Yes. With the newest regulation that published in the Official Gazette No. 31834, starting from 13.06.2022 Foreign real persons in Turkey can acquire Turkish citizenship through exceptional procedures by purchasing real estate worth $400,000 or more, in the old regulation this limit was $250,000. For this purpose, foreigner applying needs to:
Purchasing real estate worth at least $400,000.
In the application for citizenship, it should state that they purchased the real estate for this purpose, this purpose should be stated in the deed, and the foreigner should declare that he will not sell the real estate for three years in the form where the declarations are made.
How to Obtain Turkish Citizenship Through Real Estate Purchase?
Foreigners in Turkey can acquire citizenship by purchasing real estate under certain conditions. The conditions are as follows:
The purchase of real estate worth of at least 400.000 USD or equivalent in foreign currency or Turkish Lira, provided that an annotation is put in the land registry that it will not be sold for three years.
Annotation in the land registry of the contract, which is prepared by the notary public, stating that the condominium or construction servitude has been established, and for which at least 400.000 USD or equivalent amount of foreign currency or Turkish Lira has been deposited in advance, that the foreigner stated in from of the notary public they won’t sell the real estate for three years.
determination of the situation by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization
The foreigner can acquire Turkish citizenship by the decision of the President.
According to the principles of valuation, it should be determined that the sought-after value is met on the dates specified in the regulation, and the undertaking of the real estate providing the sought-after value (if there is more than one, with a single cheque by evaluating the real estates together).
All transactions can be made by issuing a special power of attorney. The power of attorney must contain the powers to purchase real estate, to make citizenship transactions and to make undertakings.
How to Purchase Real Estate?
You can reach our article about the purchase of real estate from the [link].
An appraisal is required in order to process the deed. No action is taken on the title deed without an valuation report.
How to Pay for the Real Estate?
The transfer/payment of the price of the sales or preliminary sales contract must be made through the bank, and the receipt of the amount deposited by the buyer or the relevant persons to the account of the seller or the relevant persons must be endorsed by the bank-approved receipt (with money order, EFT or blocked check). For transfers to be made from abroad, the receipt of the account to which the fee is sent must also be submitted.
The receipt date may also be after the sale date in the sales transaction. However, in the promise of sale, the receipt date must be before the issuance of the contract at the notary public or at the latest on the day of issuance of the contract. Payment receipt made after the date of issuance of the pre-sale contract at the notary will not be considered as it will not be considered as "cash" payment. The receipt must be submitted together with the undertaking transaction and at the latest before the issuance of the certificate of conformity.
The Land Registry Offices will make a reasonable interest assessment as to whether the transfer/payment is made between the relevant persons (Attorney, Owner of Construction Contract in return for Flat, Enforcement or Mortgage Payee, Company Owner's Account, etc.). However, in case of hesitation, he will send the submitted receipt to the institution that will issue the certificate of conformity, without making an assessment of appropriateness.
In case the receipt is paid in TL, the equivalent of the receipt value in USD is based on the CBRT's effective selling rate of the last business day before the payment day.
What Will Happen If the Sale is Made in Instalments?
In the case of installment sales, the status of payment transactions differs. In the sales process; Installment payments made after 12.01.2017, when the regulation entered into force, will be collected by calculating the exchange rate.
In the promise to sale transaction, since the provision of the regulation on the promise to sale agreement entered into force on 07.12.2018, the promise to sale payments before this date will not be taken into account. Provided that it is after this date, at least 400.000 USD or equivalent foreign currency or equivalent Turkish Lira must be paid in advance, before the preliminary sale contract is drawn up at the notary and on the last contract signing day. Payments made after the contract signing date will not be accepted as they will not be considered as cash payments.
In the event that sales and/or sales promise transactions are made together; After the acquisition of one/more real estates from a Turkish citizen through sale or the arrangement of a preliminary sale contract, it is possible to acquire one/more real estate from a Turkish citizen through sale or to draw up a preliminary sales contract in order to reach the amount of 1,000,000 USD or 400,000 USD. In this way, if two types of transactions are evaluated together; The sales promise payment must be made in advance, the value determination and the sum of the payments made must provide the value sought in the regulation.
What Happens If There is Mortgage on the Property?
In the sale transaction, in case the real estate is acquired through the sale-mortgage transaction, the remaining part after deducting the loan amount from the sale price in determining the sought value should be at least the amount sought in the regulation. In legal mortgage sales, the amount paid in advance, excluding the mortgage price, must be at least the amount sought in the regulation. It is possible to sell together with the existing mortgage or with foreclosure. In this case, the foreign person should be informed about the mortgage and/or lien on the immovable by the personnel performing the transaction.
In the promise of sale transaction; It is possible to make a undertaking with a promise of sale contract on a mortgaged or foreclosed real estate. In this case, the foreign person should be informed about the mortgage and/or lien on the immovable by the personnel performing the transaction.
Is It Possible to Do the Purchase with a Power of Attorney?
In the sales process, along with the power to buy, the power of attorney to give a undertaking not to sell the real estate for three years, or to state that this acquisition is for the purpose of benefiting from the Turkish Citizenship Law, or to apply for citizenship or citizenship transactions within the framework of the Turkish Citizenship Law and the relevant legislation. must exist.
In the promise of sale transaction, in the promise of sale contract made in the form of regulation in accordance with Article 89 of the Notary Law; If there is a statement that this contract is made for the purpose of obtaining citizenship, and provided that it meets other conditions, a undertaking is taken upon the request of the promise creditor, without seeking the consent of the debtor of the promise. If there is no statement in the contract that the immovable is built for the purpose of obtaining citizenship, an undertaking is taken with the request for registration of both parties.
What is Cancelation of Undertaking?
In cases where the undertaking has been received but is not given because the conditions of the Certificate of Conformity cannot be met, the commitment is cancelled if requested by the competent authority to issue the Certificate of Conformity. After the "Certificate of Conformity" is issued and before the 3-year commitment period expires, if the owner or the creditor of the promise of sale requests the cancellation, the request of the foreigner is made a question to the Provincial Directorate of Population and Citizenship. If the process of obtaining citizenship has been started, the request for abandonment is not met. In the event that the three-year period expires, the commitment is cancelled upon the request of the owner or the creditor of the promise of sale.
What are the Expenses?
In the sale of the real estate, there is the title deed fee determined according to the value of the real estate, together with the working capital fee and the service fee paid to the Land Registry Directorate.
Accordingly, the payments that can be made in the citizenship application by acquiring real estate are as follows:
Service fee paid to the state
Costs of assessment
Compulsory earthquake insurance fee
Sworn translation and notary expenses
Amounts paid for documents received from different authorities
What are the Steps to be Taken After the Purchase of the Real Estate?
When the title deed procedures are completed, the foreigner will apply to the relevant administrations and receive a certificate of conformity to be issued for the real estate owner. He/she will get a short-term residence by applying with the certificate of conformity and other documents. You can reach our article about short-term residence permit from [link]. Afterwards, they will be able to apply for citizenship by submitting the necessary documents.
The following documents are requested in the application:
Application form
(https://www.nvi.gov.tr/kurumlar/nvi.gov.tr/mevzuat/nufusmevzuat/Formlar/Vatandaslik/Vat4_Istisnai_Olarak_Kazanma.pdf),
2 biometric photographs, 50x60 mm in size, on a white background, without a pattern, determined by ICAO and can be read in the machine,
Passport or similar document showing which state the person is a citizen of, and if it is stateless, the relevant document if it is possible to obtain it,
Marital status certificate and marriage certificate if married, divorce certificate if divorced, spouse's death certificate if widowed,
A document showing the identity of the person, such as a birth certificate or a extract of civil registry, and if married, extract of civil registry or similar document proving the family ties of the spouse and children,
If the person's date of birth does not have a month and day, the document obtained from the competent authorities of the country to complete the date of birth, and if the document cannot be obtained, the signed statement that he accepts to take action in accordance with Article 39 of the Civil Registry Services Law No. 5490,
A receipt showing that the service fee has been paid,
Certificate of conformity.
Where to Apply for Citizenship?
Upon the written instruction of the Ministry, a citizenship file consisting of application documents is prepared for the foreigner who is offered to acquire Turkish citizenship exceptionally, by the governor's office where the place of residence is located, and by our foreign representative offices abroad. As the application date, the date on which the person's form petition is registered by the application authority is taken as a basis.
Applications made by mail are not accepted.
Citizenship applications of persons who are not adults or lack the power of discrimination are made by their parents or guardians.
Certification of official documents issued by foreign authorities is carried out in accordance with Article 59 of the Civil Registry Services Implementation Regulation.
It is sufficient for foreigners who want to acquire Turkish citizenship to submit documents such as diplomas and passports, which are submitted by foreign authorities at the time of application, to be translated into Turkish and notarized.