If you think to get citizenship by investing in Turkey or getting residence permits from Turkey, you can read and benefit from our reliable and useful content. Follow this path to get Turkish citizenship!
Turkish government facilitated applications in 2018 with a new approach and program. With this new citizenship program, foreign nationals and investors can get Turkish citizenship with the purchase of $ 250.000 real estate.
Being a Turkish citizen… It sounds pretty good, right? Well, let’s find about the conditions and methods.
How to invest in Turkish citizenship?
You can follow a few different ways to accomplish this:
Buy a real estate worth $ 250.000
- with a deed restriction not to sell for 3 years.
–OR–
Deposit $ 500.000 cash in Turkish banks.
- with a condition not to withdraw for 3 years
–OR–
Buy government bonds worth $ 500.000
- with a condition not to sell for 3 years
–OR–
Buy shares worth $ 500.000 in Turkish REITs or VCTs
- with a condition not to sell for 3 years
–OR–
Make $ 500.000 fixed-asset investment
–OR–
Hire 50 employees
How to do?
-Open a Turkish bank account
You need to open a Turkish bank account for citizenship. Here’s how we can help with ICanBuy’s exclusive services. Our team will assist to open an account in one day. (Opening a bank account is not compulsory but useful to proceed.)
-Make your investment
Like real estate title deed transfer, cash deposit and government bond/share purchase etc., you need to execute the necessary investment transactions. From the moment you start your process, ICanBuy will be holding your hand.
-Apply for the residence permit
You are required to hold a valid residence permit at the time of citizenship application. Nevertheless, permit holders can continue to live abroad as long as they wish.
-Apply for citizenship
You can immediately apply for the citizenship residence permit is granted. No physical interview is required during the application.
Advantages
If you get Turkish citizenship, your family -like your spouse and children under 18 years old- also gain the right to citizenship with you.
When you apply for Turkish citizenship, you are not required to declare your assets or income that you currently have in other countries.
To get Turkish citizenship, you do not have to live or wait in Turkey. You can continue to live at your home or abroad and apply for this process.
After holding your investment for 3 years, you can cash out your investment and repatriate the funds along with its proceeds (i.e. rental income, interest etc.) free of exchange control restrictions.
Countries where Turkish citizens can visit without a visa
Now, we started to talk about fun topics. After being a citizen of Turkey, you can freely visit many different countries. 91 countries do not claim a visa for 30 to 90 days from Turkish citizens. Besides from 15 countries border crossings, 10 countries can easily give visas to Turkish citizens with online visas.
If you are interested in Schengen Visa, you know that it is the most common visa in Europe. The Schengen visa is a short-stay visa that allows those traveling to any of the member states of the Schengen Area to stay up to 90 days per trip.
On the other hand, it is possible for Turkish citizens to enter North Cyprus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine only with an identity card without a passport.
Notable visa-free countries
EUROPE: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Northern Cyprus, Serbia, Ukraine
ASIA: Bahrain, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Singapore, South Korea
AMERICAS: Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay
AFRICA: Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Tunisia
Frequently Asked Questions
-Will my citizenship automatically be granted when I fulfill the conditions and lodge my application?
No, the citizenship approval is contingent upon verification from archive records of national security units that the applicant poses no threat to national security.
-Which of my family members can get Turkish citizenship?
Your spouse, your children under 18 years old and your children who are over 18 years old but dependent on you due to their medical condition can acquire citizenship along with you.
-Is there any requirement to be fulfilled by my family members?
Each of your family members wishing to acquire Turkish citizenship is NOT required to hold a valid residence permit at the time of citizenship application, except the main applicant (investor).
-Do I have to wait for 3 years to become a Turkish citizen?
No, you can apply for citizenship as soon as you get the residence permit and become a citizen before the completion of the compulsory 3-year investment holding period.
-Do I have to renounce my current citizenship when I become a Turkish citizen?
No, Turkish laws allow dual or multiple citizenships.
-What types of real estate can I buy?
You can buy residential and office units, buildings and land, subject to certain restrictions (e.g. the real estate must not be located in a military forbidden zone).
-Can I buy more than one piece of real property, the total value of which exceeds $ 250.000, instead of buying one?
You can buy multiple real property worth $ 250.000 in total, provided that the title deed transfer process is taken care according to the citizenship rules.
-What taxes do I pay when I buy real estate?
There are two important taxes arising from a property sale. (I) Transfer tax and (II) value-added tax (VAT).
The transfer tax rate is 4% of the sale price. However, the government frequently reduces the rate for temporary periods to promote the market. In principal, the seller and the buyer share the transfer tax burden equally. In practice, however, the buyer usually pays the entire tax amount.
VAT is paid by the buyer and is applicable if the seller is a business entity. However, foreign investors are exempt from paying VAT if the following conditions are met together:
-the investor is not resident in Turkey at the time of purchase and
-the real estate is a residential or office unit or building and
-the real estate is to be sold for the first time directly by the real estate development firm that owns the construction project.
The VAT rate is between 1% and 18% for all sales that are not in scope of the above exemption.
VAT is not applicable if the seller is a real person.
