• On : Tue, 10/16/2018 - 03:35
• Category : Immigration Law Articles

Question 1: Can a foreigner who owns one or more real estate in Turkey entitled to Turkish citizenship?

Yes, he is entitled to apply for Turkish citizenship as long as he has two conditions:

1. The total price of the real estates owned by him\her are at least equal to 250.000 USD or the equivalent of the foreign exchange or the Turkish lira.
2. The undertaking to hold these real estates and not sell them within 3 calendar years.

Question 2: Does citizenship be granted only to the owner of the real estate or to other members of the family?

Citizenship is granted to the owner of the real estate ,his\her spouse and also to all family members who are under the age of 18 years.

Question 3: When and how to determine the price of the property(s)?

The price of the real estate is determined at the sale of the real estate by reference to the value of the Turkish lira or the equal amount of the foreign exchange at the date of purchase. As for the method, it is based on an evaluation report which shows the price of real estate which is prepared by an accredited company or an expert certified by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization .

Question 4: Foreigners who own real estate(s) in Turkey with a value of 250.000 USD “or equivalent to foreign currency or Turkish lira” before the last amendments dated 18.9.2018, could they apply for obtaining the Turkish citizenship?

So far, this idea has not been clarified by the competent authorities, but we can say that the foreigner is entitled to apply for Turkish citizenship if he or she has purchased the real estate after 12.01.2017 “The effective date of the implementation regulation for Turkish Citizenship Law” through investment and real estate ownership.

The steps of our office work in order to obtain Turkish citizenship through investment and real estate ownership :

1. We will review the competent Turkish authorities in order to pledge to retain the CLIENT’s real estate or his investment bank for 3 years legally.
2. We will review the Immigration Department in order to obtain “for first time or renew” the residence permit of the CLIENT in order to apply for Turkish Citizenship according to the Turkish Citizenship Code.
3. We will review the competent Turkish authorities and the Ministry of the Interior in order to apply for Turkish citizenship and follow up during the relevant government procedures.
4. After the obtaining the Turkish Citizenship for the CLIENT, we would start the procedures for his family in order to obtain Turkish citizenship as we described above.

However, it should be noted that the availability of one of the conditions required for the acquisition of Turkish citizenship does not give the foreigner an acquired right to obtain Turkish citizenship and does not constitute a confirmation in this regard, so the Ministry of the Interior has absolute power to decide whether the foreigner would grant the Turkish citizenship or not.