Turkey Citizenship by Investment Requirements and Costs (2026)

The core requirements for Turkey citizenship by investment are one qualifying investment (USD 400,000 in qualifying property, USD 500,000 in a financial or capital route, or 50 jobs), confirmed by the competent body and held for three years where the Regulation says so, plus an investor residence permit. The President decides, and approval is never guaranteed.

This checklist is general information about the requirements for Turkish citizenship by investment and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Requirements are stated as verified against official Turkish sources in September 2026 and can change by Presidential Decision at short notice. Citizenship is granted at the President’s discretion and is never guaranteed. Take advice from Turkish counsel, and on your home country’s nationality rules, before you commit any money.

On this page

• What are the requirements for Turkish citizenship by investment?
• Requirements by investment route
• The real estate route checklist
• What does not count: a disqualification checklist
• The documents checklist
• Family requirements: who is included
• What it costs: the investment amounts
• Timing requirements to know
• Common reasons applications fail
• After citizenship: the obligations
• Frequently asked questions
• The bottom line

What are the requirements for Turkish citizenship by investment?

Turkish citizenship by investment rests on Law 5901, art. 12(1)(b), added by Law 6735 of 28 July 2016, with the working rules in art. 20 of the Citizenship Regulation. To be considered, you need all six of the following:

• A qualifying investment under one of the seven routes in Regulation art. 20(2).
• An attestation from the body competent for that route, under its own verification procedure (art. 20(9)).
• The holding period the Regulation sets for your route: three years for the property and the financial routes.
• An investor residence permit under Law 6458, art. 31(1)(j), held by the investor and issued for up to 5 years at a time. Your spouse and children qualify as the permit holder’s family (Law 5901, art. 12(1)(b)).
• A clean file. Refusal is required where there is a national security or public order obstacle (art. 12(2)), and a grant based on false statements can be annulled (art. 31).
• Your family in the file. A spouse is not added automatically (Law 5901, art. 20(2)).

Art. 12 itself sets one condition beyond the investment: no national security or public order obstacle. NVI, Turkey’s population and citizenship directorate, describes the route as applying “regardless of the other conditions generally required” for acquiring Turkish citizenship. Those general conditions, in Law 5901 art. 11, include five years’ continuous residence in Turkey and speaking adequate Turkish; they are not conditions of art. 12. For how the programme developed, see our guide to Turkey citizenship by investment.

Nationality. Neither Law 5901 art. 12 nor Regulation art. 20 contains a nationality list. The property route is different: it depends on a presidential country list covering 185 countries (BKK 2012/3504), which TKGM, Turkey’s land registry authority, says is not public. Confirm your country’s position at a land registry directorate. If you hold more than one nationality, the least-privileged one governs the property purchase.

Requirements by investment route

Three rules sit across the table:

• Measurement. USD values are measured at the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) effective selling rate and/or cross rate on the determination date (art. 20(6)).
• Switching. You may move between investment types to complete the three years (art. 20(8)).
• Dates. The USD 400,000 property threshold applies to purchases from 13 June 2022, under Presidential Decision 5554 published on 13 May 2022. The private pension route came in with the same decision and took effect on publication.

A note on USD 600,000: that figure circulates online, but it is not in the Regulation and no Official Gazette instrument enacts it. We found no amendment to art. 20 after 12 December 2023. Recheck the Official Gazette (Resmî Gazete) before you commit funds.

The real estate route checklist

This is the list of conditions. For the order in which things happen, use our step-by-step guide to the property route.

The property

• Since 12 December 2023, it is an independent unit under condominium (kat mülkiyeti) or construction servitude (kat irtifakı), or land registered as “arsa” with a permanent building holding an occupancy permit (the occupancy-permit detail is TKGM’s reading).
• You buy whole units. A share (hisseli) purchase does not qualify, though buying the whole of a jointly owned property does.
• Several properties bought by sale may be combined to reach the threshold.
• A presale is one notarised contract for the full amount, paid by the contract date. A shortfall cannot be topped up with a presale contract.
• The purchase and payments are dated on or after 12 January 2017; a presale contract is dated on or after 7 December 2018. (“12 January 2019”, seen online, is not an official date.)
• It is not in a military forbidden zone. Special security zones need the governor’s permission; heritage (sit) areas get an extra ministry check.
• Foreigners’ holdings stay within the 10% district cap and the 30-hectare per-person cap.

The value: the three-value test and the TTB

• The declared deed price (or presale price), the TTB value and your total payments each reach USD 400,000.
• The Tutar Tespit Belgesi (TTB), TKGM’s value certificate, is requested through WebTapu and based on a report by the valuation company designated under TKGM Circular 2024/2 (in force 1 March 2024). Paper TTBs are not accepted.
• The TTB is no more than 6 months old when you apply. For transactions after 13 June 2024, a TTB below USD 400,000 means rejection. Sales by public bodies, municipalities and REITs are TTB-exempt, though TKGM may still ask for one.
• If you use a foreign-currency mortgage, the loan amount is deducted and the remainder still reaches USD 400,000.

The seller and the buyer

• The title is in your own name. Purchases in the name of a spouse, a child, or a company you own or manage do not count.
• The seller is not a foreigner, not a person who became Turkish under art. 12(1)(b), and not one of your first-degree relatives who is a Turkish citizen.
• You or your first-degree relatives have not previously transferred the property to a Turk.
• No foreigner or art. 12(1)(b) citizen transferred it to a Turk in the last 3 years (acquisitions under a construction contract are excepted).
• The seller is not a company in which you or a first-degree relative is a partner or manager.
• Units from a foreign-capital company qualify only if that company built them and never transferred them.
• The property has not supported another citizenship acquisition. One property, one acquisition.

TKGM sets out these buyer and seller rules in its guidance; several are read from its 2024 guide, so confirm the current version with your lawyer.

What does not count: a disqualification checklist

Every item below is a verified reason an investment does not qualify, or stops qualifying:

• A TTB below USD 400,000 (transactions after 13 June 2024).
• A share purchase in a property.
• A purchase in a spouse’s or child’s name, or through your own company.
• Unbuilt land, land under the 2-year project obligation, agricultural land, or a timeshare.
• A purchase from a barred seller (see the seller checklist above).
• A property already used for another citizenship acquisition.
• Purchases or payments before 12 January 2017; presale contracts before 7 December 2018.
• VAT, commission, fees or taxes counted inside the DAB amount.
• Payment receipts in the wrong currency for their stage (see the documents checklist).
• The foreign-currency mortgage portion of the price.
• Selling before the 3-year hold ends.

The documents checklist

Details that decide whether these documents work:

• DAB. Required for every foreign individual’s property purchase since 24 January 2022; TKGM cites CBRT Capital Movements Circular art. 13 and TKGM Circular 2022/1 as the basis. It shows your name, passport or foreign ID number, the property number, the USD equivalent and a statement that it is for Turkish citizenship. The bank sends it to the land registry by KEP, Turkey’s registered electronic mail; hand delivery is not accepted. Several DABs may be added together. The deed is drawn at the DAB lira amount.
• Receipts. Transfers made before the DAB show foreign currency. Transfers made after it show Turkish lira.
• Real estate investment certificate. TKGM sends it to NVI and to the Presidency of Migration Management.

The citizenship file itself is built from the list in Regulation art. 20(3), which art. 20(5) applies to investor files:

• An application form stating the request.
• A passport or similar document showing your nationality.
• A civil status document: marriage certificate if married, divorce certificate if divorced, or the spouse’s death certificate if widowed.
• A birth certificate or civil registry extract, and, if married, a registry extract or similar document proving the family tie to your spouse and children.
• Registry extracts for any first or second degree relatives who are Turkish citizens, pulled from the system by the application office.
• If your birth date lacks a day or month, a document from your country completing it, or a signed statement accepting the procedure under Law 5490, art. 39.
• A receipt showing the service fee was paid to the state treasury office.

The list contains no document renouncing your current nationality: Turkey permits multiple citizenship.

Family requirements: who is included

Children in one parent’s custody acquire citizenship with the other parent’s consent (Law 5901, art. 20(2)). Regulation art. 20(2) sets no extra investment for each dependant.

What it costs: the investment amounts

Converted at USD 1 = TRY 48.9282, CBRT effective (banknote) selling rate, 24 September 2026. The legal test uses the CBRT effective selling rate and/or cross rate on the determination date (Regulation art. 20(6)), so the lira figure will differ on your transaction date. Deposit, government debt and pension holdings are kept in Turkish lira for 3 years, so they carry currency risk. Government fees, title deed charges and the valuation fee are not included; amounts are not stated here. Confirm them with the land registry and your Turkish lawyer.

Family-of-four example

Applicant, spouse and two children under 18, on the real estate route:

What comes on top

These costs exist but are not quantified here:

• VAT, commission, fees and taxes, all paid outside the DAB amount.
• Deed fees, which the land registry notifies by SMS before signing.
• The TTB, produced by the designated valuation company.
• Residence permit and passport steps.
• Legal fees.

Advisory fees are quoted per engagement.

Timing requirements to know

• Holding periods: 3 years for the property annotation, the deposit, government debt and pension routes; at least 3 years for fund units.
• TTB validity: no more than 6 months old at application.
• Cut-off dates: purchases and payments from 12 January 2017; presale contracts from 7 December 2018; the USD 400,000 threshold for purchases from 13 June 2022.
• Residence permit: issued for up to 5 years at a time.
• Processing: Turkey publishes no official processing time.

Common reasons applications fail

Each of these ties back to a checklist item above:

• Valuation. The TTB comes in below USD 400,000, or is older than 6 months. (Real estate checklist, the value.)
• Name or seller. The title is in the wrong name, or the seller is barred. (Seller and buyer checklist.)
• Payment sequence. Receipts in the wrong currency for their stage, or fees inside the DAB amount. (Documents checklist.)
• False statements. A grant obtained by false statement or concealment can be annulled (art. 31), and the annulment also reaches a spouse and children who acquired citizenship through that grant (art. 32).
• Security or public order. Refusal is required where there is a national security or public order obstacle (art. 12(2)).
• Discretion. Meeting every criterion gives no absolute right to citizenship (Law 5901, art. 10(1)). The President decides on a file prepared by the Ministry of Interior.

After citizenship: the obligations

• Military service. Under Law 7179, art. 43(1), men aged 22 or over in the naturalisation year, or who document service abroad, are deemed to have served. Younger sons join the regular cohort, with a 2-year deferral on request. The same article allows call-up in a mobilisation. Under art. 39, multiple citizens living abroad for 3 years or more may discharge service by a foreign-currency payment; the amount is not stated here. Confirm with Turkish counsel how the rules apply to sons naturalised as minors.
• Renouncing later. Giving up Turkish citizenship requires Ministry permission (art. 25).
• The property after 3 years. The annotation is removed on request. A resale to the previous owner after the hold is reported to NVI for review of the grant.
• Your home country. Turkey allows multiple citizenship, but your home country may not. Pakistan (for citizens aged 21 or over) and India end citizenship when a citizen acquires Turkish nationality; China ends it for citizens settled abroad; Nigeria (for citizens by birth), South Africa and Vietnam do not end it. See our guide for Pakistani nationals and take advice on your own country’s law.

If you are weighing citizenship against residence, our guide to visa investments and our comparison of Malta golden visa vs citizenship set out the difference. For Bulgaria, see Bulgaria citizenship by investment.

Frequently asked questions

What are the requirements for Turkish citizenship by investment?
One qualifying investment under Regulation art. 20(2), attested by the competent body and held for 3 years where the Regulation requires it, plus an investor residence permit under Law 6458, art. 31(1)(j). The President decides, and approval is never guaranteed.

How much does Turkish citizenship by investment cost?
USD 400,000 in qualifying property, or USD 500,000 in a bank deposit, government debt, fund units, a private pension or fixed capital, or creating 50 jobs. Government fees, title deed charges and the valuation fee come on top.

What documents are needed?
On the property route: the TTB, the DAB, payment receipts, the annotated title deed, the real estate investment certificate and the investor residence permit. The citizenship file itself follows the list in Regulation art. 20(3): application form, passport, civil status and birth or registry documents, family-tie documents, and the service fee receipt.

Can I buy two properties to reach USD 400,000?
Yes, if they are bought by sale: several purchases can be combined. A presale must be one notarised contract for the full amount.

Can I use a mortgage?
Any foreign-currency loan amount is deducted from the price. The remainder must still reach USD 400,000.

Can my parents be included?
No. The route covers your spouse, your and your spouse’s children under 18, and dependent adult children assessed case by case.

Do I have to live in Turkey or speak Turkish?
No. The ordinary naturalisation conditions in Law 5901 art. 11, including five years’ residence and adequate Turkish, are not conditions of the art. 12 investment route, which NVI describes as applying regardless of the other conditions generally required. You do need the investor residence permit, and the President still decides. Ask Turkish counsel how this applies to your file.

How long does it take?
Turkey publishes no official processing time. The investor residence permit is issued for up to 5 years at a time.

The bottom line

The requirements for Turkish citizenship by investment are narrow and testable: one qualifying investment, attested, held for the period the Regulation sets, an investor residence permit, a clean file and your family in it. On the property route, the points that can sink a file are checkable in advance: the TTB, the name on the title, the seller and the payment sequence. Work through the checklists above with your Turkish lawyer before any money moves. Even then, the President decides. For the wider picture, see our guide to Turkey citizenship by investment. Advisory fees are quoted per engagement.