For foreign nationals bringing capital into Türkiye, citizenship has become a subject raised with increasing frequency in recent years. Measured against the general criteria for acquiring citizenship, the route of obtaining citizenship in return for investment offers a markedly more accessible option.
That route, however, consists of more than simply transferring a given sum to Türkiye. Each type of investment has its own minimum amount, its own holding period and its own institution responsible for verification. In this note we examine the investment options one by one, and consider how the application is made, which documents are required, how long the process takes and which legal remedies remain open where the decision is unfavourable.
Routes to Acquiring Citizenship Through Investment
Acquiring citizenship in return for investment is one of the cases in which Turkish citizenship is acquired by way of exception. Which investments fall within this scope is governed by Article 20 of the relevant Regulation.
Under that article, the types of investment that may form the basis of an application are as follows:
- Acquiring real estate for at least USD 400,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency and having an annotation entered on the land registry to the effect that it will not be sold for 3 years; or, where an easement right or condominium ownership of the same value is taken over, having the undertaking that no transfer or cancellation will be carried out for 3 years entered on the registry. The contract concerned must be verified by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change.
- Making a fixed capital investment of at least USD 500,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency. Verification of this investment falls to the Ministry of Industry and Technology.
- Holding at least USD 500,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency in a deposit account with a bank operating in Türkiye, on condition that it is not withdrawn for 3 years. The verifying authority is the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency.
- Purchasing government debt instruments of at least USD 500,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency, on condition that they are held for 3 years. This is verified by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.
- Purchasing real estate investment fund units or venture capital investment fund units of at least USD 500,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency and holding them for at least 3 years. The power of verification lies with the Capital Markets Board.
- Creating employment for at least 50 people. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security verifies that this condition has been met.
A foreign national who satisfies any one of these options may become a Turkish citizen by Presidential decision. The application file first passes through examination by the Ministry; requests that do not meet the required criteria are liable to be refused.
The Ministry also refuses applications from foreign nationals whom it considers objectionable in terms of national security or public order. If no adverse finding is made at the examination stage, the file is submitted to the President and citizenship is acquired by Presidential decision.
Fixed Capital Investment
Fixed capital investment is one of the options for acquiring citizenship in return for investment. A foreign national who is verified by the Ministry of Industry and Technology as having made a fixed capital investment in Türkiye of at least USD 500,000 or the equivalent of that amount may acquire citizenship.
Purchase of Real Estate Worth USD 400,000
It is possible to pass to citizenship by acquiring immovable property, an easement right or condominium ownership in Türkiye. The conditions of this route may be grouped under the following headings:
- That the price has been paid in advance in the amount of USD 400,000,
- That real estate worth at least USD 400,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency is purchased, or that an easement right or condominium ownership is taken over,
- That, where the purchase concerns real estate, an annotation is entered on the land registry stating that the property will not be disposed of for 3 years,
- That, where the right taken over is an easement right or condominium ownership, it is entered on the registry that no transfer or cancellation will be carried out for 3 years,
- That, where a promise to sell immovable property has been drawn up between the parties, this contract concluded before a notary and the undertaking it must contain are verified by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change.
The purchase of real estate is the most frequently chosen and the best known of the routes to citizenship through investment. Since it involves a great many points requiring attention both at the stage of acquiring the property and at the stage of pursuing the citizenship application, it is appropriate for this option to be made the subject of a separate examination.
Placing a Deposit with a Bank
Depositing money in a bank account in Türkiye is likewise one of the routes to citizenship. For this option to be regarded as valid, the investment must meet the following criteria:
- That the amount deposited is at least USD 500,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency,
- That the money in question remains with the bank for at least 3 years without any withdrawal,
- That the bank with which the account is opened is a bank operating in Türkiye,
- That the fulfilment of all these conditions is verified by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Board.
For foreign nationals, the choice of bank with which the account is opened also matters. Some banks are observed to operate facilitating practices for particular nationalities; the choice of bank and the account-opening procedure should therefore be researched before the process begins.
Creation of Employment
Citizenship may be granted to foreign nationals who are verified by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security as having created employment for at least 50 people at a workplace in Türkiye. The point not to be overlooked here is this: the 50 people employed need not be Turkish citizens. It is sufficient that the employment takes place within the legal framework and complies with the quotas governing the employment of foreign nationals.
Government Debt Instruments
The purchase of government debt instruments is also among the investments conferring citizenship. Foreign nationals who acquire government debt instruments worth at least USD 500,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency, on condition that they are not disposed of for 3 years, may become Turkish citizens. For this route to operate, the purchase must have been verified by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.
Investment Fund Units
Foreign nationals who acquire investment fund units become entitled to citizenship where the position is verified by the Capital Markets Board. This option requires the purchase of real estate investment fund units or venture capital investment fund units worth at least USD 500,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency. The units in question must also have been acquired on condition that they are held for at least 3 years.
Because citizenship in return for investment is one of the exceptional cases of acquisition, the conditions sought are not confined to the monetary criteria set out above; compliance with national security and public order is also assessed separately. Satisfying the conditions is not in itself sufficient, and whether the process is conducted in accordance with the proper procedure likewise determines the outcome.
Turkish citizenship may also be acquired on many grounds other than investment; separate conditions and separate procedures are, however, laid down for each route. Which route is suitable in the particular case should therefore be assessed comparatively before any application is made.
How Is the Application Made?
A request for citizenship in return for investment is made by a petition submitted to the Directorate General of Civil Registration and Nationality. Before the petition is filed, the competent ministry or institution must have verified that the required criteria are met.
Where citizenship is sought through the deposit route, for example, the deposit of USD 500,000 or the equivalent in foreign currency into the account, and the verification of that position by the BDDK, constitute the precondition of the application.
Documents Required for the Application
Some of the documents sought are required in every application irrespective of the type of investment, while others arise only in respect of particular types of application.
The documents that must generally be submitted with an application for citizenship in return for investment are as follows:
- The application petition setting out the request for citizenship,
- The applicant’s passport or a document serving in place of a passport,
- 2 biometric photographs of the applicant,
- The applicant’s birth certificate,
- A document showing marital status: a marriage certificate for those who are married, a divorce certificate for those who are divorced, and a death certificate for those whose spouse has died,
- A full civil registry extract relating to the applicant and their family,
- A receipt showing that the service fee has been paid to the tax office pay desk,
- Where immovable property has been acquired, a valuation report establishing the value of the property,
- Documents evidencing the investment made; for example, the land registry record in the case of a property purchase, or the documents to be obtained from the bank in the case of the deposit route.
Where documents are incomplete, the application may be refused, but the applicant may equally be given time to remedy the deficiency. So that the file can be advanced without error, it is useful for the process to be conducted with the support of a lawyer practising in this field.
How Long Does the Application Take?
Applications for citizenship in return for investment are concluded within approximately 3 months.
That period, however, covers only the stage after the application. The investment and verification steps that must be completed beforehand take further time. Factors such as the workload of the administrative units and whether the documents have been submitted in full may also alter the time taken to reach a conclusion.
Objection and Action for Annulment Against a Refusal
A request for citizenship in return for investment is refused where the investment made does not comply with the criteria laid down in the Regulation, where documents required in the file are missing, or where the administration finds the application objectionable in terms of national security or public order. A person whose request is refused has two options: to lodge an objection with the superior authority, or to bring an action for annulment before the administrative court.
The administrative objection and the action for annulment are not preconditions of one another. In other words, it is not necessary to pursue the objection route first in order to bring an action. The person concerned may, if they wish, object first and bring an action if the objection is refused; or they may resort directly to the judicial route.
Although the two routes are not linked to one another, they are subject to the same time limit. For both, the preclusive period is 60 days, running from the day following the day on which the decision is served on the applicant.
The Objection Route
A foreign national whose request is refused may object to the Directorate General of Civil Registration and Nationality within 60 days from the day following service of the decision of refusal. The Directorate General must determine the objection within 30 days. A failure to give any reply within the thirty-day period has the result that the objection is deemed to have been refused.
Lodging an objection with the administration suspends the 60-day period laid down for bringing an action. Where the objection produces no result, the only remaining option is to bring an action for annulment before the administrative court.
The Action for Annulment Route
A foreign national on whom the refusal of the citizenship request has been served may bring an action for annulment within 60 days, running from the day following service. That action may be brought after the objection route has been pursued without result, but it may equally be brought directly.
The 60-day period for bringing an action, suspended by the lodging of the objection, resumes from where it left off if the objection is refused or if the administration gives no reply within 30 days. For a person who objects on the 20th day after the decision of refusal, for example, 40 days remain in which to bring an action, running from the day following the refusal of the objection or the administration’s thirty days of silence.
Where the administrative court of first instance dismisses the action, an appeal may be lodged with the regional administrative court within 30 days from the day following service of the judgment of dismissal. An appeal on points of law before the Council of State is, however, not available in these disputes.
Both at the objection stage and in the course of the proceedings, the petition sets out in what respect the refusal is unlawful and the particular circumstances in which the applicant finds themselves. Evidence supporting those assertions, such as documents, bank receipts, invoices and witnesses, is also added to the file. The process must be followed closely so that no delay occurs in the procedural steps.
The Effect of Subsequent Acquisition of Citizenship on the Spouse and Children
The minor child of a person who acquires Turkish citizenship may be brought into citizenship where that person so requests and the other parent consents. If the other parent withholds consent, the matter is taken to court and the court decides having regard to the interests of the child. Where the other parent lacks the capacity of discernment or is no longer living, the request of the person acquiring citizenship suffices on its own.
For the spouse, no direct consequence arises; indirect effects are, however, in issue. The spouse of the person acquiring citizenship may rely on that position to request a family residence permit, and may indeed apply for citizenship through marriage. The family residence permit and the acquisition of citizenship through marriage are separate types of application, each with its own conditions.
What Requires Attention During the Investment Process?
Foreign nationals making an investment must first take care that the technical steps are properly completed, that no step is omitted where permission or approval has to be obtained from official authorities, and that the other procedural requirements of the process are observed. They must also be on their guard against those who set out to defraud them at the investment stage.
Instances in which foreign nationals suffer loss are encountered frequently, particularly in acquisitions of real estate, condominium ownership or easement rights. The transfer of a property encumbered by a mortgage, a sale at a price far above the market value, or the transfer of a property other than the one identified in the contract are the typical forms such losses take.
To forestall difficulties of this kind, the land registry information must be examined in detail. It should be established that the property carries no mortgage or other limited right in rem, and it should be confirmed that the block, sheet and parcel details correspond to the property shown.
Conclusion
Acquiring Turkish citizenship in return for investment requires an investment complying with the criteria laid down in the legislation, verification of that investment by the competent institution, and a properly made application accompanied by the necessary documents. An error at any of these stages may result in the refusal of the application. It is therefore advisable for the process to be conducted with legal support from a lawyer experienced in the field.
Independent Legal Assessment
In files concerning citizenship in return for investment, a significant proportion of refusals stem not from the nature of the investment but from deficiencies at the verification and documentation stage. Meeting the monetary threshold is not in itself sufficient; by which institution, on which document and on what date the amount was verified is at least as decisive as the threshold itself. In the same way, a failure to establish the three-year annotation on the land registry with the correct content may put the entire file at risk at a later stage.
Where a refusal is encountered, the correct calculation of the time limits is of critical importance. The suspension of the period for bringing an action by the objection route is a mechanism that is often overlooked but that prevents the loss of rights.
In a particular application, it is appropriate to give priority to the following matters:
- Selecting the type of investment correctly at the outset, having regard to the applicant’s financial position and to the holding obligation
- Completing the verification letter to be obtained from the competent ministry or institution before the application is made
- Satisfying the conditions of advance payment, valuation report and three-year annotation together on the real estate route
- Preparing the marital status, birth and civil registry documents in full as regards translation and certification
- Diarising the 60-day preclusive period in the event of refusal and the suspensory effect of the objection on that period
- Verifying the land registry record and the block, sheet and parcel details before transfer in property purchases
Independent Legal provides advisory services and conducts proceedings throughout citizenship-by-investment matters, from the determination of the investment option to the preparation of the application and the stages of objection and action for annulment against decisions of refusal.