Getting a Turkish Passport Through Investment

Turkey is a transcontinental country with its capital city located in both Europe and Asia. This location allows the country to benefit considerably from its proximity to European and Asian markets. No wonder that, according to some forecasts, Turkey will rank as one of the ten strongest economies in the world by 2050.  

The demand for Turkish citizenship is likely to increase significantly and the conditions for obtaining it will become stricter.

One of the simplest ways to obtain a Turkish passport is through investment. Unlike many other countries that grant citizenship only for non-refundable donations and do not consider real estate investment grounds for issuing a passport, Turkey offers a choice. Read on to learn about the country’s rules, the minimum investment for citizenship, and the process of purchasing real estate.

• Why Invest in Turkey?
• Things to Remember
• How Much Is Turkish Citizenship?
• Requirements for the Applicant
• Turkish Citizenship by Investment: A Step-by-Step Process
• How Can I Apply for a Turkish Residence Permit?
• Documents for the Final Step

Why Invest in Turkey?

Turkey is not the only country where you can obtain a passport through investment. However, its citizenship programmes stand out out for several reasons:

• You will receive your passport very quickly; applications are pending for 120 days, which is a very short period for a developed country. The related procedures will take some time, but still, the whole process between applying and receiving the passport will not take more than six to eight months.
• Family members can get citizenship along with the applicant.
• Turkey allows dual citizenship, so you will not have to renounce your national passport.
• Turkish citizens can apply for E-2 US investment visas.
• You do not have to live in the country to obtain citizenship. You will need to appear in the country only once to provide biometrics. 
• Turkish authorities are quite friendly to applicants for citizenship by investment and do not require them to provide details about all their assets. In other words, the main thing is to make the contribution to the economy required by the law. There is no need to give detailed information about your other assets.
• There is no difference between a citizen by birth and by investment. In many countries, holders of investment passports have limited rights. In Turkey, the grounds for citizenship do not matter, so anyone with a local passport has access to national health care, education, and voting rights.
• Turkish citizens have simplified entry to more than 127 countries. You can travel visa-free to developed countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and many others.

Things to Remember

After listing all the benefits of buying a Turkish passport, we must mention the drawbacks:

• It is expensive: you will have to invest at least $400,000.
• You will need to maintain your investment for three years. This is not a big drawback since the investment is refundable; you can get it back later. There is no citizenship in Turkey based on non-refundable donations.
• Turkish gift and inheritance taxes apply to all of the citizen’s property, regardless of where it is located.

How Much Is Turkish Citizenship?

The amount of investment in Turkey required for citizenship is determined by the decree dated 18 September 2018 with amendments dated 12 May 2022. The latest changes have increased the minimum cost of real estate: until 2022, it was $250,000, later the threshold was raised to $400,000. These changes might not be the last, but in 2023, Turkish citizenship by investment programmes looked like this:

• A capital investment of at least $500,000 in a local company. This must not be securities, but tangible assets such as land, machinery, and equipment. A foreign investor can buy the entire company or become a partner of its owner. The main thing to remember is that the investor’s share should be at least $500,000. You can confirm this with a professional business valuation report. You will not be able to invest money and then withdraw it right away because of the current ban on selling the assets for three years. 
• Purchasing real estate worth at least $400,000. If you want to obtain Turkish citizenship by investment in real estate, you must indicate this in your application when registering the property. This information will be specified in all official documents. In addition, when registering real estate, the Land Department will make a record about a three-year ban on sale. This encumbrance is removed at the end of the specified period. To obtain citizenship, you will have to prove the amount of investment. To do this, you need to get a report from a professional appraiser authorised by the Capital Markets Board (CMB) and the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA). Experts recommend contacting an appraiser before the purchase, but not earlier than three months before applying for citizenship, otherwise the report will have to be redone. You can obtain this document later, but in this case, it can happen that the estimated value turns out to be less than the amount paid and below the threshold required for a Turkish passport.
• Creating jobs for at least 50 people in Turkey. There are no special requirements: you can invest in an existing company or start your own. The main thing is to add at least 50 new jobs to the Turkish labour market.
• A three-year bank deposit of at least $500,000. Turkish legislation allows you to split money between accounts in several credit institutions. The main thing is that these must be banks established in the country; you cannot obtain citizenship by depositing in a foreign branch. If you have a joint account with your spouse, it will also be included into this amount on the condition that you will not withdraw the money for three years. You can use the interest on your deposit, but the amount cannot go below $500,000. If you have deposited money in another currency, for example, in Turkish liras, and the amount has devalued during this time, this does not affect citizenship in any way. However, early withdrawal may result in losing your passport. The money is kept in special accounts; transactions may be blocked but withdrawals are not completely prohibited. However, a credit institution must report such situations to the head office (BRSA). They transfer the information to the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs of the Ministry of Interior and General Directorate of Migration Management. In this case, the process of obtaining citizenship is terminated. If the passport is already issued, it will be revoked. 
• Purchase of government bonds for at least $500,000. There are nine types of debt instruments in Turkey. These include banking bills, assets and collateralised securities, government domestic debt securities and so on. If you choose this path, you will have your finances blocked in the Turkish economy for three years.
• Purchasing shares of a real estate investment trust or shares of a venture capital investment fund. In this case, as in the previous ones, you need to invest at least $500,000 in the Turkish economy and not withdraw it for three years.
• Investing $500,000 in funds defined by the Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Agency. In this case, there is also a three-year ban on early withdrawal.

An important point to note is that the investment does not have to be made in US dollars; they are used for evaluation purposes only. The investment can be in Turkish liras or any other currency accepted in Turkey.

Requirements for the Applicant

The size of the investment is an important but not the only requirement for applicants. Before proceeding with your application, you must ask yourself: can I obtain Turkish citizenship? 

According to the law, citizenship can only be granted to foreigners who do not pose a threat to the national security and public order of the Republic of Turkey. In practice, this means that you have no criminal record, no tax debts, and a clean migration history. In other words, illegal entry and residence in the country is not the best start for obtaining citizenship.

Turkish Citizenship by Investment: A Step-by-Step Process

The answer to thequestion of how to get a Turkishpassportfor an investmentdependson the programchosen by the investor.Butinallcases, it allstartswith the issuance of a Certificate of Conformityconfirming the fulfillment of the minimuminvestmentrequirements. It is issuedbydifferentauthorities:

Once you have received the Certificate of Eligibility from the authorised institution, you have to: 

• make an investment according to the selected programme approved by the local authorities;
• gather the documents for obtaining a residence permit. You do not need a residence permit to buy a house in Turkey. You will not need it for obtaining citizenship by investment either. However, you need to get a temporary residence permit before applying for a passport;
• contact the immigration office at the place where you plan to reside or invest and submit an application for a residence permit;
• get your residence permit;
• contact your local office of the Provincial Census and Citizenship Directorate to prepare your passport application;
• prepare a citizenship file and send it to the Directorate General of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs (NVIGM);
• wait for approval. The relevant ministries form a commission, assess the citizenship application, and submit it for approval by the president who makes the final decision;
• apply for a Turkish citizen ID, a passport, and other documents. Turkish legislation allows foreigners to choose a local first name and surname. They just need to define their preferences and new documents will be issued according to them. This is optional, of course.

As already mentioned, you do not need to reside in the country. Your representative can go through most of the procedures. However, you will need to travel to Turkey at least once during the process to submit biometric data.

How Can I Apply for a Turkish Residence Permit?

Before obtaining a Turkish passport, you have to get a residence permit by submitting an application to e-ikamet.

Add the following documents to your application:

• a photocopy of your passport or equivalent document;
• four biometric photographs taken within the last six months;
• proof of sufficient financial resources for the duration of stay;
• receipts for the payment of residence permit fee and card fee. Obtaining a residence permit includes two payments. The first one is for the ID card. In 2023, the fee was 356 Turkish liras ($13), but it is regularly updated. The second one is for each month of residence in the country. The fee amount depends on the nationality of the applicant. You can find the details on the website of the Directorate General of Migration Management. You can also simply fill out an application on e-ikamet, and the system will calculate the fee;
• valid health insurance from a local commercial company or from a local social security institution;
• an address registration, if available;
• proof of residence in Turkey;
• a certificate of eligibility of the investments under the conditions of the selected programme.

If you are applying for a residence permit for your children, you must submit their birth certificates.

Once you have paid the state fee, the system will book an appointment for your interview with the migration office representative. You must appear in person to submit your biometrics.

Documents for the Final Step

Regardless of the programme, the applicant will need to submit an application to the Directorate General of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs (NVIGM). The passport applicant must provide:

• a passport or other official ID of the applicant and family members included in the application;
• a marriage or divorce certificate, if any;
• a birth certificate, if any;
• a health certificate;
• a certificate of no criminal record is submitted for each applicant over 18 and is issued by the country where the applicant lived for the last year;
• two biometric photographs;
• a residence permit;
• documents confirming the investments;
• a receipt for payment of state fee.

If your citizenship application includes children under 18, you need to submit:

• the consent of the second parent
• a birth certificate
• a marriage certificate of the parents or their divorce certificate

In a Nutshell

There are many citizenship by investment programmes in Turkey. For example, you can obtain a Turkish passport through the purchase of real estate worth at least $400,000. One condition of such real estate deals is that you must immediately declare your intention to obtain citizenship. There are several reasons for this. First, you need to get approval from the Ministry of Environment and Urbanisation. Second, an entry about a three-year ban on selling the property will be added to the real estate register. This is one of the requirements of the programme.

There are other ways for foreign investors to obtain a local passport. For example, they can create 50 jobs in the local labour market or invest at least $500,000 in an approved project. A three-year ban on the withdrawal of the funds from the Turkish economy applies in all of these cases.

In general, the procedure for obtaining citizenship of Turkey by investment is simple and transparent. It usually takes six to eight months to obtain a local passport. During this time, you will make an investment, obtain a certificate of eligibility from the authorities, obtain a residence permit, and your application will be reviewed by the Directorate General of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs (NVIGM). In addition, in Turkey, the decision about granting citizenship by investment is made by the president. It will take some time to process documents in the president’s administration.

Cover photo: Antalya. Mehmet Yılmaz (Vecteezy.com)