Important Legal Matters for Granting Turkish Citizenship to Investors

Legal Discussion and Tips on Granting the Turkish Citizenship for Investors

Many foreign investors turned to Turkey after issuing the decision to amend the conditions for obtaining Turkish citizenship recently in the Turkish Official Gazette in order to obtain it through real estate investment.

It is important to pay attention to some points that must be taken into account in this regard. Many investors’ applications have been rejected for Turkish citizenship due to incomplete documentation and failure to implement some necessary procedures as well as some mistakes, where only 44 investors were able to obtain Turkish citizenship in accordance with the previous conditions, which require investment of one million dollars according to the previous Nationality Law issued on 12/01/2017.

I would like to mention some of the points that investors should take into consideration and that are not mentioned in the Nationality Law:

1. Properties bought between the issuance of the first decision on 12 January 2017 and the date of the amendment on 19 September 2018, and the document of title deed was received within this period, the owner cannot apply for citizenship, In accordance with the fundamental principles of the law and consultations with some officials in government departments.

In other words, the investor must buy a property worth $ 250,000 starting from September 19, 2018. If the investor pays the property’s money before this date and does not receive the deed of title, then he is entitled to apply for Turkish citizenship.
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 $400,000.

The investor, who has completed the value of one million dollars after the date of the amendment, is entitled to apply for citizenship.

2. Properties purchased before the amendment issuance and sold in (Muvazaa Satış) method and then re-purchased, enables the investor to apply for legal citizenship at the present time, entitle the investor to apply for legal citizenship at the moment, but since the aim of the decision was to attract foreign exchange to Turkey in order to stimulate the Turkish economy, for this reason, it is possible to issue a circular in the coming days in which cancel this right according to the mentioned method of purchase.
3. For investors with a value of $ 400,000 in real estate through mortgage payments in Turkish banks, they are entitled to apply for Turkish citizenship, but a new circular is expected soon to revoke this right.
4. With regard to the investor’s family who is entitled to apply for Turkish citizenship, children under the age of 18 receive citizenship with him. While the investor’s wife obtains Turkish nationality three years after the husband acquires the nationality.

If the investor has more than one wife, in this case only one wife is entitled to Turkish citizenship, because the Turkish law forbids marrying more than one wife.

However, other wives can apply for Turkish citizenship independently as an investor after fulfilling the necessary conditions.

Children over the age of 18 may obtain Turkish citizenship after a certain period of time.

Obtaining Turkish Citizenship by Investment or Different Methods

• Investment of $ 500 thousand or the equivalent of foreign exchange or Turkish lira, and will be confirmed by the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology.
• Buying a property worth more than $ 400 thousand or the equivalent of foreign currencies or the Turkish lira, but provided that the property is not to be sold within a period of 3 years, and will be confirmed by the Ministry of Environment and Urban Development of Turkey.

   

• Providing employment opportunities for at least 50 Turkish citizens, which will be confirmed by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services in the country.
• Depositing a sum of $ 500,000 or the equivalent of foreign currency or Turkish lira in banks operating on Turkish territory, provided that it should be maintained for a period of three years. This will be confirmed by the Turkish Banking Regulatory Commission.
• Buying through the government borrowing tools of US $ 500 thousand or the equivalent of foreign exchange or the Turkish lira, and will be confirmed by the Treasury and Finance.

Edited by: Imtilak Real Estate ©

Source: Turk Press