their spouse and childern under 18 can apply for Turkish citizenship by investment.
In this context, with the Presidential Decree dated September 18, 2018, it has been made possible for “foreigners who have purchased immovable property worth at least 250.000 USD” to get citizenship of Turkey by this way.
For the immovables purchased between January 12, 2017 and September 18, 2018, to be used in theTurkish citizenship application by investment, the value of the immovables was required to be at least 1,000,000 USD. As of 2022, this limit is still “at least $250,000 or equivalent in foreign currency”.
Due to the Presidential Decree published on January 12, 2017 and entered into force, it is not possible to use the immovable properties purchased before 12 January 2017 in the application for citizenship by investment. So, the relevant decision does not cover real estate investments before 12 January 2017.
The conditions for applying for Turkish citizenship by
real estate investment are as follows:
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1. The purchased real estate must be at least 400.000 USD or equivalent in foreign currency.
2. The price of the immovable property must be paid to the seller in advance via through a bank account.
3. The purchased property must not be registered in the name of foreign persons in the land registry. (Including the spouse and children of the foreign person.)
4. An annotation must be placed on the land registry of the purchased immovable property so that it cannot be sold for 3 years.
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Getting Turkish Citizenship by Making a Notarized Preliminary Sales Contract
Another way to apply for Turkish citizenship by buying real estate is to make a real estate preliminary sales contract through a notary public.
This application method was introduced with the President's dcree on 7 December 2018, with the amendment made in the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law. Since the provision of the regulation regarding the preliminary sales contract came into force on 7 December 2018, the previous preliminary sales contract will not be taken into account.
The conditions to be able to apply for Turkish citizenship by real estate preliminary sales agreement at the notary are as follows:
1. The real estate subject to the preliminary sales agreement must be at least 400.000 USD or equivalent in foreign currency.
2. This amount must be paid to the seller in advance, through the bank, before the preliminary sale contract is arranged at the notary and on the last contract signing day.
3. The condominium or floor easement deed of the immovable property must be ready.
4. The purchased real estate must not be registered in the name of foreign persons in the land registry. (Including the spouse and children of the foreign person.) The owner of property must be a Turkish citizen.
5. The commitment that the immovable property will not be transferred or abandoned for 3 years should be annotated in the land registry.
It should be noted that it is possible to apply for Turkish citizenship with more than one real estate investment. There is no limitation on the number of immovable properties to be acquired through sale or subject to a preliminary contract of sale. The important point is that the total value of the immovable properties subject to the sale or preliminary sale contract should amounted at least 400,000 USD or equivalent in foreign currency.
In this context, it is possible to acquire more than one immovable property through sale or to issue a preliminary sale contract for these immovable properties in Turkey. Meantime, the sales transaction and the preliminary sales contract can be made together.
After the above conditions are met, upon the request of the foreigner who will apply for Turkish citizenship, a "conformity assessment" is made by the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre under the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change. As a result of this evaluation, a "Conformity Evaluation" is issued to determine that foreigners are within the scope of "people who can get Turkish citizenship by investment". This document shows that the investment complies with the Law and is officially approved.
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After receiving the Certificate of Conformity the other stage is application for a special residence permit for the investors and application for citizenship by investment. For detailed information on these issues, you can review our article "The Procedure of Obtaining Turkish Citizenship by Buying Real Estate" and contact us for legal support.
