Turkish Citizenship and Turkish Passport 2024 - Conditions, Advantages, and how to obtain

The Turkish Nationality Law was the point of interest of many investors around the world, especially among citizens of many countries in the Arab region who are looking for more facilitation in their travel and transportation, in addition to some commercial opportunities as well.

Many investors did not hesitate to be part of it, as it does not contain any kind of risk or chance, where there is no financial loss in it at all, but rather, it is a type of real estate ownership, safe investment, or bank deposit, nothing more.

The numbers of people who obtained Turkish citizenship through real estate ownership

The number of people who received the real estate conformity document from 2017 until the beginning of 2020 reached about 6 thousand and 694 foreign citizens. This conformity document is the first step in the journey of obtaining Turkish citizenship through real estate ownership in Turkey.

The statistics indicate that there are large numbers of investors who obtained Turkish citizenship through their successful investment in the real estate field with really simple procedures, where the stage of obtaining citizenship after they owned the property did not exceed 90 days in most cases.

Due to the importance of this matter, we will discuss some points that summarize it, and we will answer the most important frequently asked questions and inquiries of those interested in this matter.

What is the Turkish citizenship law?

It is the law issued on 2010/02/11 No. 139/2010 and its amendments have been issued in 2018 No. 5901. This law approved granting Turkish citizenship to those who invest in Turkey with one of the investment types that include:

1. Owning real estate which is owning a property in Turkey with a minimum value of $250,000 provided not selling it for three years.
   Note: The law on obtaining Turkish citizenship in exchange for real estate has been amended as of April 2022, to become $400,000 instead of $250,000.
2. Bank deposit which is depositing the equivalent of $500,000 at least in a Turkish bank for three years.
3. Recruiting Turkish citizens: By hiring at least 50 Turks.
4. Buying government bonds with a value of at least $500,000.

For more information about the Citizenship Law and its amendments, you can check the following link titled: «Exclusive Translation Of The Most Important Turkish Citizenship Laws»

Turkish Citizenship Advantages

 Turkish citizenship has a good global reputation, where the Turkish passport ranges between the 36th and the 39th place globally. Until the beginning of 2020 the Turkish passport recorded 121 points on the index of travel without a visa, where its holder can enter more than 72 countries without obtaining the entry visa in advance, 42 countries give the Turkish citizen a visa upon arrival, and 7 countries grant the Turkish citizen an electronic entry visa obtained online.

Also, there are many advantages for the Turkish citizenship which the people rarely notice, the most important of which is the possibility of obtaining a US investor visa E2 Which is usually given for a period of two years to the investors coming to America from some countries which the USA have friendship, trade, or navigation treaties, like Turkey.

Among the most important countries that a Turkish passport holder can enter without a visa are Qatar, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sultanate of Brunei, Chile, Georgia, Serbia, South Africa, Thailand, Northern Cyprus, Ukraine, and other countries.

Among the most important countries that allow a Turkish passport holder to enter with an immediate visa issued upon arrival are Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, and most of the African countries.

Also, it is possible to enter more than 7 countries through an electronic visa issued online including Australia and the Sultanate of Oman.

Not to mention Turkey's numerous trade treaties that connect it with countries of the European Union which facilitate the entry of the Turks to its countries, with the possibility of Turkey joining the European Union countries which is being discussed from time to time, with the aim of opening the doors of Europe to the holders of the Turkish passport. These negotiations may result in granting the holder of a Turkish passport the right to enter Europe without a visa in the future.

You can also read our article: « The Power Of Turkish Passport »

How to obtain Turkish citizenship?

In general, Turkish citizenship and Turkish passport can be obtained in several ways, some of which fall under the investment item, others fall under the lineage item, in addition to other situations through which you can obtain Turkish citizenship.

1) Obtaining Turkish citizenship through investment

1. Owning real estate of more than $400,000 provided not selling it for 3 years.
2. Depositing $500,000 at least in a Turkish bank for 3 years.
3. Investing in Turkey with a capital of $500,000 at least.
4. Hiring 50 Turkish citizens.

2) Obtaining Turkish citizenship through the lineage

1. Marrying a Turkish national for 3 years.
2. Proofing lineage to Turkish origins through an Ottoman document for example, or another approved proof.
3. Through adoption, in case a child under the legal age is adopted by a Turkish citizen.

3) Other situations for obtaining Turkish citizenship

1. Residence in Turkey with a 5-years work permit period
2. Exceptional nationality which is usually granted to certain people like those with university certificate of who came to Turkey and live in it.

Conditions of obtaining Turkish citizenship

Each of the aforementioned situations is regulated by a set of rules different from the other, but in this article, we will only clarify the conditions of obtaining Turkish citizenship through real estate ownership.

First: Conditions the property must meet

In the real estate investment case, the Turkish law stipulates that the property must fulfill certain conditions in order to obtain Turkish citizenship through owning that property, these conditions are:

1. The value of the property(s) purchased must at least be $400,000 or its equivalent in the Turkish currency based on the exchange rate.
2. Registering the property in accordance with the law in the Land Registry Department, whether this property is ready or if they are apartments and real estate of a floor easement or under construction.
3. The property is purchased from a Turkish national or a Turkish construction company.
4. The value of the property must be paid through a legal bank transfer.
5. Foreigners are also required to obtain a real estate appraisal report from a real estate appraisal company approved by the Turkish government.

Second: Conditions the property buyer must meet

1. The buyer of the property must be from one of the nationalities that fall under the citizenship decision in exchange for owning a property, where this Turkish citizenship law included almost all nationalities except for some specific ones such as North Korea and Syria.
2. The buyer of the property must be an adult.
3. Turkish citizenship is granted to the owner of the property, his wife/husband and children under the age of eighteen.
4. The buyer is obligated not to sell the property for 3 years starting from the purchase date.
   
   

What are the procedures for obtaining Turkish citizenship? 

The required documents for completing the Turkish citizenship procedures are:

1. Title deed photocopy of the purchased property, or the promise to sell / the forward sale contract (in-floor easement way of purchase, or on the map) from the notary.
2. Real estate appraisal report: It is a report issued by a Turkish-government licensed evaluation institution, the report stays valid for 3 months and can usually be obtained in two or three business days.
3. The property's original payment receipts from the buyer's account stamped by the sender's bank stamp.
4. The original receiving receipts of the property's price from the seller’s account stamped by the receiving bank's stamp.
   These receipts are proof of payment of the property’s value and its transfer from the buyer's account to the seller’s account.
5. Two copies of the limited power of attorney from the property buyer to the legal team requesting applying for citizenship prepared through a notary in Turkey, which grants the right of sending the citizenship file and following it with the official departments.
6. Translating the original passports to the Turkish language for the husband and wife in addition to the children who are under the age of eighteen, and ratifying them from a notary in Turkey.
7. A translated and ratified birth certificate for the husband, wife, and children under the age of eighteen.
8. A translated and ratified copy of the marriage contract.
9. Translating the family document or the family declaration document.

Citizenship stages in Turkey in 2024

Citizenship stages in Turkey go through several steps frequently talked about, and the information about it differs from one source to another, but what is beyond doubt is that the security study is considered one of the most important stages of citizenship at all, and based on it the decision of granting Turkish citizenship is issued or not.

In the cases of real estate ownership that took place through Imtilak Real Estate company in the real estate that is suitable for Turkish citizenship, it became clear to us that these stages are often fast. The waiting period for all stages is not more than 90 days from the date of submitting the nationality documents until the date of obtaining it and receiving the ID.