Türkiye citizenship by investment

Each route has its own certifying body, which issues a certificate of conformity once the investment is in place: the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change for real estate, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency for deposits, the Treasury and Finance Ministry for government bonds, the Capital Markets Board for fund units, the pension regulator for private pension contributions, the Industry Ministry for fixed capital and the Labour Ministry for creating 50 jobs. Amounts are converted at the Central Bank's effective selling rate on the date of the check.

For real estate, the minimum is USD 400,000 in a unit with condominium or construction servitude registration, or in land with a building on it, with a three-year no-sale annotation on the title. A unit bought off-plan qualifies if the full price is paid upfront under a notarised sales promise with the same annotation. The threshold was USD 250,000 until 2022, and bare land has been excluded since 12 December 2023.

For the deposit, bond and private pension routes, the regulation requires the USD 500,000 in foreign currency to be sold to a bank in Türkiye, and by that bank to the Central Bank, before the investment. The resulting lira is then held for three years in a Turkish lira deposit, lira government bonds or approved pension funds, so the currency risk of a deposit sits with you.

With the certificate, the investor applies for a short-term residence permit in the investor category under Law No. 6458, and the citizenship file is prepared together with it at the special offices the Population and Citizenship Affairs directorate set up for investors. The Ministry of Interior reviews national security and public order before the file goes for a Presidential decision. The spouse and minor or dependent children can be included.

Türkiye recognises multiple citizenship, but your current country may not accept a second one, so check its rules first. Male new citizens who are under 22 in the year of naturalisation, and have not served elsewhere, are liable for Turkish military service. Licensed Turkish lawyers carry out the due diligence on the property, prepare the files and advise on the legal and tax consequences.