Turkish citizenship by investment
Obtaining Turkish citizenship for more than 200 nationalities around the world is extremely important due to the advantages of the Turkish passport on the one hand and the services and rights of Turkish citizenship holders on the other hand, in addition to the restrictions applied in many countries of the world on trade, travel and money transfer .
The law to reduce the threshold for obtaining Turkish citizenship came by buying real estate worth 250 thousand dollars (after it was a million dollars before) that was presented in the Official Gazette in September 2018 as medicine for foreign traders and investors who consider Turkish citizenship a safe haven for them and an alternative plan for their troubled countries Economically or politically.
But Turkey is an unfamiliar foreign country with many nationalities around the world, so how can you deal with it inside or outside it as a citizen who officially holds citizenship and a Turkish passport? More importantly, the amount of obtaining Turkish citizenship through investment, which is 250 thousand dollars, is an opportunity on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is a financial capital that is not small in the real estate sector in Turkey, so what should the buyer invest in this amount?
After we noticed that many investors wishing to obtain Turkish citizenship do not pay attention to the investment process itself, as if they are buying Turkish citizenship without giving attention to creating a successful investment that generates money on them, perhaps better than their basic profession, we saw to write this article to explain the importance of investment in Turkey and what can the investor get Within this budget.
Before we start with this, we must mention the necessary documents and the steps required to obtain Turkish citizenship:
What are the documents required to obtain Turkish citizenship in exchange for buying a property in Turkey?
What are the documents required to obtain Turkish citizenship when buying a property in Turkey?
1. A copy of the Tapo (title deed of the purchased property), or the promise of sale contract with the notary (Noter).
2. Valid evaluation report of the property, the validity of the real estate evaluation reports is three months, and the value does not exceed the value recorded in the title deed, and has a specific issuance cost, and is extracted within two or three working days by a valuation institution licensed by the Turkish government.
3. Original payment receipts from the buyer's account, stamped from the sending bank.
4. Original receipts from the seller's account, stamped from the receiving bank.
5. Two copies of the proxy of the application for citizenship, granted by the investor to the law firm to submit the file of citizenship, and follow-up with the official departments. The proxy is organized through a Notary in Turkey (Notre) at an estimated cost of 600 to 700 TL per copy. If the investor's spouse is added to the naturalization file, a similar proxy must be provided for each of the spouses, and one joint proxy may be organized for the client and his wife. The fees of the legal team vary according to each case in terms of the number of papers and the number of individuals in the file and others.
6. Translation of the passport into Turkish, certified by a notary in Turkey (Noter) for the whole family: husband, wife, and children under 18 years of age.
7. Picture of the last Visa and entry to Turkey.
What are the steps to obtain Turkish citizenship by buying a property in Turkey?
1. Purchasing a property of $ 250.000 or more, and the amount must be transferred through the bank at the value we mentioned or at a higher value, in addition to mentioning the reason for the purchase of the property (this property was purchased in order to obtain Turkish citizenship).
2. The original payment receipts are stamped from the bank from which he sent (the account of the buyer) to the account of the construction company (the seller), and the seller must be exclusively Turkish.
3. The value of the purchase recorded in the title deed will be calculated according to the price of the Turkish lira at the Central Bank on the day of obtaining the title deed.
4. Governmental valuation of the "purchased" property, issued by a committee appointed by the Turkish government, must take place, so that the price mentioned in the evaluation should not exceed the price of the property, as the result of the estimation must be issued that the property has a value of $ 250.000 and above, then the property is registered in the Land Registry. After that, the property will be seized for a period of three years, not to sell it and to obtain Turkish citizenship.
5. Here we are awaiting the issuance of a paper confirming that the person who purchased the property is suitable to obtain Turkish citizenship, and this paper is issued from the Land Registry of Ankara and comes via the email of the person who made the reservation on the property, as we mentioned in the previous step.
6. Submit an investor residency request application for the person who purchased the property, and prepare the required documents for presentation.
7. Here the investor must go to the Chamber of Commerce, there is a place for foreign investors. In order to deliver the file by hand or through an attorney exclusively, he will deliver and sign the file.
8. The next day, the application for citizenship is submitted to the Chamber of Commerce, to the investor, and to all members of his family.
9. After submitting the papers and the citizenship file, follow-up is done through a special website for that through the application number which was provided by the employee receiving the file.
10. Upon the issuance of the nationality, the invested person and his family go to the General Nufus Department "Emniyet" and a role is taken within a list called "registration", the father and mother passports and two personal photos are shown to them and then they sign the papers.
11. In this step you should go to the nearest PTT center or Ziraat Bank to pay the fees for obtaining the identity document and passports, usually the identity document 90 TL, the passport 1150 TL, the passport period for adults 10 years, for children 5 years.
12. Here 4 personal photos must be attached to each of the father, mother, and children, and go to the Nufus that registered in it previously, there is an application for obtaining identity and passports based on the documents received from "Emniyet", we give them the papers and they provide us with a paper of temporary ID, after two days, family IDs and passports will be mailed to the address mentioned in the last request at the Nufus.
Now that we know the legal aspect, let us move on to the most sensitive issue and start with the following question:
What can I invest in the Turkish real estate market?
When you contact any real estate consulting company and ask them for investment advice in order to obtain Turkish citizenship, you will immediately find 4 answers that we will mention and then we will discuss each of them:
1- You can buy four properties and sometimes 6 in zone C of Istanbul, at a value of 250 thousand dollars
2- You can buy 2 and sometimes 3 properties in zone B of Istanbul, at a value of 250-260 thousand dollars
3- You can buy one investment property in zone A from Istanbul at a value of 260-350 thousand dollars
4- You can buy real estate in the Asian side of Istanbul for 250 thousand dollars or in another city outside Istanbul
Now let's discuss each answer in detail:
1- You can buy four properties and sometimes 6 in zone C of Istanbul with a value of 250 thousand dollars
This zone , as we noted in the above drawing, represents the outskirts of Istanbul, far from the real Istanbul center, which includes a very large number of ready-made and under construction housing projects and a high ratio of its properties not sold until now, we talked in one of our previous articles about the elements of a successful real estate investment in Istanbul where it was :
1- That the price of the property be less than the prices of the neighboring properties in the same area.
2- The possibility of selling it after the end of the investment period is easy.
3- That it has desirable specifications by the local market, which also constitutes more than 96% of the real estate sales and purchases in Istanbul.
4- That the operating plan be feasible if it is ready or the expected amount of capital increase is high if it is under construction.
5- To be in a strategic location that contributes to increasing the feasibility of investment and facilitating the process of ending the investment in a timely manner
Therefore, any offer of investing $ 250,000 in zone C does not achieve the elements of successful real estate investment in Istanbul, we can consider it as a losing investment, you can easily lose at least half of your capital when reselling your properties after 3 years or more, especially if the motivation that encouraged you to invest In these areas only to get many properties with relatively large square meters Without giving attention to the rest of the other basic ingredients.
Therefore, we recommend that you discuss any offer made to you with the real estate consultant to clarify if this property is a profitable or losing investment.
2- You can buy 2 and sometimes 3 properties in zone B of Istanbul, which its value around 250-260 thousand dollars
The same talk in zone C applies to zone B regardless of the number of apartments that you will get or the square meter of each apartment, this zone remains far from the center of Istanbul and remains an emerging and residential zone more than being an investment zone , the offers in it is extensive vary and the demand is average, regardless of Packaging of the offers presented as being a rental guarantee due its hotel apartments or they are apartments suitable for offices or commercial stores, and regardless of the rhetoric that misleads the foreign investor with poor information on the Turkish real estate market such as Basin Express is the modern Istanbul center, or the famous Basak Square will get cover Taksim Square popularity and many more.
All of the above has no value in terms of investment if it does not achieve the elements of a successful real estate investment that we mentioned above.
Sisli will remain the center of business, even after decades, and Taksim Square will remain the best due to its historical and touristic importance, which surely surpasses the Basaksehir Square now and in the future.
3- You can buy one investment property in Zone A from Istanbul, at a value of 260-350 thousand dollars
You will find in the distinguished real estate from Zone A that you will get within your budget a room apartment and a hall only and sometimes two rooms and a hall, most of the offers will be with a budget higher than 270 thousand dollars also the price of one property may reach 400 thousand dollars because the real estate in the center of Istanbul is not encapsulated offers to obtain citizenship Turkish valued only $ 250,000, but they are real investment offers, and each property has its advantages in terms of location, finishing, floor, etc.
The city center represented by zone A is distinguished by the following:
+ Investing depends on a specific time and the closer we get to the Istanbul center, the easier it will be to finish the investment and sell the property again with additional profits.
+ New projects in the center of Istanbul are limited, and thus the demand for them is great now and in the future, so when sold again, the profit rate will be high.
+ The rental yield for real estate in the center of Istanbul is higher than the rental return for real estate away from the center.
+ If the project is under construction, this is also more profitable for short-term investment.
+ Istanbul’s central regions properties never lose their value, the more urban expansion spreads across Istanbul east and west, the greater the importance of the central regions and the higher their investment value.
And many other detailed reasons for preferring the Istanbul Center to investors, you can get to know them completely by contacting our advisory team.
4- You can buy real estate in the Asian side of Istanbul for 250 thousand dollars or in another city outside Istanbul
The Asian side of Istanbul is a modern residential and investment environment that is not hostile to foreigners, as in the European side which includes the majority of foreigners in Istanbul.
Real estate in the Asian side close to the Bosphorus is quiet and luxurious residential real estate that is equal in prices Real estate in the European side also sometimes superior to it. As for investment in the Asian side, it has lower returns on profit than the European side, as we said that the elements of a successful real estate investment are the fact that the price per square meter in the project to buy The property has less than the neighboring projects, and this is achieved in the center of Istanbul in the European side because it has urban regeneration areas and therefore the new projects are carrying distinctive investment opportunities. In the European side of Istanbul, the urban expansion was rapid and random during the past 60 years and therefore now there are areas It is an old building that is rebuilt again, and it constitutes a very valuable investment opportunity, while the Asian side of Istanbul is a modern side that has been systematically and plannedly built, so we cannot find the same opportunities that exist in the European side.
In other Turkish cities outside Istanbul, we say that Istanbul is distinguished from the rest of Turkey by the following
To answer the question, it is necessary to identify other cities, and accordingly, we reach the answer, but in general, Istanbul is distinguished from the rest of the cities of Turkey by the following:
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The population of Istanbul exceeds 20 million and reaches 25 million with foreign residents and tourists, and therefore it is a city the size of a whole country, and the presence of foreigners in it is familiar to its population.
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The vast majority of those who want to buy real estate in Turkey go to Istanbul, and therefore we find in Istanbul the diversity that suits all these nationalities and cultures, from educational and medical centres, restaurants, and fashion houses.
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Istanbul includes the Bosphorus Strait, it is bordered on the south by the Sea of Marmara, on the north by the Black Sea, and it connects Asia and Europe with no other city in Turkey similar to Istanbul.
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The weather in Istanbul is moderate, compared to the rest of the Turkish cities. In the north and east are very cold cities, and in the south are cities with hot weather.
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Istanbul is the commercial capital of Turkey and a meeting place for businessmen and international brands.
The only advantage that a foreigner may be looking to buy a property outside Istanbul in Turkey is the price difference, and this is true, but we should not forget the following points:
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In the southern coastal cities, the weather is good during the summer period, which is only 4 months, and the remaining of the year is a harsh winter.
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Istanbul services and infrastructure, such as transportation, government, and educational center, cannot be compared with any other city with cheaper real estate prices.
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Growth, development, and possibility of selling the property easily not available in the remaining cities at the same rate as in Istanbul.
It can be said that buying real estate in Turkey outside the European side of Istanbul remains at the specific desire of a specific type of customer and constitutes the small percentage of investors in general in Turkey.
In conclusion, we will provide important advice to everyone who wants to buy a property in Turkey,
whether for living or investment:
1- Discuss with your real estate advisor Istanbul areas and their advantages before discussing specific projects and make sure that the professional advisor has everything you want to know about real estate in Turkey.
2- Do not judge the price of any property as high because the real estate consultant does not choose the prices but the construction company is doing this, but try to get to know the advantages of any real estate and why it is so expensive and accordingly you can decide if it suits you or not
3- Sharing the approximate budget that you want to buy a property in Turkey with your real estate advisor will facilitate the process and make the offers submitted to you appropriate for your budget.
If your goal is residential:
+Ask your real estate advisor about the features of the region where he offers you and how they can fit your and your family’s needs
+The great importance here is of having the services you mainly need, regardless of the growth rates of real estate prices
+Think about the distant future and how this property can stay suitable for you and your family needs.
+Ensure that the square meter of the property is suitable for you and sufficient for your needs now and in the future.
If your goal is investment:
+Ensure that the property includes the elements of a successful investment that we mentioned above
+Focus on real estate with high investment values regardless of the size of the property (you will not live in it in the end)
+Ensure that it can be easily sold after the investment period and the investment feasibility during the same process.
+Think about the near future if you want to invest in order to obtain Turkish citizenship and in the medium and long term if you want real estate investment in Istanbul to be part of your business.
