Obtaining Turkish Citizenship through Investment in the Real Estate Sector in Turkey

Currently, every week, dozens of applications for Turkish citizenship through investment are being processed, as the number of applications has so far exceeded 1,000...

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2019-02-22 Last update 2022-06-14

It is known that the Turkish government has reduced the minimum requirement for Turkish citizenship by investing in the country, in accordance with the recent legal amendments issued on 19 September 2018.

What is new regarding amendments allowing Foreigners to obtain Turkish citizenship?

After the amendment of the Turkish Nationality Law, the minimum investment required for citizenship has decreased, however, it should be noted that the investments covered by the amendment are only after 19 September 2018.

As for the foreigner who invested in Turkey earlier than this time, he can take advantage of the opportunity available in the light of the recent amendments, by doing new investments.

Below are the minimum requirements for obtaining Turkish nationality by type of investment:

The minimum required to invest in the real estate sector in order to obtain citizenship decreased from US $ 1 million to US $ 250,000, provided that to undertake not to transfer, convert or withdraw the investment for three years.
The minimum deposit amount in a Turkish bank account has been reduced from US $ 3 million to US $ 500,000 only, provided that the amount deposited for a minimum of three years is also not to be withdrawn.
The minimum required to obtain citizenship by buying government bonds reduced from US $ 3 million to US $ 500,000.
The minimum required to obtain citizenship through the employment of Turkish citizens reduced from 100 employees to at least 50.

Investment required for Turkish citizenship	The old minimum for Turkish citizenship	The new minimum for Turkish citizenship
Real estate sector	Million US dollars	250 thousand dollars
Deposit in a Turkish bank account	3 million USD	500 thousand dollars
Buying government bonds	3 million USD	500 thousand dollars
Employing Turkish citizens	100 employees	50 employees

Nearly five months after the amendments to the laws issued on 19 September, minor other amendments were added explaining the procedural details of granting Turkish nationality through investment applications.

Thanks to those developments that addressed the concerns of foreign investors, the fundamental ambiguities surrounding those laws have been removed.

The state of waiting and anticipation that prevailed among foreign investors in the first phase (until December 2019) changed.

Turkish nationality: One of the main reasons for the high demand for real estate in Turkey

In the midst of Turkey's increasing need for foreign capital inflow, the above referred legal amendments have been approved, which has resulted in a very positive response by local authorities and executive bodies to Turkey's investment applicants.

Certainly, this new approach will not only eliminate the procedural and bureaucratic obstacles to foreign investors but will also make their transactions easier and faster than the previous period.

At the present time, dozens of requests for Turkish citizenship are being processed each week by investment. So far, the number of applications for citizenship has exceeded 1,000, in order to take advantage of Turkish citizenship features in the future.

According to data from the Turkish Statistics Institute, the proportion of sales of properties to foreign investors reached 78.30% in 2018 compared to the previous year 2017.

There is no doubt that the main factor behind this dramatic rise in real estate sales is the recent turnout to get citizenship through the new investment laws.

In Istanbul, foreigners bought about 15,000 properties. A number of other cities follow the list of leading investment destinations in cities like Antalya, Bursa, Ankara, and Yalova. For example, real estate sales have surpassed 90% in Yalova!

The background of foreign investors in Turkey is vastly different. While the majority of them come from Middle Eastern countries such as Qatar, Iraq, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Kuwait, foreigners from other countries are also increasingly interested in Turkish real estate. The Russians own more than 3,000 homes in 2018.

Affordable investments give you Turkish citizenship

There are many reasons for the steady increase in the demand for Turkish nationality through investment opportunities, and we will try to summarize these motives in the following points:

Due to the current economic situation in Turkey, which is a gradual decline in the value of the Turkish lira; property prices have also witnessed a relatively sharp decline. This situation provides foreign investors with reasonable investment opportunities, not to mention the Turkish citizenship as a result of these investments.

Currently, one can now buy facilities, hotels, gas stations, hospitals or luxury residences, without spending as much money as before.

Laws do not require investment in a particular type or types of property, meaning that a foreign investor is free to choose what he sees among a wide range of options, such as housing, land, commercial buildings, etc.
The investor no longer needs to submit a title deed as a condition for processing the application for citizenship through real estate investment. The contract of sale is sufficient, so the investor can buy the property according to the geometric plan or from ongoing projects which are marketed at discounted prices, giving the investor cost-effective options and future feasibility.
Properties can be purchased in installments despite some new conditions that impose restrictions on the sale of property in installments.
The foreign investor's family members are granted the right to obtain Turkish citizenship with the investor. The only exceptions are the children of the investor who is over the age of 18 years.
Due to the rapid growth of the Turkish economy, the growing young population and the generally qualified workforce, and geographically and geopolitical location, Turkey is a good destination for foreign investors who wish to establish businesses or enterprises.
Turkey also has well-developed trade and foreign investment laws, which make it a favorable environment for establishing projects at an effective cost, and the investor has to meet the requirements of work and customers in the world markets with ease.
FDI projects in Turkey benefit from incentive packages and subsidy schemes offered by the Turkish government, as do the projects owned by the Turks.

In nutshell:

For anyone who asks how to get Turkish citizenship, it seems that the last step taken by the Turkish government to facilitate the requirements of foreign investors wishing to get Turkish nationality; has raised the interest of investors, especially Arabs.

This concern shows that for many investors, Turkey remains a "safe haven". Current statistics on applications for Turkish citizenship through investment and real estate sales are promising. So 2021 may see a boom in the sale of real estate to foreigners in Turkey.

Edited by: Imtilak Real Estate

Source: Al Jazeera Net

Keywords

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