Acquisition Of Turkish Citizenship Through Real Estate Purchase

According to the Citizenship Law, one of the ways to acquire Turkish Citizenship is through purchasing a real estate within Turkey. We tried to enlighten several questions regarding acquisition of Turkish citizenship. Here is wrapped up information that includes main steps:

By purchasing a real estate of minimum USD 250.000,00 (or an amount equivalent in TL) it is possible for foreigners to apply for Turkish citizenship. It is important that an annotation is put on the land registry (deed) to prevent the resale of the real estate for three years upon acquisition. After completion of purchase (and the annotation procedure) the remaining procedure is summarized in steps as follows:

• Applying to the Directorate of Land Registers, under The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, for the official determination of whether the real estate’s value meets the criteria specified in the law.
• The next phase is to apply for short-term residence. An appointment is made through the immigration office’s official website.
• Applying to the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship affairs (DPCA) for citizenship and DPCA will send the file to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
• The relevant units of the Security General Directorate will carry out an investigation in terms of national security and public order.
• If approved, the applicant’s file will be sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to be submitted to the Presidency.
• The citizenship is acquired upon the final decision of the Presidency.

Throughout all these steps, the spouse and children (under 18) of the applicant may also apply for citizenship. The documentation process is critical and once the application is followed in due process (without any missing document) and if there are no security concerns that may be detected through investigation phases, the process is finalized in max. 6 months.