Exclusive
The Turkish citizenship decision: the new conditions and the standing requirements 2022
We at Maher Real Estate Investment pride ourselves on providing the latest information from specialists and legal experts
As for Turkish citizenship, we have already published an explainer on the conditions for obtaining Turkish citizenship after the conditions were updated on 21/1/2021
Link to the article for reference:
What follows is a complete, updated article on the wording of the new decisions on Turkish citizenship and on the new and standing conditions in full
First: the new mechanism for obtaining citizenship
1- The most notable of the new conditions for obtaining Turkish citizenship is the ban on reselling the property, once the new Turkish citizen has acquired citizenship, to a foreigner holding the same nationality the owner held before the naturalisation decision was granted
2- The property may not be sold for three years, during which it must be retained together with an undertaking not to sell it until the three years have elapsed. After that the owner is free to sell to a Turkish citizen or to a foreigner, although the foreign buyer will not be able to obtain Turkish citizenship, since the property has to be bought from a citizen who is Turkish by origin
3- The price of the property must be paid in foreign currency to the Central Bank of Turkey through one of the banks operating in the Turkish banking sector agreed upon in advance
4- A document proving that the central bank has purchased the currency must be submitted, as that document is presented to the Land Registry Directorate before the transfer of the title deed to the foreign national (who wishes to obtain citizenship) begins
For more information, see the previous article and Mr Maher Al-Rahil's statement on the new decision
The text of the decision in Turkish from its original source
Documents required to apply for Turkish citizenship
A copy of the title deed of the property owned by the applicant
The property valuation report, provided the value of the property meets the minimum price set for Turkish citizenship.
Receipts for the sums paid towards the price of the property, stamped by the bank through which the money was sent.
The tax number
A copy of the original passport
A translated copy of the passport
A criminal record certificate issued in Turkey
2 passport photographs
A Turkish citizenship application form stating whether it covers the investor alone
or his family as well (usually handled by the lawyer)
The documents requested for the family to obtain Turkish citizenship:
A criminal record certificate for the husband and wife
Certified birth certificates for the children
4 passport photographs
The address of residence outside Turkey
A power of attorney (letter of consent) from the wife to the husband where family members are not in Turkey
Conditions for obtaining Turkish citizenship through the purchase of a property
All financial transactions for the purchase of the property must go through banks, and transactions outside the banking system cannot be accepted.
You cannot buy a property from a foreign (non-Turkish) seller.
The minimum value permitted is (250) thousand US dollars
You cannot sell the property you have bought during the first three years after the purchase.
The validity of the property valuation report must not exceed months
The presence of bank notices for the transfer from the buyer's name to the seller's name,
the exact address of the property as registered with the municipality must be stated, along with the reason for the transfer
In the event the property is mortgaged, the mortgage must be lifted within 5 days of the date of purchase
The purchase of the property must have been completed in full after the date the decision was issued
At Maher Real Estate Investment we are proud to have secured more than 50 Turkish citizenships and to have smoothed the paperwork for all of our clients, who are delighted to hold Turkish citizenship