The Turkish Citizenship Act No. 5901 places the establishment of the bond of citizenship on two main axes: a person either holds that status at the moment of birth or acquires it at some stage after birth. Subsequent acquisition is in turn divided into three heads. The first is acquisition by decision of the competent authority, the second is adoption by a Turkish citizen, and the third is the exercise of the right of option. The first of these forms the widest category; acquisition by the general route, acquisition by the exceptional route, the re-establishment of a bond that has been lost and acquisition through marriage all fall under that umbrella.
The option that arises most frequently in practice is the general route, which is open to foreign nationals who do not rely on any special status. That route is available to persons who have lived in the country for a given period, who have demonstrated an intention to settle here and who possess the qualities listed in the Act. Satisfying the conditions does not, however, produce a result on its own; the final assessment lies with the administration and is made at the end of a multi-stage chain of review.
In this briefing note we examine how the general route operates. We answer, in turn, the following questions: what qualities does the Act require, through which stages does the file travel from the governorship to the Ministry of the Interior, what is measured at the interview, what consequences follow from a favourable decision, and what legal remedies are open against an unfavourable one.
The Place of the Competent Authority’s Decision in the Acquisition of Citizenship
Where acquisition rests on birth, the picture is straightforward: a person whose mother or father is a Turkish citizen acquires that status automatically, and no approval from any person or institution is required. The position differs in acquisition by decision of the competent authority; here the request expressed by the person’s own volition must be found appropriate by the relevant organs of the State.
The distinguishing feature of this route is the breadth of the margin of discretion afforded to the administration. Indeed, while Art. 10 of the Turkish Citizenship Act requires a person seeking citizenship by the general route to possess the qualities listed in the Act, it has made clear that the presence of those qualities does not confer on the applicant an absolute right of acquisition. Put differently, even where every condition in the file is fully met, the administration may still conclude the request unfavourably.
That said, the margin of discretion in question is not unlimited. The administration’s choice is subject to review for lawfulness; it leaves no room for arbitrariness, for a want of reasoning, or for assessments detached from the public interest.
Overview of How the General Route Operates
A person seeking citizenship by the general route must possess the qualities listed in Art. 11 of the Turkish Citizenship Act. The file is first taken up for preliminary examination by the governorship of the applicant’s place of residence and is rejected without proceeding further where certain disqualifying circumstances are established.
For a file that passes the preliminary examination, an archive search and an investigation are carried out by the provincial police directorate. Once that stage is complete, the applicant is interviewed before the Citizenship Application Review Commission. The Commission considers whether the required qualities are present, checks that the documents in the file are complete and records its opinion.
The authority that will express the final will, whether to accept or to reject, is the Ministry of the Interior. For that reason, once the interview stage closes, the file is forwarded to the Ministry for decision.
Qualities Required Under Art. 11 of the Turkish Citizenship Act
In applications made by the general route, the applicant is expected to satisfy the qualities listed in Art. 11 of the Turkish Citizenship Act. The requests of persons who do not possess those qualities are concluded unfavourably and their files are rejected. The matters required by the Act are as follows:
- To have the capacity of discernment and to be of full age
- To have resided within the borders of Türkiye for the period prescribed by the Act
- To demonstrate, by concrete conduct, the intention to remain in the country permanently
- Not to carry an illness that poses a risk in terms of public health
- To meet the criterion of being of good moral character
- To be able to speak Turkish at a level sufficient to sustain social communication
- To have an occupation or income capable of meeting the needs both of the applicant and of the persons the applicant is required to support
- To have no circumstance constituting an obstacle to the acquisition of citizenship in terms of public order and national security
Full Age and Capacity of Discernment
The full age and capacity of discernment of the person making the request are, as a rule, determined according to that person’s own national law. Where the person is not a citizen of any State, that is to say where the person is regarded as stateless, this determination is made on the basis of Turkish law. Consistently with the Act, Art. 15 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Act likewise provides that the provisions of the Turkish Civil Code No. 4721 shall apply in respect of stateless persons.
The Residence Condition in Türkiye
The second quality is to have lived in Türkiye without interruption for five years, calculated backwards from the date of application. The legislature’s purpose in prescribing that period is to deepen the person’s contact with the country, the culture and society, and thereby to secure integration.
For the period to be treated as valid, entry into the country must have taken place in accordance with the legislation and a residence permit must have been obtained for the stay. A foreign national who remains in the country without any legal basis is not regarded as having fulfilled the residence condition, however much time may have passed, and cannot be granted citizenship by this route.
The principle is that the period must not be broken. The Act has nevertheless allowed for stays abroad totalling no more than twelve months within the five-year span; time spent outside the country in this way is taken into account in the calculation of the residence period.
Confirming the Intention to Settle Through Conduct
The applicant is expected to demonstrate the decision to remain permanently in Türkiye not only by declaration but also by actual conduct. The Act has not enumerated what such conduct consists of; the Regulation has drawn a framework by way of example:
- Having completed one’s education in Türkiye
- Acquiring immovable property within the borders of the country
- Establishing a business or making an investment in Türkiye
- Moving one’s commercial and business centre to Türkiye
- Being employed at a workplace after obtaining a work permit
- Entering into a marriage with a Turkish citizen
- Making the application together with family members
- The prior acquisition of Turkish citizenship by one’s mother, father, sibling or child
Absence of an Illness Constituting an Obstacle in Terms of Public Health
The applicant is required not to have an illness that gives rise to a danger in terms of general health. That criterion cannot be read as meaning that the person must have no health problem at all. What the provision means is illnesses that are contagious in character and that place public health at risk.
Being of Good Moral Character
A further quality required is to be of good moral character; the Act, however, has not filled in the content of that concept. Art. 15 of the Regulation has remedied the gap and described the criterion as follows:
“To show that one is of good moral character by acting with the sense of responsibility required by living together in society, to inspire confidence in those around one by one’s conduct, and to have no bad habit that is not well regarded by society and that is contrary to the values of society.”
Ability to Speak Turkish to a Sufficient Level
Because the legislature aims for the applicant to integrate into Turkish society and culture, it has also introduced a criterion relating to language. Accordingly, the person is expected to be able to speak Turkish. The words “to a sufficient degree” in the provision indicate that a basic command is regarded as enough. The Regulation, too, has given the criterion concrete form as a level of speech capable of allowing integration into everyday social life. The body that will determine whether that sufficiency is present is the Commission.
Income or Occupation Sufficient for Subsistence
Another condition is that the person has an income or an occupation capable of meeting the subsistence both of the person and of those whom the person is required to support in Türkiye. Who is regarded as a person required to be supported is determined on the basis of Turkish law.
Absence of an Obstacle in Terms of National Security and Public Order
The final criterion required by the Act in acquisition by the general route is that the applicant has no circumstance constituting an obstacle in terms of national security and public order. Which situations fall within that scope is not specified one by one in the text. The statement of reasons for the article nevertheless contains the following explanation:
“By laying down this condition, the acquisition of Turkish citizenship is prevented in the case of those who constitute a danger in terms of national security and who act against national interests and the integrity of the country, together with those who support such activities, those who are in contact with such persons or organisations, and those who engage in activities disturbing public order such as any rebellion, sabotage, espionage, arms and drug trafficking or forgery of documents.”
As appears from the statement of reasons, a person who takes part in acts harming the integrity of the country, in drug trafficking, or in acts that shake public order such as forgery of official documents will not be granted Turkish citizenship.
This criterion is scrutinised carefully by the competent authorities. Art. 18 of the Regulation makes it compulsory for an investigation to be conducted by the provincial police directorate so that it may be determined whether the applicant has any circumstance constituting an obstacle to the acquisition of citizenship in terms of national security and public order.
At the outset of this note we stated that the administration is equipped with a broad margin of discretion in this field. Because the scope of that criterion is not clearly drawn, it is precisely here that the discretionary power takes its most visible form. The administration may not, however, exercise that power arbitrarily and without reasons; when rejecting a request on the basis of this criterion, it is obliged to establish the circumstance constituting an obstacle in terms of public order and national security with concrete information and documents.
Stages of the Application and the Chain of Assessment
The Application Authority and the Preliminary Examination
In applications made by the general route, the addressee is the governorship to which the applicant’s place of residence is attached. That authority first puts the file through a preliminary examination. If, as a result of the examination, the existence of certain disqualifying circumstances is established, the application is not accepted and the position is notified to the person concerned in writing. The Regulation provides that the applications of the following persons shall not be accepted:
- Those who cannot submit to the file the documents listed in Article 17 of the Regulation
- Those who lack the capacity of discernment and those who are not yet regarded as being of full age
- Those who, calculated backwards from the date of application, do not have five years of uninterrupted residence in Türkiye
- Those against whom criminal proceedings are pending and those who are in detention on remand or serving a sentence
- Those present in the country without a residence permit, or those who, although holding a permit, are found not to carry an intention to settle; persons who have made a request for refuge or asylum, asylum seekers, and those found to have been granted residence on grounds such as education, tourism, medical treatment or accompanying a child studying in Türkiye
The Investigation Conducted by the Provincial Police Directorate
For an applicant who has passed the preliminary examination and completed the file by submitting the requested documents, an archive search and an investigation are requested from the provincial police directorate. In that context the police unit clarifies three points: whether the person has any circumstance constituting an obstacle to the acquisition of citizenship in terms of national security and public order; whether the person meets the criterion of good moral character; and the date of entry into the country, the purpose on which the residence permit was issued, how long the person has remained in the country calculated backwards from the date of application, whether the person travelled abroad during that span, and the dates and durations of any such departures. The data obtained are entered on the investigation form.
The period of validity of the search and investigation carried out is one year. Where considered necessary, a fresh search and investigation may be carried out without waiting for that period to expire.
The provincial police directorate that concludes the investigation returns the file to the provincial directorate; the provincial directorate in turn refers the file to the Citizenship Application Review Commission.
The Interview Before the Commission
Once the preliminary examination and the police investigation have been completed, the applicant is called to an interview by the Commission. The headings taken into consideration at the interview are as follows:
- Whether the applicant possesses the qualities required for the application
- Sufficiency in speaking Turkish
- The source from which the applicant obtains subsistence
- The level of integration into social life in Türkiye
- The applicant’s descent
The Commission investigates the existence of these elements, checks whether the documents that must be present in the file are complete, and states the opinion it has reached. The opinion formed at the end of the interview is written on the citizenship interview form in terms leaving no room for doubt, and the file is sent back to the provincial directorate.
The Decision of the Ministry of the Interior
In acquisition by the general route, the deciding authority is the Ministry of the Interior. The file of a person found, following the Commission’s examination, to possess the necessary qualities is forwarded to the Ministry through the provincial directorate. The Ministry conducts a fresh examination of the file; where information or documents are missing, it ensures that these are completed.
A person whose position is found suitable as a result of the examination and investigation conducted by the Ministry may acquire Turkish citizenship by decision of the Ministry. The requests of those not found suitable are rejected by the Ministry. A decision in either direction is served on the person concerned.
There is no obstacle to a person whose request has been rejected on the ground that the required qualities are not possessed making a fresh application with the same request. In such a case, a new application file is created by the application authorities.
Consequences of a Favourable Decision
Decisions concerning the acquisition of citizenship take effect from the date on which they are given.
The acquisition of citizenship by decision of the competent authority does not affect the citizenship position of the person’s spouse.
In order for the children in the applicant’s custody also to acquire Turkish citizenship, the mother or the father must obtain the consent of the other spouse. Where such consent cannot be obtained, the matter is dealt with in accordance with the decision of the judge in the country of the habitual residence of the parent concerned.
Where the mother and the father acquire citizenship together, their children also become Turkish citizens.
Remedies Available Against a Decision of Rejection
Article 125 of the Constitution of the Republic of Türkiye No. 2709 has opened all acts and transactions of the administration to judicial review. Citizenship requests are likewise assessed by the administration, and decisions accepting or rejecting them are made by the administration.
The breadth of the discretionary power afforded to the administration in this field does not mean that it is absolute. In deciding a citizenship request, the administration may not act arbitrarily; as with every administrative act, it is here too under an obligation to have regard to the public interest. A person whose request is rejected may bring an action for annulment if of the view that the act is unlawful. In such an action, subject-matter jurisdiction lies with the administrative court and territorial jurisdiction with the court of the place where the administration that made the rejection is located. If the court finds the act unlawful, it will order its annulment.
The general preclusive period prescribed for actions for annulment applies to citizenship acts as well. Accordingly, a person wishing to bring an action against a decision of rejection must resort to that remedy within sixty days from the date on which the decision was served.
Alongside the judicial remedy, an administrative application is also available. The person concerned may apply to the administration requesting that the decision of rejection be lifted; that application must likewise be made within the sixty-day period running from service. The application in question suspends the period for bringing an action, which has already begun to run. Where the administration does not reply within thirty days, the request is deemed to have been implicitly rejected.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is representation by a lawyer compulsory in order to bring an action before the administrative court?
Turkish law allows parties to defend and represent themselves in person before the courts; save for certain exceptions, representation by a lawyer is not compulsory. Nor is there any obligation to retain a lawyer practising in the field of administrative law before the administrative courts. That said, the complex structure of administrative law legislation and the strict and short time limits in the Administrative Procedure Act No. 2577 may, where the process is conducted by persons who are not lawyers, lead to errors of both procedure and substance that are difficult to remedy. In order to avoid any loss of rights in this system of adjudication, which contains detailed rules, it is advisable to obtain assistance from lawyers practising in the field of administrative law before any step is taken.
May a person whose application has been rejected apply again?
It is possible for a person who possesses the qualities required by the Act No. 5901 to make a fresh application and for the citizenship position to be assessed anew.
Does a person who acquires Turkish citizenship retain existing citizenship?
Whether a foreign national who acquires Turkish citizenship may retain previous citizenship depends on whether that person’s own country permits dual citizenship.
What is the difference between a residence permit and citizenship?
Obtaining a residence permit from a country and acquiring the citizenship of that country are different statuses. The most marked distinction between them is that a foreign national who acquires citizenship holds the passport of that country.
May a foreign national without a residence permit acquire citizenship?
One of the most important conditions for the acquisition of citizenship is that the foreign national making the request holds a residence permit in Türkiye. A foreign national who does not hold such a permit cannot become entitled to Turkish citizenship.
Is it necessary to be in Türkiye throughout the whole process?
Applicants must be in Türkiye both on the day of application and on the day of the appointment. There is no obligation to remain in the country after the application; persons authorised by a special power of attorney may follow up and conclude the file. However, since the competent authorities may call applicants to a face-to-face interview in residence permit and citizenship files, it will be necessary to come to Türkiye at that stage.
What happens if the time limit for bringing an action against a decision of rejection is missed?
A foreign national whose request is rejected must bring an action before the administrative courts. That action must be brought within 60 days from the date on which the act was learned of or written notification was made. An action brought by a person who has missed the time limit will be rejected on the ground of the statute of limitations.
Before the court of which place is the action heard?
Since decisions on citizenship requests are given by the Ministry of the Interior, the courts with territorial jurisdiction will be the Ankara Administrative Courts.
Conducting the whole process in accordance with legal procedure is decisive for the fate of the application. Foreign nationals contemplating a citizenship request are expected first to clarify whether they satisfy the required qualities and then to prepare the requested documents fully and correctly. For that reason, obtaining assistance from an experienced lawyer is important in ensuring that the file proceeds in accordance with procedure at every stage.
Independent Legal Assessment
Contrary to what is often assumed, citizenship files under the general route do not consist merely of submitting a single set of documents. Each link in the chain running from the preliminary examination at the governorship to the police investigation, and from the Commission interview to the decision of the Ministry, is an independent point of elimination, and a matter left incomplete at one stage may not be capable of remedy at later stages. The calculation of the residence period and the criterion of national security and public order are, in particular, the two heads that stand out where files are concluded unfavourably.
Where a decision of rejection is encountered, the axis of the dispute shifts to the limits of the administration’s discretionary power. Acts established without basing their reasoning on concrete information and documents may not survive judicial review. For that reason, analysing the grounds on which the rejection rests is decisive in preparing an action for annulment.
In setting out a road map in a concrete file, the following heads should be addressed first:
- Documenting the five years of uninterrupted residence through entry–exit records, having regard also to the twelve-month upper limit for time spent abroad
- Assessing in advance the purpose on which the residence permit rests and whether that purpose is compatible with an intention to settle
- Reflecting systematically in the file such facts as the acquisition of immovable property, investment or a work permit that support the intention to settle
- Preparing for the elements of Turkish language sufficiency and social integration measured at the interview
- Recording the date of service of the decision of rejection and calendaring the sixty-day preclusive period
- Making the choice between an administrative application and a direct action for annulment with the suspensory effect on the time limit taken into account
Independent Legal provides advisory services and conducts litigation throughout the entire process, from the preparation of foreign nationals’ Turkish citizenship applications to actions for annulment pursued before the administrative courts against decisions of rejection.