Resolutions to grant Turkish citizenship and related amendments since 2018

27/02/2024 Tax & Legal 6511

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The amendments of the Turkish citizenship law generally include special facilities for foreigners to obtain the Turkish citizenship. And according to the recent law,
Turkish citizenship is granted to foreigners in the following cases:

Purchase a property in Turkey with a value exceeding 400 thousand US dollars, instead of the previous value of 1 million US dollars, with a title deed restriction on its resale for at least 3 years.
Deposit of 500 thousand US dollars in the bank, instead of the previous value of 1 million US dollars stated in the previous law.
Invest in Turkey 500 thousand US dollars instead of the previous value of 2 million US dollars.
Offer job opportunities for 50 Turkish citizens instead of 100 citizens.

Special offices, which are subject to the oversight of the committee made up of the concerned ministries, will process and follow up applications for citizenship.

First Resolution: Includes an amendment to Resolution No. 106

An amendment to the regulation of the mechanism for granting Turkish citizenship was approved, and it was appended to Article 46 of the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901. This law was issued on 18.09.2018 by the President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Application for Turkish citizenship by purchasing a real estate property in Turkey:

According to the Law No. 135 - 36189470 issued on 15.10.2018 by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanism, the criteria that entitle the property owner the right to apply for Turkish citizenship were defined as follows:

The value of the property purchased before the issuance of the resolution shall not be less than 1 million US dollars.
The value of the property purchased after the issuance of the resolution (19.09.2018,) shall not be less than 400 thousand US dollars. Payment must be transferred by bank.
The owner of the property has to have the title deed of the property. The material value of the property is evaluated by the title deed -issuing institution, which gives the property owner the evaluation document.
The owner of the property has to pledge not to sell the property within the first 3 years of purchasing it.
The owner of the property has to have a fixed address in Turkey. The address does not have to be on the property he owns.

Documents required to apply for Turkish citizenship by owning real estate property in Turkey:

Title deed
A receipt for the amount paid for the property, which can be obtained through the bank
Valid passport
Valid residence permit in Turkey
Address document

These documents are delivered to the civil status department of the governorate in which the owner resides.

Content of the amended law on granting Turkish citizenship:

Article 1: Changing the phrase “the proposal of the Ministry and the Council of Ministers” in the second paragraph of Article 20 of the law submitted to Parliament on 11.02.2010, issued in the same year under the number of 139, to the phrase “President of the Republic”:

Item (1): Changing the phrases “200,000 US dollars,” and “Ministry of Economy” to “500,000 US dollars or its equivalent in Turkish lira,” and “Ministry of Industry and Technology,” respectively.

Item 2: Changing the phrases “1000000 US dollars,” to “400,000 US dollars or its equivalent in Turkish lira.”

Item (3): Changing the phrases “100” and “Ministry of Labor and Social Security” to “50” and “Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services,” respectively.

Item (4): Changing the phrases “3000000 US dollars” to “500,000 US dollars or its equivalent in Turkish lira.”

Item 5: Changing the phrases “3,000,000 US dollars,” and “Treasury” to “500,000 US dollars or its equivalent in Turkish lira,” and “Ministry of Treasury and Finance,” respectively.

Item 6: Contribute with at least 500,000 USD or its equivalent in Turkish Lira as a share in a real estate investment fund or venture capital fund for a period of at least 3 years proven by the Capital Markets Board.

Article 4: What is stated in the decree becomes effective from the first day of its publication.

Second Resolution: Adding the possibility of purchasing a property under construction to acquire Turkish citizenship:

On 08.12.2018, a new amendment was made to the second item of the second paragraph of Article no. 20 of the Law on Granting Turkish Citizenship to Foreigners No. 106 so that foreigners can be nominated for Turkish citizenship after purchasing a property under construction. They still have to prove that the property price was paid in cash and not less than 400 thousand US dollars or its equivalent in Turkish lira, and they have to pledge not to sell the property in Turkey for a period of 3 years. Properties sold in installments are not accepted.

The Third Resolution: Properties possession for the Palestinians and Turkish citizenship acquiring:

The situation of the Palestinians before the resolution: A Palestinian who holds a travel document and does not have a passport from the Palestinian Authority could not purchase and possess a property in Turkey. That travel document only served in obtaining tourist residency, and if he wanted to purchase a property, he must first extract a document stating that he is without a homeland to be entitled to purchase a property and possess it.

The situation of the Palestinians after the resolution: After amending the resolution of 2013 by the Turkish Ministry of Economy and the Department of Immigration Affairs of the State of Istanbul, the Palestinian can now possess real estate in Turkey through the travel document he extracts from the country in which he resides, and that travel document allows him of course to obtain tourist residence. The resolution becomes effective on the sixth of March 2019, and this resolution is considered an exceptional amendment for Palestinians only to facilitate possession and ownership procedures for them.

Real estate possession grants the Palestinians the right to obtain Turkish citizenship and passport:

On 06/03/2019, the Presidency of the Department of Foreigners Affairs - the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre, which is affiliated to the Ministry of Construction and Environment, issued a general amendment No. 1058120 on the Law 1734 of 06/08/2012, and also an amendment on the resolution 5150 of 2013 relating to the regulation of the internal regulations for real estate registration, and the internal regulations 81 dated on 21.08.2013 for the notary public as follows:

This decision, which is only for citizens of the State of Palestine, states that in the event that a Palestinian holder of a travel document obtains a residence permit issued by the General Directorate of Immigration Management, his ID and his passport issued by his country or any other country will be accepted. The residence number issued to foreigners (starting with 99) should be written in the identity number field in the electronic property data system, and in the absence of residence, the passport or the ID number issued by his country should be used.

Fourth Resolution: New Administrative Facilities in the citizenship law through properties ownership:

This resolution includes a new amendment that will also facilitate the procedures for foreigners to obtain Turkish citizenship by possessing real estate property in Turkey. This amendment cancels the requirement to present the bank receipt in the event that the property was purchased from public construction companies in Turkey such as Toki and Emlak Konut. However, it is still required to present the bank receipt when purchasing the property from private companies, with the exception of those who possessed real estate property worth 1 million US dollars as of 12. 01.2017.

The amendment also included taking into account the exchange rate of the Turkish lira against the dollar in bank receipts, estimation of property value, payment dates, delivery of the property document, and the application for citizenship.

Based on the new amendments, clients of damasturk Real Estate can submit their applications for Turkish citizenship according to the following conditions:

The clients' real estate investment was made after 12.01.2017, and they obtained the title deed after 19.09.2018.
The last owner of the property was a Turkish entity, be that a Turkish person or company.
Completing the value of possessed real estate to 400 thousand US dollars by purchasing new real estates.

To sum all these modifications, real estate investment has become one of the shortest ways to obtain Turkish citizenship and enjoy its advantages. Not to forget that the property retains its actual value no matter how markets could fluctuate, and its value can even increase over time. Furthermore, the property can be benefited from in different ways such as renting it out or transferring it to a company etc...

To facilitate your real estate ownership in Turkey, damasturk Real Estate, with its experience, capability, and specialized lawyers and consultants, will be bedside you to make the first steps of obtaining Turkish citizenship.

Turkish citizenship features:

In addition to being able to travel to more than a hundred countries without a visa, Turkish citizenship gives you many advantages, such as practicing any work in the government sectors without the need for a work permit, benefiting from retirement compensation, and working in the specialties prohibited for foreigners "such as dentistry, law, pharmacy, veterinary, customs clearance, sworn translation, maritime professions, and tourist guides.” It is also not required that you employ five Turks when opening a project, and you can benefit from government privileges such as financial support and tax reduction. Your citizenship also means that your wife and children under the age of 18 will obtain it.