How to obtain Turkey Citizenship & Passport in 2024
The Turkish passport allows living in the country permanently, accessing 113 countries visa-free, and getting the E‑2 business visa to the USA.
Turkey сitizenship could be held without renouncing other countries' citizenships. There are several ways to get a Turkish passport: investments, naturalization, and marriage. The fastest way to get it is an investment in the Turkish economy.
Author •Vladlena Baranova
How to obtain Turkey Citizenship & Passport in 2024
Benefits of a Turkish passport
Visa-free travel around the world. Citizens of Turkey can visit 113 countries without a visa or by getting a visa on arrival. A list of these countries contains almost all of South America, one‑third of Africa, and many countries of Middle Asia.
US E‑2 business visa. A Turkish passport allows getting the E‑2 business visa to the USA, which permits its holder to stay in the USA for five years with their family.
C‑2 Schengen visa for five years. Turkish citizens can get a C‑2 Shengen visa for five years. Alongside, Turkey negotiates visa‑free status with the EU countries.
The Republic of Turkey is on the list of the countries that can potentially join the European Union. If Turkey joins the Union, all countries of the EU will become visa‑free for Turkey citizens.
Second choice for an emergency. Citizens can visit Turkey anytime, no matter of closed borders. They also can move to Turkey if something goes wrong in the country of their origin.
Simple procedure. Generally, getting Turkish citizenship is simple: without language or history exams. Some ways of acquiring citizenship, such as marriage, assume some questions about history and culture, but it is more the exception than the rule.
Multiple citizenship options. Turkish laws permit having multiple citizenships: you can get both if a country of origin allows dual citizenships.
Turkey citizenship requirements for applicants
Turkish citizenship law No. 5901 allows getting citizenship by foreigners without:
criminal records or violations of migration law,
socially dangerous sicknesses, such as HIV.
There is an opportunity to get a Turkish passport for citizens of any country except Armenia, Cuba, Nigeria, North Korea, and Syria.
How to get Turkey citizenship by investment
There is a particular program for investors in Turkey. It was launched in 2017 to attract foreign direct investment. The investor can choose a suitable option by investment type and amount. If all program conditions are met, the investor gets the passport.
The program is available for adults without criminal records, violations of migration law, and socially dangerous sickness. There is no opportunity to join the program for Armenia, Cuba, Nigeria, North Korea, and Syria citizens.
Investment options. There are several types of investing in Turkey to get citizenship: purchasing real estate or direct investments in the Turkish economy. These investments are returnable. You can sell it in three years after obtaining citizenship.
Options for getting Turkey citizenship by investment
Pay attention to the real estate for investments
Our client wanted to invest in Turkish real estate to save assets. He applied to several companies for the selection of real estate. The investor found that some companies give him similar objects at lower prices.
The legal review of other objects shows that the prices of “cheaper” objects were overstated, and the photos of things were old. So, If the investor purchased one of these objects, he couldn’t get the passport because the actual estimation of objects was lower than the required investment amount.
Participation of family members. Investments also allow getting a residence permit and citizenship for investors' families: spouses and minor children. Spouses’ parents can only pretend on residence permits with an extra fee of $5,000 per person. Significant point: if parents or adult children have their source of income, they can’t participate.
Additional expenses. There are some extra costs of getting Turkey citizenship:
$14,000 — related taxes and fees,
$574 per person — state fees for each family member,
$5,000 per person — an extra residence permit fee for investors’ parents.
Individual cost calculation for Turkish citizenship
Turkey citizenship by naturalisation
Naturalisation fits cases when you are officially working or officially living in Turkey. If you stay in Turkey without work, you should prove that you have enough money to live — it is about $500 per person per month. It takes two steps and lasts for several years of permanently residing in the country.
The short-term residence permit, or “Kısa Dönem İkamet İzni”. This type is available for long-term tourists, students, alumni of Turkish universities, business people, foreigners with Turkish relatives, patients, and migrants for humanitarian reasons. You should support the occupation with documents.
The residence permit is granted for a maximum period of two years. The validity period depends on the applicant type. After the residence permit expires, you can renew it for up to two years.
2 years
The maximum validity period of a Turkey residence permit
The long-term residence permit, or “Uzun Dönem İkamet İzni”. A foreigner can get it after living in Turkey for eight years. They should live in Turkey for at least 180 days per year during this period.
Citizenship can be claimed after five years of official living in Turkey. In this case, the period of residence is not the only criterion. A person should also demonstrate reasons for being a citizen, speak Turkish, have enough money to provide for themselves, and have no diseases with risk to public health.
Turkey citizenship by marriage
Getting a Turkish passport by marriage has advantages, but it is not universal. First of all, it is a lengthy process. What’s more important, you should have a Turkish suitor.
Turkey citizenship cannot automatically be acquired by marriage to a Turkish citizen. The spouse can aspire to a Turkish passport three years after the wedding. There are some conditions applicants should meet:
The marriage must be unbroken for three years. If the applicant divorces and remarries again, the "counter" of years starts from the beginning.
Another meaningful criterion is that the marriage is not a sham. The core idea of getting through the citizenship process is to prove that marriage isn’t the one of convenience for obtaining citizenship.
There are some nuances. If you divorce during the application process, the probability of failure increases to the maximum. Similarly, if you are a widow or widower at the moment of application, the likelihood of failure increases to the max. If you became a widow while obtaining citizenship, you have a chance to get citizenship. If you divorce after getting citizenship and a former spouse sues to declare the marriage a sham, you could lose citizenship.
Getting a Turkish passport by marriage could take from one to three years.
Turkey citizenship by birth and descent
This method is suitable for applicants who have Turkish relatives or were born in Turkey.
Citizenship for newborns. When we talk about a newborn, we should consider the citizenship of its parents:
If the parents are Turkish nationals, the newborn gets citizenship in Turkey automatically.
If one parent is Turkish and another is a foreigner, but they are in the marriage, the newborn automatically gets Turkish citizenship.
If the parents aren’t married, but the mother is a Turkish citizen, the newborn could also get Turkish citizenship by birth.
If the parents aren’t married, but the father is a Turkish citizen, the baby could get citizenship only if paternity is officially recognized.
Here is another opportunity to get citizenship in Turkey by birth. The situation: parents are foreigners, and the baby is born on the territory of Turkey but has no chance to get citizenship of its "homeland" for any reason. In this situation, parents could request Turkish citizenship for their baby. The same case if parents are stateless.
Descent. Minors could also apply for a Turkish passport by descent. So, for example, the Turkish parents' child who lost citizenship could claim Turkish citizenship by descent. Also, Turkish migrants have the right to get citizenship by their ancestry.
Applying for Turkey citizenship
You should be ready to pass some stages when you get Turkish citizenship. In general, there are five steps.
Meet the requirements for residency
As the first step to relocating to Turkey is getting a residence permit, the foreigner must be eligible for the desired permit type. For example, the applicant must have an employment agreement with a Turkish company to get a work permit or invest in the country’s economy to participate in the citizenship by investment program.
As the first step to relocating to Turkey is getting a residence permit, the foreigner must be eligible for the desired permit type. For example, the applicant must have an employment agreement with a Turkish company to get a work permit or invest in the country’s economy to participate in the citizenship by investment program.
Collect the necessary documents for a residence permit
Gather all required documents such as passport, photographs, proof of financial stability, a TIN, a health insurance policy, and any other documents as specified by the Turkish authorities.
Gather all required documents such as passport, photographs, proof of financial stability, a TIN, a health insurance policy, and any other documents as specified by the Turkish authorities.
Get a residence permit
Residency applications are accepted only in Turkey. The foreigner must book an appointment at a GÖÇ migration office. Passing an interview is required.
The Turkish residence permit is issued for up to 3 years, depending on the type.
Residency applications are accepted only in Turkey. The foreigner must book an appointment at a GÖÇ migration office. Passing an interview is required.
The Turkish residence permit is issued for up to 3 years, depending on the type.
Apply for citizenship
After 5 years of permanent living in Turkey with a residence permit, the foreigner can apply for citizenship. This involves submitting an application along with all required documentation, which may include proof of legal residing in the country and other legal papers.
After 5 years of permanent living in Turkey with a residence permit, the foreigner can apply for citizenship. This involves submitting an application along with all required documentation, which may include proof of legal residing in the country and other legal papers.
Get a passport
After the citizenship application is approved, the investor receives a passport either at the Ministry of Interior in Turkey or at a Turkish embassy in their country of residence.
After the citizenship application is approved, the investor receives a passport either at the Ministry of Interior in Turkey or at a Turkish embassy in their country of residence.
You can find an accurate list of the documents on the official website — e-ikamet. Applications are also submitted on the e-ikamet website.
There are some specific stages connected with the way of getting citizenship. For example, when you apply for citizenship through naturalisation, you should live in Turkey during the required period after getting a residence permit.
If you apply through marriage, you have two interviews. One is with your spouse, there are a lot of personal questions, for example, the favourite food of a spouse, the job of their brother, etc. Another is a personal interview in Governorship, and there are questions about living in Turkey, plans and reasons for citizenship application. You also should pass an inspection of the Security Service: officers can visit your home and talk with the neighbours.
The process is more precise if you apply under the investment program: you can apply for citizenship just after getting a residence permit.
The fastest and the most trustworthy path to citizenship is by investment. It takes about three or six months and has a predictable result.
Naturalisation is trustworthy too, but it takes much more time — at least five years, and if you get it through a job, you entirely depend on your employer. Marriage is faster than naturalization — you need only three years, but the level of dependency is much higher because it is based on human relationships. Birth or descent is very exceptional.
Immigrant Invest is a licensed agent for citizenship and residence by investment programs in the EU, the Caribbean, Asia, and the Middle East. Take advantage of our global 15-year expertise — schedule a meeting with our investment programs experts.
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