Part 1-45 Questions about Exceptional Turkish Citizenship through Investment

There are several ways that foreigners can obtain Turkish citizenship, and they are the following:

·         Making a steady investment of half a million dollars in the Turkish labour market.

·         Buying a property or group of real estate in Turkey with a value of at least $ 250.000 and keeping it for at least three years.

·         Employment of 50 Turkish citizens for a period of three years.

·         A bank deposit of half a million dollars in Turkish banks and maintained for a period of three years.

3.       Is this law for new real estate only or previously owned?

The law applies to purchase contracts after January 12, 2017, and the validity of this law has not yet been announced.

4.       How long can the procedures for obtaining Turkish citizenship be completed?

It varies according to the professionalism of the brokerage company being dealt with and the experience of its legal team, for example in Right Home company, you can obtain Turkish citizenship within a maximum of 90 days since the application was submitted with all the required documents, while in other new companies it may take six months or more.

5.       Who can also obtain Turkish citizenship if the father obtained it?

The wife and children under the age of 18 years are entitled to apply for Turkish citizenship with the father, and children over the age of 18 are not entitled to apply in the same application, and if there is a son or daughter over 18 years old, the application must be applied separately, thus raising the required real estate budget from $ 250.000 at least $ 500.000.

6.       If the father has two wives, do both of them obtain Turkish citizenship?

This depends on the law in the mother country. If a second marriage is allowed, then Turkish law allows both wives to obtain Turkish citizenship with their children under 18 years old, and this issue has many details so it is best to communicate with our legal team before embarking on the process of buying a property in order to obtain Turkish citizenship if there are two wives.

7.       Is it necessary to reside in Turkey to obtain Turkish citizenship?

It is not necessary to reside in Turkey, not even to come, as our company’s lawyer or any trusted person in Turkey can be authorized to fully carry out this process, and it is worth noting that the agency will only provide the possibility of buying and not selling, and this is what guarantees the buyer's rights in his country. Online purchases and hundreds of families acquired Turkish citizenship while they are still in their countries, especially after travel restrictions due to COVID-19.

8.       Is mastery of the Turkish language required to obtain Turkish citizenship?

Speaking of the Turkish language is not required to obtain Turkish citizenship, and it is worth noting that Turkey is a country that grants citizenship without a language test, whether it is nationality due to assets, investment, marriage, or any other option of exceptional citizenship options.

9.       What are the advantages of Turkish citizenship and a Turkish passport?

After obtaining Turkish citizenship, you will enjoy many advantages, so Turkish citizenship has a global status, as the Turkish passport is the frequency between 36 and 39 in the world, and until the beginning of 2020, the Turkish passport ranked 121 points on the travel index without a visa, so holders can enter more than 72 countries without obtaining a pre-entry visa, 42 countries grant Turkish citizens a visa upon arrival, and 7 countries grant an electronic entry visa that is obtained online.

Another advantage of Turkish citizenship is the possibility of obtaining an E2-class American investor visa, which is usually given for two years to investors coming to America from some countries with which it is bound by friendship, trade, or navigation treaties, including Turkey.

After obtaining Turkish citizenship, you will have in your hands a Turkish passport that allows entry to the State of Qatar, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Sultanate of Brunei, Chile, Georgia, Serbia and South Africa, Thailand, Northern Cyprus, Ukraine, and many other countries without a visa. There are countries that can be entered with an immediate visa, Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, and most of Africa.

10.   What are the steps and documents required to obtain Turkish citizenship?

·         A copy of the title deed of the property that was purchased, or the promise to sell/ forward sale contract (upon purchase within the floor easement, or on the map) with the notary.

·         Real estate appraisal report: It is a report that is obtained from one of the appraisal institutions that are legally licensed by the Turkish government.

·         Receipts for payment of the original price of the property from the buyer's account, stamped with the sender's bank.

·         Receipts for the original price of the property from the seller's account, stamped with the receiving bank.

·         Two copies of the special agents from the buyer of the property to the legal team with the application to apply for Turkish citizenship, which is organized by the notary in Turkey (Noter), which gives the right to file the Turkish citizenship file and follow it up with the official departments.

·         Translating the original passports into Turkish for all family members: husband and wife, and children who are under the age of 18, and attesting them from a notary in Turkey (Noter).

·         Birth certificate translated and certified for each family member.

·         A translated and certified copy of the marriage contract.

·         Translation of the family book or family statement document.

11.   What are the conditions for obtaining Turkish citizenship through buying a property?

·         That the value of the purchased real estate is $ 250.000 and more, or its equivalent in Turkish currency, according to the exchange rate.

·         Registering the property in Turkey legally in the Land Registry Department, whether this property is ready, or it is apartments and real estate with a floor easement/ or under construction.

·         The property must be purchased from a person who has Turkish citizenship or a Turkish construction company.

·         The value of the property must be paid through a regular bank transfer.

·         Foreigners are also required to obtain a real estate appraisal report from a real estate appraisal company approved by the Turkish government.

12.   How can you make sure that the amount paid for the purchase of the property is equal to $ 250.000 if it is paid in Turkish lira?

There are a number of projects that sell their real estate valued in US dollars, and in case of buying from these projects, just the value of the property or group of real estate is worth $ 250.000, this is sufficient. As for the projects that sell in Turkish lira, the exchange rate of the Turkish lira must be according to the central bank at the moment of the transfer equal to at least $ 250.000, it is advisable in the case of buying in the Turkish lira to choose real estate worth a little more than $ 250.000 in order to ensure the safety of the process in the case that the value of the dollar rises against the exchange rate of the Turkish lira at the moment of transferring the amount.

13.   Is obtaining Turkish citizenship after purchasing the property guaranteed? What are the guarantees that I can get?

In case that the conditions that we mentioned above are applied to the buyer and seller in terms of value and eligibility of the property to be suitable for Turkish citizenship, as well as the pledge not to sell it for a period of 3 years and finally the bank transfer as it is not acceptable to pay cash to obtain Turkish citizenship, these conditions make the buyer eligible for Turkish citizenship and his wife and children under 18 years old.

Guarantees are a very important issue, especially for people who want to buy a property online and obtain Turkish citizenship, in the end, this is a strange country for them and many of them are unable to come to finish this process on their own, especially after the impact of COVID-19, so what is the guarantor of their rights?

In fact, dealing with a well-established and reputable brokerage company in the market is the main and first axis in the process and after that, it must be ensured that the funds are transferred directly to the seller's account (the real estate developer who owns the project) directly and not to risk transferring money to the real estate brokerage company account if there is no documented relationship with them that guarantees your rights.

Also, the Turkish government has made the bank transfer a prerequisite for applying for Turkish citizenship through investment and attaching the transfer receipt that includes an explanation detailing the purchased property and the purpose of the purchase, thus the government has guaranteed the buyer's rights even if he is not directly present in Turkey during the purchase process.

The contracts that the projects offer to the buyer, in addition to the Turkish government's follow-up of the procedures, make the foreign investor reassured that his rights are preserved.

Also, since applying for Turkish citizenship, upon completion of the required documents, the process will become easy and within a short period not exceeding 90 days, the investor will obtain Turkish citizenship with his wife and children under the age of 18.

14.   What is the best and fastest way to obtain a Turkish passport?

It is imperative that the subjective factors and circumstances related to each person play a decisive role in choosing the most appropriate method from among the aforementioned methods of obtaining Turkish citizenship if he so desires.

However, after reviewing the legal methods for obtaining Turkish citizenship, it appears that real estate investment in Turkey is the fastest and most secure way in this regard, where the waiting period after completing the official papers does not exceed a maximum of forty-five days!

In addition to the benefits of Turkish citizenship, we do not forget the investment aspect represented by the expected economic feasibility of the investment process, the process that begins as a real estate investment, and may not end its fruits with obtaining a strong Turkish passport only!

15.   Is it sufficient to buy one property to obtain Turkish citizenship worth $ 250.000?

In fact, not only this is enough, but it is the best and fastest. Buying a property of this value qualifies you to obtain a property in the center of Istanbul and thus a real investment property with a distinction that will preserve its value after 3 years, but it will also achieve additional profits.

Istanbul's center has many advantages that, by contacting us, you can get to know you in detail, which we cannot mention here in this legal article.

As for the legal aspect, one or more properties can be purchased in the form that the total is at least $ 250.000 documented by a bank transfer equivalent to the exchange rate according to the Turkish Central Bank.

Every property needs an appraisal transaction to ensure that the value recorded on the title deed is actually equal to the real estate value. This process for several properties takes time depending on the completion of the required documents from each party. Therefore, it is best to buy one property of this value or at least buy several properties to complete this value from the same project if possible.