Acquisition of Turkish Citizenship by Investment

Introduction

Turkish Citizenship Law Numbered 5901 (“Law”) was published and came into force in the Official Gazette dated June 12^th, 2009. According to 9^th and the following articles of the Law, Turkish citizenship can be subsequently acquired with the decision of a competent authority, by adoption, or by the exercise of the right to choose. The acquisition of Turkish citizenship by investment is one of the cases of acquisition by the decision of the competent authority and is one of the exceptional cases of acquiring Turkish citizenship according to Article 12 of the Law. Provided that there is no obstacle as regards to national security and public order, foreigners, set out in Law, may acquire Turkish citizenship upon the President's Decision.

1. Conditions for Acquiring Turkish Citizenship by Investment

Pursuant to recent amendments introduced by the Presidential Decree No. 106 published in the Official Gazette dated September 19^th, 2018 and Presidential Decree No. 31711 published in the Official Gazette dated January 6^th, 2022, foreigners who meet at least one of the investment requirements stated in Regulation on the Implementation of Turkish Citizenship (“Regulation”) may be granted citizenship under Art. 12/1-b of Law:

-Foreigners whom the Ministry of Industry and Technology determined to have made a fixed capital investment amounting to a minimum of $500,000 or equivalent foreign currency or its equivalent in Turkish Lira;

-Foreigners whom the  Ministry of Environment and Urbanization determined to have purchased a real estate property with a minimum value of  $250,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency or in Turkish Liras and attached an annotation of no-sale for at least three (3) years at the relevant title registry; or foreigners whom the same Ministry determined to have purchased a real estate property which has a property ownership or a construction servitude on it, with a preliminary sale contract executed before a notary public and have paid in advance at least $250,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency or in Turkish Liras and have gotten such notarized preliminary sale contract recorded at the relevant title registry with the undertaking not to transfer or assign the agreement for a period of three (3) years;

-Foreigners whom the Ministry of Labor and Seocial Security determined to have created employment for at least 50 individuals,;

-Foreigners whom  the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency determined to have deposited a minimum of $500,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency or in Turkish Lira to banks that operate in Turkey under the condition to keep such deposit in the relevant bank for at least three (3) years;,

-Foreigners whom the Ministry of Treasury and Finance determined to have purchased government debt instruments with the value of a minimum of $500,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency or in Turkish Lira under the condition of keeping them in reserve for at least three (3) years;,

-Foreigners whom the Capital Market Board determined to have purchased real estate investment trust participation  share and venture capital investment fund participation share with a minimum value of $500,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency or in Turkish Liras on the condition to keep those in reserve for at least three (3) years, as determined by.

2. The Process to Be Followed for Turkish Citizenship by Investment

The process for acquiring Turkish citizenship by investment consists of three (3) stages. These stages are as follows:

1. Meeting one of the investment conditions specified in Article 20 of the Regulation and obtaining the receipt of a Certificate of Eligibility from the relevant authority; and
2. Obtaining a short-term residence permit as per Article 31/1-j of the Foreigners and International Protection Law numbered 6458. (The foreigner, who will make an investment in the scope and amount to be determined by the President, if he/she has also obtained a short-term residence permit for this reason, will be able to apply for acquiring Turkish citizenship for himself/herself, his/her foreign spouse, and his/her and his spouse's minor or dependent foreign children.)
3. Applying for Turkish citizenship by investment.

Conclusion

The acquisition of Turkish citizenship by investment is preferred as it is a very simplified way, as short-term residence permit applications are finalized in such a short time as 1-2 weeks and citizenship applications in 3-6 months, particularly thanks to the reduction of the amounts determined in Article 20 of the Regulation with the Presidential Decree dated September 18^th, 2018 and numbered 106. Nevertheless, it is of utmost importance that complete applications are presented and that the process is followed fully and accurately. Any mistake to occur during the application process or any incompleteness in the documents may result in the rejection of the citizenship application or extension of the application process.

Yazar : Abide Gulel Birsen, Ece Melis Unlusan