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Pathway

Turkish Citizenship by Investment

Türkiye (Turkey) Citizenship
Pathway overview

At a glance

Türkiye's exceptional citizenship route is for applicants who complete one of the investment or job-creation options set by the government and obtain the required eligibility certificate. The real-estate minimum is USD $400,000; most capital options require USD $500,000 and a three-year hold.

Investment choices
Real estate from USD $400,000; most other asset routes from USD $500,000; or at least 50 jobs
Approval requirements
Official certification, the required holding period, and security and public-order review
Family
Qualifying spouse and minor or dependent children; confirm each child's eligibility

Summary

Türkiye can grant citizenship through an exceptional procedure to a foreign national who completes one of the investment or job-creation routes set by the government. The lowest current capital threshold is USD $400,000 for real estate. Most other asset-based routes require USD $500,000, and the employment route requires at least 50 jobs.

This is not citizenship automatically produced by a payment. The relevant Turkish authority must first certify that the investment meets its rules. The applicant then uses the exceptional-citizenship process, which includes national-security and public-order review and ends with a Presidential decision. Unlike ordinary naturalization, this route does not use the standard five-year residence or Turkish-language test.

Article 12 of the Turkish Citizenship Law also covers the qualifying investor's foreign spouse and the applicant's or spouse's minor or dependent foreign children. The exact family file and dependency evidence should be confirmed before investing, particularly for an adult child.

Investment certification precedes the citizenship decision
  1. Choose an official investment or job-creation route Identify the authority that certifies eligibility and review the transaction before transferring funds.
  2. Complete and certify the qualifying investment Document ownership, payments, source of funds, and the applicable holding restriction.
  3. Follow the residence and exceptional-citizenship process Complete any required investor-residence stage and the security and public-order review.

The final citizenship decision is presidential. An investment certificate or payment does not itself grant nationality.

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Eligibility

An applicant must complete at least one current route:

For real estate, the current Land Registry procedure looks at the declared sale price and documented payments and requires the citizenship-purpose restriction in the land record. A normal property purchase, a preliminary contract that does not meet the regulatory conditions, or a valuation alone is not enough. Property ownership is also subject to the general rules governing what foreign nationals may acquire and where.

The citizenship application must not present an obstacle to national security or public order. Meeting an investment threshold therefore creates eligibility to be considered; it does not create an absolute right to approval.

What This Route Allows

If the Presidential decision is positive, the applicant becomes a Turkish citizen and can be entered in the population register, obtain a Turkish identity card, and apply for a Turkish passport. Citizenship removes the need for a separate residence or work permit in Türkiye.

Türkiye's Citizenship Law recognizes multiple citizenship and provides for it to be recorded in the family register. Whether an applicant may keep another citizenship also depends on the law of the other country, so that point must be checked separately.

The legal family provision may allow the foreign spouse and the applicant's or spouse's minor or dependent foreign children to be considered with the investor. It does not automatically cover parents, independent adult children, or other relatives.

What This Route Is Not

This is not the same as the property-owner short-term residence category. The current residence application form uses a USD $200,000 property value rule for that residence purpose, while citizenship through real estate requires at least USD $400,000 and the three-year title restriction.

It is not a promise of a particular processing time, passport-access result, investment return, or resale value. Currency movements, property defects, liens, title restrictions, taxes, fund risk, bank risk, and exit costs remain real commercial issues. Citizenship eligibility does not make an unsuitable investment financially safe.

The three-year holding period is a minimum compliance period for the relevant investment routes. Do not sell, withdraw, transfer, or restructure the asset during that period without written confirmation from the certifying authority that the change will not break the condition.

Next Steps

  1. Choose one official route and identify the government body that must issue its eligibility certificate.
  2. Before transferring money, verify the applicant and family structure, source-of-funds record, translations, powers of attorney, and any nationality-specific property restriction.
  3. For real estate, use the Land Registry and Cadastre process, confirm title and payment evidence, and ensure the three-year citizenship restriction is recorded correctly. Do not rely only on a developer or seller's description.
  4. Complete the investment and obtain the formal eligibility certificate from the responsible ministry or regulator.
  5. Follow Migration Management's instructions for the Article 31(1)(j) investor residence step where required, then prepare the exceptional-citizenship file with the Directorate General of Population and Citizenship Affairs.
  6. Keep the investment and every supporting record intact for the full required period. Report material family or family-status changes while the application is pending.
  7. After a positive citizenship decision, complete population registration and apply separately for identity and passport documents.

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Discussed in these reports

Citizenship-by-investment options in other countries.

Sources