Residency or citizenship by investment is a common practice for countries around the world to attract foreign investments – and Turkey is no exception.
In fact, Turkey offers one of the simpler ways to acquire both.
Residence permit
Purchasing any residential property in Turkey automatically makes the buyer eligible for a short-term residence permit known as “ikamet” in Turkish. The property ikamet is given for a maximum duration of one year and can be renewed upon expiry.
List of documents needed for ikamet application (via real estate ownership):
• Passport
• Four biometric photos
• Title deed, known as “tapu” in Turkish
• Bank statement showing sufficient funds for the duration of the ikamet
• Valid health insurance
• Signed application form
• Receipt for paid processing fees (Turkish tax ID number needed to pay)
Side note: The tapu, which is issued by the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre to formalize the ownership of a house, can include several property owners, e.g. family members, and each of them is eligible for the residence permit. If there’s a single owner specified in the deed, once they receive the ikamet their spouse and/or minor children can apply for a separate family residence permit.
The electronic version of the application must be submitted to the Directorate General of Migration Management, which then provides you with a date and time of an in-person appointment at a local branch of your choosing.
Provided there were no problems with the application package and it was successfully submitted during the appointment, you will receive the ikamet in a couple of weeks by mail.
Citizenship
Furthermore, foreigners are also offered a chance to acquire Turkish passport via property purchase.
Turkey’s citizenship by investment program requires a real estate purchase worth at least $250,000 (or equivalent). The investment minimum was lowered by the government from $1 million in 2019.
The investment doesn’t have to be a single property, it can be several as long as they are located in the same neighborhood and their total cost is at least $250,000.
The program also grants citizenship to the buyer’s spouse and children under 18.
Before finding a property, you must obtain a Turkish tax ID number and open an account at a local bank because you will have to show a receipt, proving the transfer of funds for the real estate.
When you find a house and agree on a deal, the seller will apply for the ownership transfer at the land registry directorate during which you as a buyer must declare that the purpose of your purchase is acquisition of citizenship. You must also declare that you will not sell the property for three years, which will then be specified in the title deed. The directorate will then provide you with the tapu.
The next step would be obtaining a document confirming that you fulfilled all the requirements for the citizenship program. It’s issued by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization after your property passed an official valuation survey and you submit the receipt of the bank transaction.
This will allow you to get a special pre-citizenship residence permit and then apply for naturalization at the Directorate of Population and Citizenship.
List of documents needed for citizenship application (via real estate investment):
• Birth certificates
• Passports
• Official records showing family ties (for spouse and children)
• Notarized Turkish translations of these documents
• Biometric photos
• Health insurance
• Application forms
The whole process starting from agreeing to buy to officially getting the citizenship takes from two to three months.
As you can see, Turkey offers one of the most effective and quick processes to acquire either residence permit or citizenship when buying a house with a very tight document package and no over-the-top requirements.
