The new Turkish citizenship law is an interesting topic for anyone seeking to obtain Turkish citizenship through real estate ownership, which has been approved by the Turkish government.
What motivates many people to apply for Turkish citizenship? How can it be obtained? And what are the new amendments to the law on obtaining Turkish citizenship through real estate investment? Istanbul Experts will address these questions in the article.
Advantages of obtaining Turkish citizenship
Obtaining Turkish citizenship provides you with several benefits, which you obtain immediately upon gaining citizenship, including the following:
Freedom of Travel
Turkish passport holders can travel freely to more than 110 countries without a visa, or obtain a visa on arrival or an e-visa.
Education
Turkish citizenship holders can benefit from free government education opportunities in universities and schools in Turkey.
Healthcare
Turkish citizens have the right to free healthcare in Turkey and can benefit from government hospital and clinic services.
How can you obtain Turkish citizenship?
The Turkish government has approved several ways to obtain Turkish citizenship, either through investment, bank deposit, or employing Turks, as follows:
- Buying a property worth no less than $400,000, provided that it is not sold for 3 years.
- Depositing $500,000 in a Turkish bank for 3 years.
- Making a fixed investment of $500,000 inside Turkey with the aim of obtaining Turkish citizenship.
- Employing at least 50 Turkish employees.
Real estate investment is the most prominent and easiest way to obtain Turkish citizenship. To ensure the correct use of the method of buying property for this purpose, here are the steps that should be followed, along with the latest amendments to the new Turkish citizenship law.
What are the steps followed to buy a property in Turkey in the new Turkish citizenship law?
In order to acquire Turkish citizenship by buying property, there are several consecutive steps that need to be taken, as follows:
1- Buying a property or several properties worth $400,000
provides excellent investment opportunities in Turkey with reasonable prices compared to other countries, not to mention the ideal specifications of its properties.
2- Transferring the property price to the Central Bank in Turkey
The buyer sends the property price to the Central Bank in foreign currency, and the bank converts it to Turkish currency. The owner also attaches a document stating that the reason for this transfer is to obtain Turkish citizenship through real estate investment.
3- Sending the currency transfer report to the Land Registry via email
According to the amendments made to the new Turkish citizenship law, the foreign currency transfer document is sent to the Land Registry directorate by registered email.
4- Applying to the Land Registry
The new property owner sends an application to the Land Registry for obtaining Turkish citizenship, including the authenticated property valuation document from the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning, confirming that the property meets the conditions for obtaining Turkish citizenship. Some official documents must also be prepared to submit the application, and the property sale is suspended for three years after this process.
5- Obtaining Turkish citizenship
After submitting the citizenship file to the Directorate of Population, Citizenship, and Immigration, and verifying compliance with the conditions for obtaining citizenship, citizenship is issued to the person who applied and bought the property.
The new Turkish citizenship law by real estate investment 2023
The Turkish government has issued new amendments to Turkish citizenship by real estate investment law, which came into effect on January 1, 2023. These amendments include the following:
Property Characteristics
Properties registered under the time-sharing system are not accepted, but citizenship applications can be accepted based on sale promise contracts signed with a notary public, for multi-story or high-rise properties.
Number of Contracts and Title Deeds
To apply for Turkish citizenship through real estate investment, more than one ownership deed can be accepted. However, if you want to apply with a purchase contract, only one contract is accepted. The contract can include more than one property, provided that the value of each property is included in the contract.
It is not acceptable to have an ownership deed and a purchase contract together in the application, and only one of them should be used.
Property Evaluation Document
- The application for citizenship must include the current value of the property and its value after completion if it is still under construction. If it is not under construction, only the current value needs to be mentioned.
- The property evaluation report is valid for three months from the date of issuance if it is still valid.
- The property evaluation takes into account the Turkish currency exchange rate on the last working day before the report is issued.
- It is known that the acceptable value for a property to be eligible for obtaining Turkish citizenship is not less than $400,000.
Properties Ineligible for Citizenship:
You cannot obtain citizenship by purchasing a property that one of its owners has obtained Turkish citizenship through real estate investment, no matter how far removed this investor is from you in the chain of buying and selling.
It is enough for the property to have been used once to obtain Turkish citizenship for it to become ineligible for this process again.
In conclusion, in order to obtain Turkish citizenship through real estate investment without any problems and with ease, we advise you to seek the assistance of a professional and specialized company to secure the appropriate properties for this purpose and the necessary information for it.
Not to mention the other services you need in submitting documents and managing transactions, do not hesitate to contact us so that we can help you at Istanbul Experts to accomplish this simply and without any worries.
Edited by: Istanbul Experts©
Sources: Turk Press + Turkish Citizenship Law
