Citizenship in Turkey

Question 1: Can I get citizenship if I buy a house with TL?
Answer 1: No. You should take 400 thousand dollars to the bank and exchange it, and send the TL you will get in return to the seller's bank account.

Question 2: I bought a property worth 400 thousand USD on 13.01.2017, can I get citizenship?
Answer 2: No. For properties purchased between 12.01.2017-18.09.2018, the citizenship figure is 1 million dollars, and for properties purchased after 18.09.2018, it is 400 thousand dollars.

Question 3: Can I get citizenship if I buy immovable property with a sales promise contract from a notary public, not from the title deed?
Answer: Citizenship can also be obtained with immovables purchased with a notary sales promise agreement after 07.12.2018.

Question 4: I bought a property in 2016, can I get citizenship?
Answer 4: Citizenship cannot be obtained with immovables purchased before 12.01.2017.

Question 5: Can I get citizenship if I buy a property in the name of my spouse, child or company?
Answer 5: You cannot. The property must be bought in the name of the person who will apply for citizenship. Citizenship cannot be obtained with the immovable property bought on behalf of the company.

Question 6: If I buy a property worth 400 thousand dollars, will my spouse and children also become citizens?
Answer 6: Yes. By buying a $400,000 property, you can obtain citizenship for yourself, your spouse and your children under 18 years of age.

Question 7: Can I only buy a house for citizenship?
Answer 7: No. You can also buy a workplace, land, field, garden.

Question 8: Can I get citizenship if I buy land with a notarised sales promise contract?
Answer 8: No. You can only get citizenship by buying immovable property with condominium easement and condominium ownership with a sales promise contract from a notary public. You cannot get citizenship by obtaining a land, field, garden sales promise contract from a notary public.

Question 9: Can I get citizenship if I buy 5 properties with a total value of 400 thousand dollars?
Answer 9: The number of immovables is not important. The total value of the immovables is important. In other words, you can buy 10 properties, 1 of which is 40 thousand dollars. Or you can get citizenship by buying a house worth 150 thousand dollars and a land worth 250 thousand dollars.

Question 10: Can I get citizenship by buying ½ of a property with a value of 800 thousand dollars?
Answer 10: No. Citizenship cannot be obtained with a shared property. You must be the sole owner of the immovable property.

Question 11: There are 10 shareholders of an immovable property. If I buy this immovable from all shareholders, can I get citizenship if I am the sole owner?
Answer 11: Yes, you can. The important thing here is not that the sellers are shareholders, but that the buyer is the sole owner.

Question 12: Previously, the limit to obtain citizenship was 250 thousand dollars, at that time I bought a property worth 250 thousand dollars, can I obtain citizenship?
Answer 12: No. In this case, you can get citizenship if you buy another property worth 150 thousand dollars and complete it for 400 thousand dollars.

Question 13: Can I get citizenship if I buy a property from a project whose construction has not started yet?
Answer 13: If it is understood from the expert report that the construction has not started, you cannot get citizenship. Then you have to wait for the construction to start.

Question 14: Can I get citizenship if I buy a property from a project where construction has started but not yet completed?
Answer 14: Yes, you can. In this case, the value is determined in the expert report as follows: How much would the value of the immovable be if the construction was finished.

Question 15: I bought the property for 400 thousand dollars, but the seller wants to show it lower in the title deed, can I get citizenship in this case?
Answer 15: You can't. The three figures have to be $400,000. One is the appraiser's value, two is the title deed value, three is the money paid to the buyer through the bank. Make sure that all three figures are 400 thousand dollars.

Question 16: We were going to make a sale, but at the last moment the seller's job came up. Is it necessary to have a re-appraisal now?
Answer 16: No. These reports are valid for 3 months. You can transfer the title deed within three months.

Question 17: Is the appraisal report in dollars? If it is in TL, how do we know if this value is 400 thousand dollars?
Answer 17: No. The report comes out in TL. If you divide the amount in the report by the exchange rate of the day before, you will find the result. For example, the report is 8 million liras on 30.05.2023, the exchange rate on 29.05.2023 is 20 liras, so 8 million liras/20 liras=400 thousand dollars.

Question 18: In order to get citizenship, we need to exchange 400 thousand dollars at the bank. Does the bank give us a document, what should be written in this document?
Answer 18: Yes. The bank issues a foreign currency purchase certificate. This document must contain the name, surname, passport number or foreign identity number of the buyer, information about the property, and how much foreign currency was exchanged.

Question 19: Can we show the purchase amount in dollars at the title deed? Can we show the purchase amount in dollars if we make a sales promise contract at the notary?
Answer 19: Only TL is shown in the title deed, but in the contract of promise of sale at the notary public, it can be shown in TL or in dollars.

Question: 20: The seller wants to receive part or all of the sale price by hand, what should I do?
Answer: You should definitely make the full payment to the buyer's account via bank. Because the land registry office will definitely request the bank receipt for the citizenship process.

Question 21: The seller wants me to send some or all of the sale price to the account of a relative or company, what should I do?
Answer 21: The payment must be made to the account of the person or company whose name is written on the title deed. The title deed office will not accept the receipt of the payment made to the seller's spouse or any other person.

Question 22: The seller says that you make the payment and then let's go and transfer the title deed. But I don't trust the seller, what if he doesn't transfer the title deed or it can't be done for some other reason?
Answer 22: There are secure payment methods in real estate purchase and sale transactions. You can request information about this from the land registry office.

Question 23: I bought the property in instalments, can I get citizenship in this case?
Answer 23: Each instalment after 12.01.2017 is calculated according to the exchange rate on the date of payment. For payments after 24.01.2022, it is obligatory to exchange foreign currency to the bank and obtain a foreign currency purchase certificate.

Question 24: I am told that I have to buy the property from a Turk, is this true?
Answer 24: Correct. The immovable property must be bought from a Turk or from a company 100% owned by Turks.

Question 25: Is there a problem if the Turk who sold me the property bought it from a foreigner?
Answer 25: There is no problem if the Turkish person who sold the property to you did not buy it from you or your relatives, or from a company in which you or your relatives are shareholders. In other words, if the Turk who sold the property to you bought it from a foreigner who has nothing to do with you, then there is no problem. However, if the Turk who sold this property to you bought it from another foreigner, 3 years must have passed since the date of this purchase.

Question 26: I am a Turk, I had my house built by a foreigner, i.e. I did not buy it from the foreigner, I only had it built by him. In this case, can I sell my immovable property immediately to a foreigner who wants to get citizenship?
Answer 26: Yes, you can sell it. It is one thing for a foreigner to build you a house and another thing for a foreigner to sell you a house.

Question 27: My father is a Turkish citizen but I am a foreigner. Can I become a Turkish citizen by buying a property from my father?
Answer 27: No. The person you buy the property from should not be your relative or a company in which your relative is a partner.

Question 28: Can I get citizenship if I buy a house built by a foreign company?
Answer 28: Yes, you can if you meet certain conditions. For example: This foreign company must meet the conditions of Article 36 of the Land Registry Law, this company must be the owner of the immovable property, the name of this company must be on the construction licence.

Question 29: A friend of mine got citizenship through his house, three years have passed, can I also get citizenship if I buy this property?
Answer 29: No. A property can only be used for citizenship once.

Question 30: Can I sell my property after obtaining citizenship?
Answer 30: You cannot sell the property for three years.

Question 31: What happens if I sell this property back to the person I bought it from after I get citizenship?
Answer 31: Your citizenship can be cancelled. You should not sell it to the person or company you bought it from.

Question 32: I want to buy a property with a foreign currency loan, can I get citizenship in this case?
Answer 32: Part of the sale price will be paid in cash and part of the sale price will be paid in cash. In this case, the part paid in cash is taken into consideration. For example, if you bought a house worth 1 million dollars and 400 thousand dollars of it is in cash and 600 thousand dollars is a loan, then you can get citizenship.

Question 33: Can I get citizenship by buying mortgaged or foreclosed property?
Answer 33: Yes, you can. However, the amount you paid as sales price will be taken into consideration here.