Turkish Citizenship by Investment Raised to 400.000 USD from 13 June, 2022
On May 13, 2022, The Official Gazette of the Republic of Turkey – published a new decision to increase the minimum investment threshold for acquiring a Turkish passport - now one can get a Turkish Citizenship by Investment of 400.000 USD. The decision will come into full effect on June 13, exactly 1 month after its’ publication. A Turkish Passport can be obtained for the purchase of real estate with a cadastral value of at least 250.000 US Dollars, if it is purchased before 13 June 2022. However, after 13 June 2022 acquiring a Turkish Passport will only be possible with an investment of at least 400.000 USD.
This amendment has previously been discussed on 12 April 2022 at a Presidential Meeting of the Turkish Cabinet of Ministers which was attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The received solution was to amend Article 20 of the Citizenship Law containing the conditions for obtaining citizenship through investment: Now you can Get a Turkish Passport for Buying Real Estate with a value of at least $400.000.
It is also useful to remember the previous amendment which came into effect on 01/24/2022 stating that every foreign citizen who wants to buy property in Turkey must now exchange the exact amount in foreign currency for Turkish Lira. At the same time, the currency exchange must be carried out only at a branch of an authorized bank (any exchange made through an exchange office will invalidate the transaction). After that, the buyer will be issued a document confirming the exchange of foreign currency (Currency Purchase Certificate). This receipt must be included among the required documents in order the transfer of ownership to take place and it will be requested by the Land Registry Office during the process. Otherwise, the title deed transfer will not take place.
Moreover, when buying real estate for obtaining Turkish Citizenship, the investor must accept not selling the property for 3 years. However, the said property can be rented out.
Turkey remains the most popular destination for investors buying property abroad with a demand accounting for 25% of all property purchases. According to the statistics, almost 70.000 properties were purchased by foreigners in Turkey in 2021, with about 20% of the purchased for acquiring citizenship.
Istanbul again became the leader in making such transactions - almost 80% of the total number took place there. Istanbul is traditionally followed by Antalya, Ankara, Mersin, Izmir, Bursa and Yalova. Leadership in purchases is traditionally held by residents of the Persian Gulf and the Middle East, followed by residents of the CIS countries.
It is worth noting that Turkish Citizenship by Investments from 400.000 USD can be obtained not only when buying residential real estate, but also commercial and land plots: the popularity of non-residential real estate transactions is also at its peak - last year their number was about 1.5 million.