Turkish citizenship entitles you to permanently reside in the country and apply for an E2 business visa to the United States. To obtain a passport, investors most often buy real estate for $250,000 or more. Registration of status takes from three to six months. The investment can be returned in three years.
We will tell you how to get Turkish citizenship, who is suitable and how this program differs from others.
Turkey is known as a resort country with a mild Mediterranean climate, stunning nature, rich cuisine and hospitable people. But its benefits are not only in the weather and culture. Investors become Turkish citizens in order to get the prospects of profitable investments, business development, purchase of liquid real estate, as well as the opportunity to obtain an E2 business visa in the United States. Travel without visas. Turkish citizens travel without visas to 111 countries, among them are Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
There is the opportunity to apply for an E2 investor visa to the United States and move there with the whole family. Turkey and the United States have signed an agreement on the issuance of this type of visa.
E2 visa is nonimmigrant – you cannot get a green card and apply for citizenship with it. It is valid for five years, after which it can be renewed for two years.
There is no minimum investment requirement for the E2 visa. If you increase investment in the American economy to $900,000 or create ten jobs, you can get an EB5 visa and a green card that opens the gate to citizenship.
Investors do not need to give up their current citizenship and do not take exams in the language or history of the country. Moreover, the investment program does not oblige the
applicant to live in Turkey in order to obtain or maintain the status.
Turkish citizens get the opportunity to receive treatment in the country’s clinics or study at universities for free. There are also no restrictions on the inheritance of real estate and assets.
Until recently, one of the advantages of Turkish citizenship was the opportunity to move the whole family to the UK on a business visa (Turkish Businessperson Visa) in one to two months. No investment was needed – capital transfer or opening of a business was enough. After moving to the Turkish Businessperson Visa, you could apply for permanent residence in the UK and citizenship of the country.
The Turkish Businessperson Visa program closed at the end of 2020. Its extension is currently being discussed.
The prospect of becoming a citizen of the European Union. Turkey claims to join the European Union and is negotiating visa-free travel to the Schengen area.
A foreigner who has not been convicted, has not violated Turkish immigration laws and has fulfilled the conditions of the program can obtain Turkish citizenship.
Citizens of Armenia, Cuba, Nigeria, North Korea and Syria cannot participate in the program.
Turkish citizenship is granted to the spouse of the investor and children under 18 years of age. Furthermore, the parents of the spouses or their adult children can obtain citizenship if they are financially dependent on the investor. There is no need to make additional investments for children and parents.
If the adult children and parents of the investor have their own sources of income, they cannot be included in the application. To obtain citizenship, they participate in the program as individual main applicants and fulfill the investment conditions.
You can obtain Turkish citizenship within three to six months. Among foreigners, Turkish citizenship by investment is in demand. This is how up to half of all applicants receive a Turkish passport. Over the past two years, over 35 thousand people have received Turkish passports in this way. The applicant can choose any of six investment options:
1.
Purchase of real estate worth $250,000. This is the easiest and most popular investment option when applying. You can buy any property: apartment, house, commercial /industrial premises and land.
It is not necessary to buy one object – you can buy several apartments with a total cost of over $250,000. The only condition: no more than two months should elapse between transactions.
In March 2021, the Turkish government amended the rules for real estate transactions between foreigners. The object can be used to participate in the citizenship program only once. If an investor bought an apartment and then sold it to another foreign citizen, he will not be able to obtain citizenship for the purchase of real estate.
The property can no longer be sold to its previous owner – Turkish company or a citizen. If an investor buys housing from a developer and then sells it to him, the basis for obtaining Turkish citizenship will be revised. An exception is the return of real estate to its former owner by a court decision.
2.
A deposit in a bank of $500,000 or more. You can save money in any currency accepted by the Turkish bank. The average interest on deposits in Turkish lira in 2020 is from 6.75 to 15.5%, in dollars – from 0.9 to 1.5%.
3.
Purchase of national securities from $500,000: government bonds and bills, as well as shares of investment funds specializing in real estate or venture capital investments.
4.
Purchase of government bonds in the amount of $500,000 with an obligation to preserve assets for three years.
5.
Purchase of shares of investment funds for $500,000, specializing in real estate or venture capital investments, with an obligation to preserve assets for three years.
6.
Open a business with a capital of $500,000 or create at least 50 jobs.
Investments in Turkish citizenship are returnable. Three years after obtaining citizenship, you can sell the purchased papers or real estate or close the deposit. If you are lucky, the investment will be profitable.
Salaahaddin Global
All Things Turkish 🇹🇷
The most popular option to obtain Turkish investment citizenship is to buy a property. Unlike some of these programs, foreigners do not need to obtain permits to buy real estate.
There are many real estate properties in Turkey for every taste: inexpensive apartments, apartments in modern residential complexes with their own infrastructure, penthouses, mansions, villas by the sea, commercial premises. Most often, investors buy housing in Istanbul, Antalya and Ankara.
The cost of a one-room apartment in a provincial city averages from $30,000 to $50,000, villas with several bedrooms – from $100,000.
For $250,000 an investor can buy a choice of:
several inexpensive apartments in Kemer;
a two-room apartment in Istanbul with an area of 80 m²;
three-room apartment in Antalya with an area of 170 m²;
villa by the sea in Alanya with an area of 200 m².
Purchased Turkish real estate can be a profitable investment. Real estate in Istanbul doubles in nominal value within five to ten years. The rise in house prices in the country usually ranges from 5 to 20% per year. The real rise in prices, taking into account high inflation, is more modest – from 2 to 6.5% per annum. From 2015 to 2019, prices even fell slightly. Rent will bring another 5 to 8% per annum.
Turkish real estate is one of the cheapest in Asia. A square meter costs an average of $450 to $800. Housing is very liquid – usually properties are sold in a couple of months.
The demand for housing amid Turkey’s economic difficulties is largely supported by foreigners. The devaluation of the Turkish Lira plays into their hands – there are many properties on the market at attractive prices.
Obtaining of Turkish citizenship by investment goes in several stages.
1.
Meeting the requirements of the program: searching and buying real estate, starting a business, buying securities or opening a deposit. To do this, you will also need to open a bank account and obtain a taxpayer number.
2.
Collecting the necessary documents. In addition to standard documents, e.g. a questionnaire, a copy of a passport, confirmation of payment of state fees and photos, you will need:
a police clearance certificate;
a notarized permit for the processing of the applicant’s data by local officials. Thanks to it, government departments will have access to information about your bank accounts, assets and real estate;
documents confirming the implementation of investments: for example, a certificate of conformity from the cadastral service, a market assessment report, an extract from a bank or investment fund, constituent documents.
All foreign documents must be translated into Turkish, notarized and apostilled.
3.
Obtaining a short-term residence permit. This document is issued without problems. It is enough to indicate the goal – to obtain investment citizenship.
4.
Applying for citizenship at the Turkish registry office or at the embassy abroad. To the already collected package of documents, you must add a copy of the residence permit and submit biometric data. The application is considered within three months. During this time, the documents are studied by the Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the decision on granting citizenship will be signed by the president.
5.
Obtain a Turkish passport. The applicant comes to Turkey and receives a passport. If this is not possible, the documents can be obtained by a lawyer.
In addition to investing in the Turkish economy, there are several other ways to obtain Turkish citizenship:
Through marriage – after three years of marriage.
By birth – suitable for those who have at least one parent who is a Turkish citizen.
Through employment – after five years of work under a contract.
Through naturalization – after five years of living in Turkey. An important condition: during this time, you cannot leave the country for a total of more than six months. To apply, you will also need to prove knowledge of the Turkish language, have a job or prove a sufficient level of income.
The easiest way to get an initial tourist residence permit is to buy any property. Another way is to get a permanent residence permit by purchasing real estate worth $100,000. A permanent residence permit will be given for two years, then it can be extended for another three years.
For special merit (Turquoise Card) – for outstanding achievements in science, business, culture or sports.
Citizenship by investment in Turkey is suitable for those who want to live permanently in the country, obtain an American E2 investor visa or have a “second string” in case of an emergency at home. Also, the status of a citizen allows you to buy real estate at preferential mortgage rates.
A Turkish Residence Permit is an authorization to remain in Turkey for longer than three months in half a year, under purposes as settlement, working or studying.
A residence permit enables you to live in Turkey, study, get married, convert to Turkish drivers’ license, get tax number, open a bank account, purchase property, make investments, and much more.
If your purpose of moving to Turkey is working, you will only need a work permit, which also serves as a residence permit.
Every person that moves to Turkey with the intention to remain in the country for more than three months needs to get a Turkey Residence Permit upon arrival. Without a residence permit, your stay in Turkey will be considered illegal.
You will be exempt from this requirement if one of the following applies to you:
The Turkish short-term residence permit is the most sought after among all other residence permits. You can get this residence permit for any of the following purposes:
You can get a student residence permit if you are in Turkey under the purpose of enrolling in primary or secondary education. If you already have a family residence permit you will not need this one.
You will be eligible to apply for this residence also if you are planning to study at the levels of associate degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctorate, specialty training in medicine (TUS), and specialty training in dentistry (DUS) in a higher education institution in Turkey.
If you have resided in Turkey for at least eight years uninterruptedly, under a residence permit issued by the Turkish authorities, then you can lodge an application for Turkish long-term permit which has an indefinite validity.
Note that if you have resided in Turkey for the specified period as a refugee, conditional refugee and secondary protection status holders, humanitarian residence permit holders and temporary protection you are not eligible to apply.
You can apply for this residence permit if you are in Turkey without a valid visa or residence permit, but no deportation decision has been taken against you, you are waiting for your deportation, or you cannot return to your country of residence due to emergency reasons.
To apply for a Turkish Residence Permit you need to follow a number of procedures. The first thing you should know is that you must apply for a residence permit within a month of arrival in Turkey.
Decide for which type of residence permit you want to apply for, we can then assist you with our team of experts on obtaining your residency. You will have to give your name and surname, date of birth, parents’ names, nationality and contact info.
Then you will be presented with the address of the nearest DGMM office and the list of the required documents, the available dates and times for the appointment and the application and card fee that you ought to pay.
On the day of your appointment, you will need to submit several documents at the nearest office of Directorate General of Migration Management. The required documents for a Turkish residence permit are as follows:
These documents need to be apostilled by the Director General of International Relations in your respective country.
Note that according to your situation, the type of residence permit you are applying for and your nationality, you may have to submit additional documents. Make sure you submit them all on time, as required.
The validity of a Residence Permit in Turkey depends on the type of permit that you hold, as follows:
• Passport, copy of passport;
• Color photographs (4 pcs., 3,5 x4,5);
• Filled in application form, which is handled over in the Foreign Police Office;
• The bank statement confirming sufficient funds (about $ 500 for one month stay in Antalya and some other areas – $ 1000) or a certificate of currency exchange;
• Сertificate of property ownership in Turkey (Tapu), original and copy.
Note: The permanent residency is issued after receiving a response from the Turkish government, the response may last about 2 months.
The owner of the residence permit for a period of 1 year may renew it each year without any limit for as long as he owns the property. Renewal process of a residence permit can be done in Turkey. If a property owner does not live more than 1 year in Turkey, the time period may be shortened.
Permanent residency may be issued not only to the property owners, but also to the members of his/her family – husband/wife and children. The presence of a residence permit does not give foreigners the permission to work in the country.
Salaahaddin Global is a South African owned consulting firm based in Istanbul, Turkey.
We have a team of professionals both in South Africa and in Turkey to ensure that we can provide the best possible solutions for our clients who want to immigrate, invest or do business in Turkey.
Our team consists of accounting and legal firms in both South Africa and Turkey, as well as a panel of various consultants and experts to assist with all our clients needs ensuring and securing proper compliance on all investments, business opportunities and other interests between the countries.
🇿🇦🇹🇷
This will be added in the near future. Thank you for your understanding.