Government debt instruments are government securities and bonds issued on foreign markets to provide external financing, as well as leasing certificates issued on the domestic and foreign markets by the Treasury Assets Leasing Joint-Stock Company in accordance with Law No. 4749.
In accordance with paragraph (d) of article 20 of the Regulation on the Application of the Turkish Citizenship Law, a foreign investor who owns the above-mentioned government debt instruments in the amount of at least 500,000 US dollars has the right to apply for citizenship.
Based on this Provision, the main conditions for submitting an application are listed below:
a) In accordance with the Banking Law No. 5411, a foreign investor must open an investment account in domestic branches of banks operating in Turkey and purchase government debt instruments in the amount of 500,000 US dollars or equivalent in foreign currency or Turkish lira in accordance with the relevant citizenship provision, provided that the investment account must be blocked for at least 3 years.
b) The corresponding amount, established in accordance with the Regulation and blocked on the investment account upon application, should not be reduced at the request of the investor in connection with such transactions as the sale and transfer of a government debt instrument.
However, the blocking process established for government debt instruments is discretionary in nature and does not prevent a foreign investor from disposing of the ownership right to government debt instruments. In this regard, the investor has the right to sell, transfer government debt instruments and cancel the process of obtaining citizenship by removing this block at his own request. In this case, banks are obliged to immediately inform the Turkey Ministry of Interior Civil registration and Nationality and the General Directorate of the Migration Management.
Procedures applied by banks and the Ministry:
In accordance with the regulation, upon the application of a foreign investor to block an investment account with a bank for a period of at least 3 years in order to preserve a state debt instrument, banks must submit a corresponding document to the Ministry on behalf of an investor wishing to apply for citizenship.
Within 5 working days from the date of submission by the bank of the document and its annexes related to the application of a foreign investor to the Ministry of Finance and Treasury, the Ministry must notify the Turkey Ministry of Interior Civil registration and Nationality and the General Directorate of the Migration Management of the Ministry's decision on the considered application, in writing. The account blocking data is used as the start date of the 3-year investment period.
Government debt instruments stored in foreign branches of Turkish banks cannot be accepted on the basis of an application for citizenship. In addition, foreign investors can freely receive interest/rent on government debt instruments blocked in the investment account.
If the application is submitted by a proxy on behalf of a foreign person, the power of attorney must specify the powers that allow all actions to be carried out on the application.
The blocking process can be carried out by opening an investment account in several banks for a government debt instrument in the amount corresponding to the investment requirement provided for by the Regulation.