For 12 years, Dubai has been our home, but one that came with conditions. Our residence permits were tied to my job, and every renewal reminded me that our life there was on loan.
I didn’t want a passport just for travelling. I wanted a place no one could ask us to leave, a real Plan B.
In the UAE, citizenship was still nearly 2 decades away. Türkiye gave us passports in less than a year, and Immigrant Invest was there to help at every step.
Faisal
Pakistani investor from the UAE
To protect our clients' privacy, names are changed and photos are AI-generated.
Case at a glance
Applicants
Investor, his wife, and 2 children
Strategic goal
Plan B and a stronger passport
Current citizenship
Pakistan
Chosen status
Turkey Citizenship by Investment
Twelve years in Dubai, still a guest
Every 2 years, the same reminder arrived: the family’s residence visas were due for renewal, and Faisal knew the forms by heart. This time, halfway through filling one out, he stopped. After years in Dubai, their whole life still depended on a stamp that someone else had to approve.
That evening Faisal finally did the calculation. If anything changed, the visas of everyone he loved could end with it: his own, his wife Ayesha’s, and those of their children, Zara and Rayan. After a short grace period, there was only one place they had the right to go — Pakistan.
But Pakistan had long since become a memory. The children had been to Lahore only once, when they were very small, and even their Urdu came with an accent.
Faisal had moved to Dubai at 31 to join the finance department of a logistics group in Jebel Ali, eventually becoming its finance director. The family had a good apartment, a school the children loved, and friends from a dozen countries. By every outward measure, Dubai had worked.
And yet they were still guests. Faisal’s visa depended on his employer, and Emirati citizenship required at least 30 years of living in the country, with no guarantee even then. That meant 18 more years of waiting, and no certainty at the end of them.
Faisal,
Obtained Türkiye citizenship
I realised we had two homes, and neither one was really ours. One could ask us to leave, and the other was a fallback, not a choice. I wanted the next home to be one we picked ourselves.
More than a travel document
Faisal approached the problem the way he approached a balance sheet: carefully, and with a list. He was not planning to leave Dubai but he wanted insurance.
His research soon led him to citizenship by investment, but the more he read, the more he noticed a pattern. Many of the fastest options were small island nations, most valuable for visa-free travel but not places he could picture his family living.
By the time he booked a consultation with Immigrant Invest, Faisal knew exactly what the country he was looking for had to offer:
- passport that would make travel easier than the Pakistani one;
- real place to settle, with a developed economy and job market;
- culture where a Muslim family would feel at home;
- investment he could recover, rather than a donation that was simply gone;
- no requirement to leave Dubai or live in the new country first.
Choosing Türkiye, and what it would cost
The consultation with Immigrant Invest took place over video on a Tuesday evening. Faisal shared his list of requirements, and the expert went through the options one by one, explaining which programmes met all of them and where the others fell short. Again and again, the answer came back to Türkiye and its citizenship by investment programme.
Türkiye met every point on Faisal’s list, and went further. Istanbul was only a 4.5-hour flight from Dubai, close enough for a long weekend.
The expert also raised the point Faisal had half expected. Türkiye allows its citizens to hold other nationalities, but Pakistan recognises dual citizenship only with a specific list of countries, and Türkiye is not on it. Becoming Turkish would mean giving up the Pakistani passport. Faisal was quiet for a moment. Then he asked what this would mean for the life they had built in Dubai.
Aras Aydin,
Country Manager — Türkiye
Clients living in the Gulf often ask whether a new citizenship will affect their status there. Gulf states generally restrict dual nationality for their own citizens, but Faisal is a UAE resident, not a citizen. His right to live in Dubai depends on a valid residence permit, not on which passport he holds.
As for Pakistan, the 2 countries have been discussing a dual nationality agreement for several years, but it has not yet been signed. Even so, as former citizens, the family would be able to apply for a Pakistan Origin Card. It grants the right to enter the country without a visa, stay for as long as they wish, own property, and open bank accounts there.
That night, Faisal and Ayesha talked it over. The threads tying them to Pakistan had thinned to almost nothing. They had not lived there for 12 years, and for the children it was a country they knew mostly from stories.
‘We're giving up our passports,’ Ayesha said finally. ‘Not our family, and not where we come from.’
By morning, the decision was made.
Choosing the right investment option
Once the family had made their decision, Faisal returned to Immigrant Invest, and the expert walked him through the essentials of the Türkiye programme: the investment options, how the application would unfold, and what it would cost in total.
Faisal had 5 options to choose from:
- Purchase of real estate — $400,000.
- Investment in a Turkish business — $500,000.
- Deposit in a Turkish bank — $500,000.
- Purchase of government bonds — $500,000.
- Purchase of investment fund units — $500,000.
Whichever option the investor chooses, the money can be recovered after 3 years without affecting the family’s citizenship itself.
For Faisal, the choice was obvious. Real estate was the most affordable route, and it would give the family a home they could live in if they ever needed to. The only question was how to fund it, and the answer was already in Dubai: a one-bedroom apartment Faisal had bought as an investment years earlier and had rented out ever since.
Real estate available for Türkiye citizenship programme applicants
Turkey, Istanbul
$420,000+
Elegant apartments, Beylikduzu, Istanbul
177 m²
3 
1 
Turkey, Istanbul
$475,000+
Elegant and stylish apartments, Istanbul
149 m²3 2 
Turkey, Istanbul
$455,000+
Cosy apartments, Zeytinburnu, Istanbul
53 m²2 3 Finding a home in Istanbul
Immigrant Invest’s team in Türkiye prepared a shortlist and checked each property before Faisal saw it: the title, the developer, any debts or encumbrances, and whether the asking price would hold up in an independent valuation.
Before Faisal chose a property, Immigrant Invest explained every expense that would come on top of the price, so that there would be no surprises at the land registry.
Additional expenses when buying property under the Türkiye citizenship programme
In February, Faisal and Ayesha flew to Istanbul for a long weekend to see the shortlisted properties in person. The couple chose a 175 m² 3-bedroom apartment in Başakşehir, in a gated complex with a pool, playgrounds, and a park beside it, for $415,000. With the title deed fee and other charges, the purchase came to $22,600 on top of the price.
Zara, following the viewing over a video call from Dubai, claimed the room with the balcony before her parents had signed anything.
Başakşehir is one of Istanbul’s planned districts on the European side, built largely over the past two decades around wide boulevards, parks and gated residential complexes. Its quiet streets, new schools and family-oriented compounds have made it one of the districts most popular with foreign buyers.
Başakşehir offers well-developed infrastructure, including Başakşehir Millet Bahçesi park, Atatürk Olympic Stadium, and the major modern healthcare complex
How Faisal's family obtained Türkiye citizenship
The whole process of obtaining Türkiye citizenship took about 9 months. Most of it was handled remotely, so investors flew to Türkiye only twice: once to see the apartments, and once with Ayesha to submit the application.
Under Turkish law, applications must go through a licensed representative, and
Immigrant Invest coordinated every stage, from the first background check to the passports.
Faisal was the main applicant; Ayesha, Zara, and Rayan were included in the same application. Total expenses amounted to $445,700.
November 4th, 2025
Preliminary Due Diligence
Immigrant Invest's Compliance Department, led by a certified Anti-Money Laundering Officer, checked Faisal's and Ayesha's backgrounds against international databases. After the successful Due Diligence, Faisal signed a service agreement.
Immigrant Invest's Compliance Department, led by a certified Anti-Money Laundering Officer, checked Faisal's and Ayesha's backgrounds against international databases. After the successful Due Diligence, Faisal signed a service agreement.
+ 1 months, $8,100
Document preparation
Immigrant Invest’s lawyers sent Faisal a personalised list of documents to collect. Once the investor had gathered the papers, the lawyers arranged certified translations into Turkish and completed the government forms.
At this stage, Faisal paid:
- $2,000 for translation and certification of documents;
- $4,500 in visa application fees;
- $600 for health insurance;
- $1,000 for opening a bank account.
Immigrant Invest’s lawyers sent Faisal a personalised list of documents to collect. Once the investor had gathered the papers, the lawyers arranged certified translations into Turkish and completed the government forms.
At this stage, Faisal paid:
- $2,000 for translation and certification of documents;
- $4,500 in visa application fees;
- $600 for health insurance;
- $1,000 for opening a bank account.
+ 3 months, $437,600
Purchase of the property
Immigrant Invest's real estate team shortlisted properties and lawyers checked each one's legal status and contract terms. After their trip to Istanbul, Faisal and Ayesha chose the apartment, paid a $5,000 advance, then signed the contract and paid the rest.
The total included $415,000 for the apartment and $22,600 in taxes and charges.
Immigrant Invest's real estate team shortlisted properties and lawyers checked each one's legal status and contract terms. After their trip to Istanbul, Faisal and Ayesha chose the apartment, paid a $5,000 advance, then signed the contract and paid the rest.
The total included $415,000 for the apartment and $22,600 in taxes and charges.
+ 1 month
Application submission
Faisal and Ayesha then flew to Istanbul, where they received residence permits as programme participants. At the migration office, they submitted the citizenship application, gave their fingerprints and had their passport photos taken.
Faisal and Ayesha then flew to Istanbul, where they received residence permits as programme participants. At the migration office, they submitted the citizenship application, gave their fingerprints and had their passport photos taken.
+ 4 months
Due Diligence
The Turkish authorities examined the family's documents and checked them against international databases. This is the decisive stage: its result determines whether citizenship is granted. Because the file had been prepared and checked in advance, no additional documents were requested.
The Turkish authorities examined the family's documents and checked them against international databases. This is the decisive stage: its result determines whether citizenship is granted. Because the file had been prepared and checked in advance, no additional documents were requested.
August 5th, 2026
Passport issuance
The application was approved, and the family's Turkish passports were issued. Faisal and Ayesha collected them at the Turkish Consulate General in Dubai, without another trip to Türkiye.
The application was approved, and the family's Turkish passports were issued. Faisal and Ayesha collected them at the Turkish Consulate General in Dubai, without another trip to Türkiye.
Four passports later
Since the family obtained Türkiye citizenship, little about their daily life has changed. Faisal still drives to Jebel Ali every morning, the children are still at the same school, and Friday brunches by the Marina are still a family ritual.
What changed is harder to see and easier to feel. Faisal no longer does the calculation on the balcony. If anything changes in Dubai, Pakistan is no longer the only door open to the family. In the meantime, the Turkish passports open 136 countries without a visa, and Faisal has started reading about the US E-2 Investor Visa, available to Turkish citizens.
Faisal,
Obtained Türkiye citizenship
For several years, I kept asking myself what would happen to us if something went wrong. Now I know the answer. That is what we really invested in: not an apartment, not a passport, but an answer.
The apartment in Başakşehir is let on a long-term lease for 75,000 liras a month, while the 3-year holding period runs quietly in the background. Başakşehir is not the district with the highest rental yields in Istanbul, but family apartments there rarely stand empty, and tenants tend to stay for years. Still, for Faisal, the rent has always been a bonus rather than the goal.
You, too, can obtain a second citizenship and gain what you are personally looking for: a second home, increased global mobility, or a Plan B destination. Contact Immigrant Invest, and our experts will help you choose the right programme and guide you through every step.
