Turkish Citizenship

A foreigner who has not been convicted, has not violated Turkish immigration laws and has fulfilled the conditions of the program can obtain Turkish citizenship .

Citizens of Armenia, Cuba, Nigeria, North Korea and Syria cannot participate in the program .

Turkish citizenship is granted to the spouse of the investor and children under 18 years of age . Spouses’ parents and adult children can get residence permits in Turkey . The payment for a residence permit is $5,000 per person .

If the adult children and parents of the investor have their own sources of income , they cannot be included in the application . To obtain citizenship , they participate in the program as individual main applicants and fulfill the investment conditions .

You can obtain Turkish citizenship within three to six months . Among foreigners , Turkish citizenship by investment is in demand . This is how up to half of all applicants receive a Turkish passport . Over the past two years, over 35 thousand people have received Turkish passports in this way. The applicant can choose any of six investment options .

  1. Purchase of real estate worth $400,000 . This is the easiest and most popular investment option when applying . You can buy any property : apartment , house , commercial / industrial premises and land .

It is not necessary to buy one object , you can buy several apartments with a total cost of over $400,000 . The only condition: no more than two months should elapse between transactions.

  1. A deposit in a bank of $500,000 or more. You can save money in any currency accepted by the Turkish bank . The average interest on deposits in Turkish lira in 2020 is from 6.75 to 15.5%, in dollars – from 0.9 to 1.5%.
  2. Purchase of national securities from $500,000 : government bonds and bills , as well as shares of investment funds specializing in real estate or venture capital investments .
  3. Purchase of government bonds in the amount of $500,000 with an obligation to preserve assets for three years.
  4. Purchase of shares of investment funds for $500,000 , specializing in real estate or venture capital investments , with an obligation to preserve assets for three years.
  5. Open a business with a capital of $500,000 or create at least 50 jobs.

Investments in Turkish citizenship are returnable. Three years after obtaining citizenship , you can sell the purchased papers or real estate or close the deposit

The most popular option to obtain Turkish investment citizenship is to buy a property . Unlike some of these programs , foreigners do not need to obtain permits to buy real estate .

There are many real estate properties in Turkey for every taste: inexpensive apartments , apartments in modern residential complexes with their own infrastructure , penthouses , mansions , villas by the sea , commercial premises . Most often, investors buy housing in Istanbul , Antalya and Ankara .

Purchased Turkish real estate can be a profitable investment . Real estate in Istanbul doubles in nominal value within five to ten years . The rise in house prices in the country usually ranges from 5 to 20% per year.

The real rise in prices , taking into account high inflation , is more modest – from 2 to 6.5% per annum. From 2015 to 2019, prices even fell slightly. Rent will bring another 5 to 8% per annum.

Turkish real estate is one of the cheapest in Asia. A square meter costs an average of $450 to $800 . Housing is very liquid – usually properties are sold in a couple of months.

The demand for housing amid Turkey’s economic difficulties is largely supported by foreigners . The devaluation of the Turkish Lira plays into their hands – there are many properties on the market at attractive prices .

In addition to investing in the Turkish economy , there are several other ways to obtain Turkish citizenship :

  1. Marriage – after three years of marriage.
  2. Birth – suitable for those who have at least one parent who is a Turkish citizen .
  3. Employment – after five years of work under a contract .
  4. Naturalization – after five years of living in Turkey . An important condition: during this time, you cannot leave the country for a total of more than six months. To apply, you will also need to prove knowledge of the Turkish language , have a job or prove a sufficient level of income . The easiest way to get an initial tourist residence permit is to buy any property . Another way is to get a permanent residence permit by purchasing real estate worth $100,000 . A permanent residence permit will be given for two years, then it can be extended for another three years.