How to obtain Turkey citizenship by real estate investment

The property cost must be $400,000 or above. It may be either residential or commercial, new or resale property. The investor cannot buy the property which was already used once in the Turkish real estate investment program — such property will not make the investor eligible to apply for citizenship.

Citizenship for the whole family. Purchasing the property makes the investor and their immediate family eligible to apply for Turkey citizenship. The investor’s spouse and children under 18 can apply for citizenship alongside the investor. Parents and children over 18 can obtain a residence permit.

The property can be resold after 3 years of ownership. The only restriction here is that the investor cannot resell the property to its previous owner. While owning the property, the investor can also rent it out.

Mild residing requirements. To apply for citizenship, the investor does not need to live in Turkey. Nor do they have to pass the language or history exams to get a passport.

Uncover the advantages, terms, and details of the Turkish investment program

The most popular cities for foreigners to buy property in are Istanbul, Ankara, and Antalya, with 73% of all the deals in 2021. Those are major cities with established infrastructure, cultural life and steady touristic flow; the demand for the rent in those cities is growing, which means it can be profitable to buy the property there to rent it out afterwards.

Not only in those three cities, but in Turkey as a whole, the rate of foreigners buying property is growing. In 2021, foreigners bought 43,5% more houses and apartments than in 2020.

In the last 10 years, nearly 20,000 foreigners obtained their Turkish passports by real estate investment. The most active buyers were citizens of Iraq, Iran and Russia, although, in 2022, the rate of Chinese investors buying Turkish property is growing, too.

Since January 2022, property costs for the investment program have been measured in US dollars due to the volatility of the national currency.

Examples of properties in Turkey

Turkey, Istanbul

$280,000 — $2,020,000

Furnished apartments in a prestigious area of Istanbul

55 m² — 200 m²

1—3

1—3

Turkey, Istanbul

$124,000 — $510,000

Apartments and commercial premises in a premium residential complex

40 m² — 162 m²

2—3

1—2

Turkey, Istanbul

$812,000 — $1,777,000

Modern and stylish apartments in European part of Istanbul

78 m² — 179 m²

1—3

1—2

Premium apartments typically start from $360,000, while villas usually cost from $750,000 to $3,000,000.

Rental yield is usually 3­–5%, and property maintenance costs approximately $850 annually.

Besides $400,000, there will be additional charges to pay for obtaining Turkey citizenship. Below is the table of expenses for the sole applicant; adding other family members will cost $574 per person.

Transaction fees will be different for new and resale properties, as the Title Deed Transfer fee is 2% of the property cost for the new property and 4% for resale property.

Additionally, there are annual taxes for owning real estate property:

1. Property tax: 0,1%—0.6% of the cadastral value.

2. Luxury tax: 0,3%—1% for property worth more than 5,000,000 Turkish liras (approximately $305,000).

An investor must be 18+ years old and have:

• legal income;

• no standing criminal record;

• no violations of the Turkey visa regime;

• no severe illnesses such as HIV, hepatitis or tuberculosis.

An investor’s family is typically considered to be a spouse and children under 18 — they can be included in the citizenship application along with the investor. The investor’s parents and children over 18 can obtain a residence permit.

Investment options under the Turkey citizenship program include:

• opening a business in Turkey;

• open a deposit in a Turkish bank;

• buying government bonds;

• buying shares in Turkish investment funds;

• creating 50 jobs.

Either way, besides the investment itself, the investor will also pay government fees for themselves and each family member wishing to obtain citizenship.

Fast obtaining of the passport. After buying and registering the property, the investor gets their second passport approximately in 3 months. All procedures, including document preparation and property purchase, can take up to 6­–8 months, which is still relatively fast.

100+ visa-free countries. Turkish citizens can travel visa-free to many countries, including some of the less easily accessible ones, such as Singapore, and South Korea.

5-year Schengen visa. Turkish citizens are eligible to obtain a C­‑2 Schengen visa, which gives access to the Schengen countries for up to 90 days out of 180.

US visas. Turkish citizens can obtain an E‑2 US visa, which allows them and their families to come live and work in the USA. They can also get tourist B‑1/B‑2 visas for 10 years.

Profitable investment. Unlike some other programs, the Turkey citizenship by real estate investment program allows one to return the investments by selling the property after only three years of owning it. Because of steadily growing prices in real estate, the investment is likely to be profitable.