Turkey Citizenship by Investment: The Complete 2026 Guide

Turkish citizenship by investment gives foreign investors a Turkish passport, not a residence permit. Under Law 5901, art. 12(1)(b), the President may grant citizenship after one of seven qualifying investments. The best known is USD 400,000 in qualifying real estate held for three years. Spouse and children can be included, and Turkey allows dual citizenship, though your home country may not.

This guide is general information about Turkey’s citizenship by investment rules and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Figures and procedures are stated as verified against official Turkish sources in September 2026, and they can change by Presidential Decision at short notice. Citizenship is granted at the President’s discretion and is never guaranteed. Obtain independent professional advice, including Turkish counsel and advice on your home country’s nationality rules, before making any investment or application decision.

On this page

• What is Turkish citizenship by investment?
• The seven investment routes at a glance
• Who can apply? Eligibility and nationality limits
• The USD 400,000 real estate route, step by step
• Currency rules: the DAB and the lira conversion
• Family inclusion
• The process: residence permit, certificate, citizenship decision
• Dual citizenship, military service and other obligations
• What a Turkish passport does and does not give you
• What it costs: public amounts and a family-of-four example
• Turkey CBI vs EU residency by investment
• Risks and how applications fail
• Frequently asked questions

What is Turkish citizenship by investment?

Law 6735 of 28 July 2016 added art. 12(1)(b) to the Turkish Citizenship Law (Law 5901). It lets the President grant citizenship to holders of an investor residence permit under Law 6458, art. 31(1)(j), together with their foreign spouse and their own and their spouse’s minor or dependent foreign children. The working rules sit in art. 20 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law, amended by Presidential Decision (CK) and published in the Resmî Gazete, the Official Gazette.

Three legal points frame the rest of this guide:

1. The President decides, on a file prepared by the Ministry of Interior.
2. Meeting the conditions is not a right. Law 5901, art. 10(1) says it gives no absolute right to citizenship, and art. 12(2) requires refusal where there is a national security or public order obstacle.
3. A grant can be undone. Citizenship obtained by false statements or concealment of material facts is annulled (art. 31).

This is citizenship by investment (CBI), not residency by investment (RBI). An RBI programme, such as an EU golden visa, gives you a residence permit and leaves your nationality alone. CBI gives you a second nationality, with the passport, the duties and, for some people, the loss of their first nationality. If you are unsure which you need, start with our guide to visa investments.

The seven investment routes at a glance

Regulation art. 20(2) sets seven routes, each certified by a named public body. Under art. 20(9), each body sets its own verification procedure.

Dollar values are measured at the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) effective selling rate or cross rate on the determination date (art. 20(6)). Art. 20(8) lets you switch between investment types to complete the three years.

The rules have moved often. The first thresholds took effect on 12 January 2017, when real estate required USD 1,000,000. The current structure dates from the Official Gazette of 19 September 2018, No 30540 (some sources say 18 September; the consolidated text says the 19th). Presale contracts became eligible on 7 December 2018, art. 20 was redrafted on 6 January 2022 (CK 5072), CK 5554, published on 13 May 2022, added the pension route at once and raised the property threshold from USD 250,000 to USD 400,000 with effect from 13 June 2022, and CK 7938 of 12 December 2023 narrowed the qualifying property types. As consolidated on mevzuat.gov.tr and listed on the TKGM portal in September 2026, nothing has changed since.

Which routes convert into Turkish lira

Since CK 5072 (extended to the pension route by CK 5554), art. 20(10) requires the foreign currency for routes (b), (ç), (d), (e) and (f) to be sold to a bank in Turkey, and by that bank to the CBRT, before the transaction. So the “USD 500,000 deposit” is in fact a Turkish lira deposit held for three years, and the bond route is held in lira government debt. You qualify in dollars and then hold lira. Routes (a) and (c) are not listed in art. 20(10).

The USD 600,000 reports: what the law actually says

Some articles claim the property threshold has risen, or is about to rise, to USD 600,000. As of September 2026 we found no Presidential Decision or Official Gazette instrument that does this, and the consolidated Regulation still says USD 400,000. Recheck resmigazete.gov.tr immediately before you commit funds.

Who can apply? Eligibility and nationality limits

Law 5901, art. 12 and Regulation art. 20, as consolidated in 2026, contain no list of eligible or excluded nationalities. The constraint sits in property law, and it affects only the real estate route.

Under Law 2644, art. 35, foreigners may buy Turkish property only if their nationality is on a list set by the President. The list covers 185 countries (Council of Ministers Decision 2012/3504), and TKGM, Turkey’s land registry authority, states that it is not public. The only authoritative answer for your nationality is a confirmation from a Turkish land registry directorate. Get it before you sign anything. The deposit, bond, fund and pension routes are not property purchases, so the list does not apply to them.

Four more limits apply to every foreign buyer:

• Multiple nationalities. According to the TKGM FAQ, the least privileged nationality governs. If any nationality you hold is not on the list, the purchase is refused.
• Area caps. Foreign holdings may not exceed 10% of a district’s private property area, or 30 hectares per person nationwide (Law 2644, art. 35(1)).
• Military and security zones. Acquisition is barred in certain military forbidden zones and restricted near strategic areas (Law 2565).
• Heritage areas. Purchases in protected “sit” areas get an extra ministry check.

The President can also limit or suspend acquisitions by country, region or property type (Law 2644, art. 35(3)).

The USD 400,000 real estate route, step by step

This route has the most moving parts. The rules below come from Regulation art. 20(2)(b), the TKGM Guide on the Regulation and the TKGM portal (yourkeyturkiye.gov.tr).

• Qualifying property. Since 12 December 2023, only a unit under condominium ownership (kat mülkiyeti) or construction servitude (kat irtifakı), or land registered as “arsa” with a permanent building holding an occupancy permit. Unbuilt land, land under the two-year project obligation, agricultural land and timeshare do not qualify.
• Your own name. Purchases in the name of a spouse, a child or a company you own or manage do not count. A share in a property does not qualify; buying the whole of a jointly owned property does.
• Presale. Off-plan units qualify through one notarised presale contract, for kat mülkiyeti or kat irtifakı units only, with the full USD 400,000 paid by the contract date.
• The three-value test. The declared deed price (or presale price), the official valuation and the total of payments made must each reach USD 400,000.
• FX mortgages. A foreign currency loan is deducted, and the remainder must still reach USD 400,000.
• One property, one citizenship. A property can support only one acquisition.
• Cut-off dates. Purchases or payments before 12 January 2017, and presale contracts before 7 December 2018, do not count. The “12 January 2019” date quoted online is not an official cut-off.

The valuation: TKGM’s Tutar Tespit Belgesi (TTB)

Many guides still describe an SPK-licensed valuation report. That is pre-2024 history. Since 1 March 2024 (TKGM Circular 2024/2), the qualifying valuation is the Tutar Tespit Belgesi (TTB), produced from a report by the valuation company designated under that circular and requested through WebTapu. Paper TTBs are not accepted.

According to the TKGM portal, the TTB must be no more than six months old at application. Under Circular 2024/4, for transactions after 13 June 2024, a TTB value below the threshold means the application is rejected. Sales by public bodies, municipalities and their companies, and real estate investment trusts are exempt from the TTB, though TKGM may still ask for one.

The practical point: an agreed price means nothing until the TTB confirms it.

Who you can and cannot buy from

The TKGM Guide blocks properties that recycle through the programme. You cannot use a property:

1. registered to a foreigner, or to your first-degree relatives who are Turkish citizens;
2. that you or your first-degree relatives previously transferred to a Turkish citizen or company;
3. transferred to a Turkish citizen or company in the last three years by any foreign individual or any art. 12(1)(b) citizen (construction-contract acquisitions excepted);
4. registered to someone who became a citizen under art. 12(1)(b);
5. registered to a company in which you or your first-degree relatives are a partner or manager.

Units owned by a foreign-capital company qualify only if the company built them and they have never been transferred.

The 3-year hold and what happens after

TKGM enters a three-year no-sale annotation on the title. After three years the owner can ask for it to be removed. A later transfer back to the previous owner is reported to NVI, the population and citizenship directorate, for review of the grant.

Currency rules: the DAB and the lira conversion

Two currency rules run side by side.

The citizenship rule. For routes (b), (ç), (d), (e) and (f), foreign currency is sold to a bank in Turkey and on to the CBRT before the transaction (Regulation art. 20(10)).

The rule for every foreign buyer. According to TKGM, since 24 January 2022 every property purchase by a foreign individual, for citizenship or not, needs a Döviz Alım Belgesi (DAB), a foreign exchange purchase certificate. TKGM cites the CBRT Capital Movements Circular, art. 13(3) as the basis. In practice:

• The bank sends the DAB to the land registry by KEP (registered electronic mail).
• The deed is drawn at the lira amount on the DAB.
• VAT, commission, fees and taxes must not be inside the DAB amount.
• Several DABs can be added together.
• Receipts dated before the DAB must show foreign currency; those after must show lira.
• Individuals have no exemption, including long-term residents and spouses of Turkish citizens.

Get the order of payments, DAB and deed wrong and the three values stop matching.

Family inclusion

One investment covers the investor’s foreign spouse and “their own and their spouse’s minor or dependent foreign children” (Law 5901, art. 12(1)(b)), so stepchildren are included.

• Minor means under 18 (Regulation art. 3(1)(c)).
• Dependent adult children are in scope, but statute does not define “dependent” (bağımlı). They are assessed case by case.
• The spouse must be in the file. A grant to one spouse does not change the other’s nationality (Law 5901, art. 20(2)).
• Children in custody acquire citizenship with the naturalising parent, with the other parent’s consent.

The process: residence permit, certificate, citizenship decision

For the real estate route, the TKGM portal sets out this chain:

1. Agree the purchase with an eligible seller.
2. Request the TTB through WebTapu.
3. Convert the funds; the bank sends the DAB by KEP.
4. TKGM checks the DAB, deed price and receipts against the TTB.
5. Title deed fees are notified by SMS and paid.
6. The deed is signed and the three-year annotation entered.
7. TKGM issues the Taşınmaz Yatırımı Tespit Belgesi (certificate of conformity) to NVI and the Presidency of Migration Management.

Alongside this, the investor and family receive a short-term residence permit under Law 6458, art. 31(1)(j), issued for up to five years at a time. The citizenship file then goes through the Ministry of Interior to the President.

Turkey publishes no official processing time, and neither the law nor the Regulation sets one. Any duration you are quoted is an estimate, not a commitment.

Dual citizenship, military service and other obligations

Dual citizenship. Turkey permits it. Investor applicants file no renunciation document (Law 5901, art. 12; Regulation art. 20(3)), and a Turkish citizen’s other nationality is annotated in the civil register once documented (Law 5901, art. 44(1)).

Your home country may see it differently. Some states end your citizenship automatically when you take another. India is one: under s.9(1) of its Citizenship Act 1955, an Indian citizen who voluntarily acquires another citizenship stops being Indian on acquisition. Check your own country’s rules before you invest.

Leaving later. Giving up Turkish citizenship needs Ministry permission (Law 5901, art. 25).

Military service. Every male Turkish citizen owes service under Law 7179, from the year he turns 20. Art. 43(1) covers later-acquired citizens:

• Men aged 22 or over in the year of naturalisation, and men who document service in their former country, are deemed to have served.
• Younger sons join that year’s cohort and can request a two-year deferral from naturalisation.
• Multiple citizens who have lived abroad for at least three years can discharge service by a foreign currency payment (art. 39). The amount follows a formula and changes, so confirm it at the time.

That is how the text reads for sons naturalised as minors. If you have sons approaching 20, confirm how it is applied in practice with Turkish counsel.

What a Turkish passport does and does not give you

According to Henley Passport Index data read in September 2026, the Turkish passport reaches 112 destinations visa-free or on arrival, with a 2026 ranking of 49th. Solid, not top tier, and the figure shifts month to month.

It does not open Europe. Turkish nationals are on the visa-required list in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806, so they need a Schengen visa for short stays.

The US E-2 question. Turkey has an E-2 treaty investor agreement with the United States, in force since 18 May 1990 (9 FAM 402.9). But since 23 December 2022, US law (INA 101(a)(15)(E), as amended by Pub. L. 117-263, s.5902(b)) requires anyone who acquired their nationality through a financial investment to have been domiciled in the treaty country for a continuous period of at least three years at any point before applying, unless they previously held E status. Turkish CBI has no residence requirement, so citizenship alone does not meet that condition. Take advice from US immigration counsel.

What it costs: public amounts and a family-of-four example

Converted at USD 1 = TRY 48.9282, the CBRT effective (banknote) selling rate in its indicative exchange rate bulletin of 24 September 2026 (tcmb.gov.tr). The legal test uses the CBRT effective selling rate on the determination date (Regulation art. 20(6)), so the lira figure will differ on your transaction date.

Government fees, title deed charges and the valuation fee come on top. They sit outside the DAB amount, and TKGM notifies deed fees by SMS before signing. Confirm current amounts with the land registry and your Turkish counsel.

Family-of-four worked example

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

1. The investment. One qualifying purchase of at least USD 400,000 (about TRY 19.57 million at the rate above) in the applicant’s own name, with deed price, TTB value and payments each at or above USD 400,000.
2. The family. That purchase covers all four people under Law 5901, art. 12(1)(b). Regulation art. 20(2) sets no extra amount per dependant.
3. What would break it. Buying in the spouse’s name, or half shares each, would not count toward the USD 400,000.
4. What sits outside. VAT, commission, fees and taxes are paid on top and kept out of the DAB amount.
5. Afterwards. The property is held three years under the annotation. Any son under 22 in the naturalisation year falls under Law 7179, art. 43.

Turkey CBI vs EU residency by investment

Turkey and the EU golden visas are different products, and a side-by-side table would mislead. Here is the difference in plain terms.

Inside the EU, the formal citizenship by investment schemes have closed. The European Court of Justice ruled against Malta’s investor naturalisation scheme in Case C-181/23 on 29 April 2025 (see Malta golden visa vs citizenship). Bulgaria abolished its investor citizenship route in 2022 (State Gazette No 26; see Bulgaria citizenship by investment). Cyprus ended its passport scheme from 1 November 2020 (see the Cyprus golden visa scandal explained).

What the EU still sells is residence: the right to live in one member state and, usually, to travel in Schengen. Your nationality stays the same, and a passport comes only through naturalisation after years of genuine residence.

Turkey sits on the other side of the line. It grants citizenship, with no residence requirement for the grant, and in return you take on a second nationality: military service for sons, reporting duties and, for some nationalities, loss of your existing citizenship. And the Turkish passport still needs a Schengen visa. The choice comes down to what you are solving for: a second passport with Turkish ties, or a secure right to live in Europe.

Risks and how applications fail

• The TTB lands below USD 400,000. Since 13 June 2024 that means rejection, whatever price you agreed.
• A seller rule or the name rule is breached. The property simply does not count.
• Payment sequencing. Wrong-currency receipts, a missing DAB or fees inside the DAB break the three-value test.
• False or incomplete statements. Annulment under art. 31 can come years later.
• Lira exposure. Deposit, bond and pension money is held in lira for three years.
• No absolute right. The President decides every file.
• Rule changes. The TKGM portal lists six amendments since January 2017. Check the Official Gazette again before funds move.

Frequently asked questions

How much is Turkish citizenship by investment in 2026?
USD 400,000 in qualifying real estate held for three years, or USD 500,000 through the deposit, government debt, fund, private pension or fixed capital routes, or 50 jobs. Government fees, deed charges and the valuation fee come on top.

Is the USD 400,000 threshold going up to USD 600,000?
As of September 2026 we found no instrument raising it, and the Regulation still says USD 400,000. Recheck the Official Gazette before investing.

Can my family get Turkish citizenship with me?
Yes. Your foreign spouse and your own and your spouse’s children under 18 are covered by one investment. Dependent adult children can be included, assessed case by case.

Can I keep my current passport?
Turkey allows dual citizenship and asks investors for no renunciation. Your home country may not allow it, so check its rules first.

Do I have to live in Turkey?
No. Turkish citizenship by investment has no residence requirement of its own, although you receive an investor residence permit along the way (Law 6458, art. 31(1)(j)).

Is Turkey in the Schengen Area? Can Turkish citizens travel to Europe visa-free?
No. Turkish nationals are on the visa-required list in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2018/1806 and need a Schengen visa for short stays.

Does a Turkish passport qualify me for a US E-2 visa?
Only after three continuous years of domicile in Turkey, for anyone who gained Turkish nationality through investment. Consult US immigration counsel.

The bottom line

Turkey still grants citizenship for an investment, which no EU state now offers through a formal investment scheme, but the 2026 rules are stricter than most guides admit: the TKGM valuation, the three-value test, the lira conversion and tight seller rules. It suits families who want a second nationality, accept Turkish obligations and have confirmed that their home country lets them keep their passport. It is not a way into the EU, and it is never a right. Before any money moves, review your nationality position, your source of funds and the specific property or instrument. Aegir Global advises on that assessment, and advisory fees are quoted per engagement.