Turkish Citizenship by Investment in Turkey

What Turkish citizenship by investment is

Article 12(1)(b) of Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901 allows foreigners who make an investment set by the President to acquire Turkish citizenship exceptionally. Article 20 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law lists seven routes: real estate, a bank deposit, government debt instruments, real estate or venture capital fund units, a private pension, fixed capital and employment. An authority for each route certifies the investment, and the file ends with a security review and a Presidential decision.

The real estate route has required USD 400,000 since 13 June 2022 (Presidential Decision No. 5554), up from USD 250,000. Reports of a rise to USD 600,000 or USD 800,000 have not been enacted: any increase needs a Presidential Decision in the Official Gazette, and none had been found when we checked in October 2026. Since 6 January 2022 every amount is stated in US dollars or the equivalent foreign currency, which is sold to a bank in Turkey, with a Foreign Exchange Purchase Certificate (DAB), before the investment. The amounts, holding periods and authorities of all seven routes are compared in the table above.

What the citizenship gives you

A positive decision makes the investor, and the spouse and children included in the application, Turkish citizens. Each new citizen then applies for a Turkish identity card and passport.

• Living and working in Turkey. A citizen needs no residence permit or work permit and has the same rights and duties as other Turkish citizens.
• A Turkish passport. Which countries you can visit without a visa depends on each country's rules, and the list changes, so check it for your own travel plans.
• Your current nationality. Whether you can keep it is decided by your home country's law. Some countries do not recognise dual nationality, and Pakistan, for example, allows it only with the countries on its official list, which did not include Türkiye in October 2026. The nationality pages above summarise the rules for ten countries.
• Duties as well as rights. Men are subject to the military service rules below, and a citizenship decision can be cancelled or withdrawn, as the 2026 revocations show.

If you want to live in Turkey without becoming a citizen, other statuses have their own rules: a residence permit through property ownership requires a residential property with a title-deed price of at least USD 200,000 for purchases from 16 October 2023, and the Turquoise Card has its own criteria.

Who can apply, and who can be included

A foreign national can apply after making a qualifying investment on one of the seven routes. Every application goes through a security review before the Presidential decision, and public order or security concerns, or an irregular transaction, can lead to a refusal.

Buying property as a foreigner. On the real estate route, the buyer must also be allowed to own property in Turkey. Under Article 35 of Land Registry Law No. 2644, foreign individuals can acquire real estate only as nationals of the countries determined by the President. The list is not published: any land registry directorate confirms the status of a country. One foreign individual may own at most 30 hectares in Turkey, and nothing can be bought in military prohibited zones or security zones.

Family. The investor's spouse and children younger than 18 can apply with the investor on the same investment, so the amount does not change with the size of the family. Parents, brothers and sisters, and children aged 18 or over, are not covered by the investor's application and need a qualifying investment of their own. See citizenship for family members.

Military service. Under Article 43 of Military Service Law No. 7179, men who acquire Turkish citizenship are deemed to have completed military service if they were 22 or older in the year of naturalisation, or if they document that they served in their previous country. Men who are still liable may defer service for two years from naturalisation, on request, and paid military service (bedelli askerlik) remains open to them.

How long it takes

Citizenship by investment usually takes 8 to 12 months end to end, from the choice of route and the investment to the passport. No official processing time is published, and no timeframe can be guaranteed.

Preparing and making the investment, then obtaining the certificate and the residence permit, usually take a few weeks each. The security review and the Presidential decision are usually the longest stage, and they are the same on every route. A file takes longer when documents are incomplete or inconsistent, or when a property fails the valuation or eligibility checks. In 2026, stricter checks after the revocations and the change of valuation providers on 28 September 2026 may also affect timing. Each stage is explained on the process, documents and timeline page.

Costs beyond the investment

As general information, these are the main costs on top of the investment amount. Figures change, so confirm your own position with a licensed accountant or tax adviser.

• Title deed fee (tapu harcı). 2% of the price from the buyer and 2% from the seller, 4% in total. The parties can agree who pays, but each stays liable for its share. Since Law No. 7566 (Official Gazette of 19 December 2025), the fee is calculated on the declared transfer price, which may not be lower than the property-tax value, and under-declaration carries a penalty of 100% of the missing tax.
• Revolving fund fee (döner sermaye). A separate land registry charge: a fixed amount per transaction, the base indicator multiplied by a local coefficient between 0.30 and 3.00, under the 2026 TKGM tariff.
• Valuation report. Since 28 September 2026 it can be prepared by any valuation firm licensed by the Capital Markets Board (SPK), a member of the Turkish Valuation Experts Association (TDUB) and connected to TADEBİS, the land registry's valuation system; from March 2024 until then, only GEDAŞ could. The report is valid for 6 months.
• VAT on a new build. The first delivery of a newly built residence or workplace to a foreigner not resident in Turkey can be exempt from VAT if the price is brought in foreign currency, at least half before the sale and the rest within one year. If you dispose of the property within 3 years, the unpaid VAT plus interest becomes due, and a foreigner who is tax-resident in Turkey cannot use the exemption. Without it, the rate is 1%, 10% or 20%, depending on the building permit date, the size and the type of project (GİB VAT rates).
• Earthquake insurance (DASK). The land registry requires a compulsory earthquake insurance policy valid on the transaction date, and since 5 September 2026 a new policy in the buyer's name.
• Documents. Translations, notarisations, apostilles or legalisation, and a power of attorney if someone signs for you.
• The financial routes. There is no title deed fee or valuation, but the bank deposit is converted to Turkish lira and held for 3 years, so you carry the currency risk; the value of bonds, fund units and pension funds can move.

Our own fees are not published: contact us for fees, questions and service scope.

Keeping your citizenship

The 3-year rule. On the real estate route the title deed carries an annotation that the property will not be sold or transferred for three years. Selling within that period, or later transferring the property back to the previous owner or that owner's first-degree relatives, cancels the investment determination certificate. On the bank deposit, government debt instrument, fund and pension routes, the investment is also kept for 3 years. What changes once the period ends is explained in our guide to selling property after Turkish citizenship.

The 2026 revocations. The Interior Ministry announced in 2026 that the citizenship decisions of 6,134 people, 1,413 investors with their family members, had been cancelled or withdrawn under Articles 31 and 40 of Law No. 5901: 5,391 people after inspections of irregular transactions, mainly inflated or fake valuation reports, and 743 people on public order and security grounds (Interior Ministry press release).

The parts of a file you control are the ones that matter here: a genuine price declared in full on the title deed, payments through banks that match it, a valuation that reflects the market, and documents that are complete and true. See property selection and due diligence.

How we work on a citizenship file

Gordion Partners is a Turkish citizenship by investment and relocation consultancy, founded in 2021 with an office in Şişli, Istanbul, and led by its founder, Burak Ünal. On a citizenship file we:

• explain each route's official conditions: the amount, the holding period, the certificate and the authority that issues it, and what each means for your family;
• coordinate the tax number, the bank appointments, the documents, translations and notarisations, the conformity certificate and the residence permit;
• prepare the application file with you and follow it to the decision;
• give consultations in twelve languages (English, French, Turkish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, German, Spanish, Hindi, Urdu, Persian and Bengali), at our office or by video call.

What we do not do:

• No investment advice. Gordion Partners holds no authorisation from the Capital Markets Board (SPK) and does not recommend a bank, deposit, bond, fund, pension plan or route. Investment advice may be given only by institutions the SPK authorises for it, and the investment decision is yours.
• No property brokerage. We do not list, market, sell or broker property. Where a client needs real estate brokerage, it is provided by Burak Ünal through his registered sole proprietorship trading as Bosphorus Brokers, under a separate written agreement.
• No court representation. We are not a law firm and do not represent clients in court; a client who needs legal advice or representation engages an independent lawyer.
• No guarantees. The decision belongs to the Turkish authorities, so no one can guarantee approval or a timeframe.

Related guides

• Turkish citizenship refused or revoked: common reasons
• Buying off-plan on a promise of sale contract
• Turquoise Card or citizenship by investment
• Military service after Turkish citizenship by investment
• The total cost of Turkish citizenship by investment
• The property valuation report for foreign buyers
• Visa-free countries for Turkish passport holders