ACQUISITION OF TURKISH CITIZENSHIP BY FOREIGN INVESTORS

1. INTRODUCTION

As is known, one of the ways to acquire Turkish citizenship by an administrative decision is through the exceptional acquisition of Turkish citizenship by foreign investors. According to Article 20 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law, individuals within this scope must first obtain a certificate of conformity, then acquire a residence permit pursuant to Article 31/1-j of the Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection, and finally submit their citizenship application.In other words, the process for a foreign investor to acquire Turkish citizenship generally consists of three stages. After obtaining the certificate of conformity, the required documents for the residence permit are submitted to the European Side Population Services Center in Istanbul, and the residence permit documents are received within approximately one week. Subsequently, the documents required for citizenship, as listed in Section 4 of this article, are also submitted to the Citizenship Unit located within the same European Side Population Services Center, completing the file for the final decision.

2. FIRST STAGE: FOREIGN INVESTORS ELIGIBLE FOR TURKISH CITIZENSHIP AND OBTAINING THE CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMITY

1.) Persons who are determined by the Ministry of Industry and Technology to have made a fixed capital investment of at least USD 500,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency may acquire Turkish citizenship through investment. The application for a certificate of conformity is made to the General Directorate of Incentive Implementation and Foreign Capital under the same ministry.

2.) Persons who are determined by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change to have purchased real estate worth at least USD 400,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency, provided that a three-year non-sale annotation is placed in the land registry, or who have signed a notarized preliminary sales contract for a real estate of the same value with a commitment that the title deed will not be transferred for three years, may acquire Turkish citizenship through investment. In this case, the application for the certificate of conformity is made to the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre.

3.) Persons who are determined by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to have created employment for at least 50 people may acquire Turkish citizenship through investment. The application for the certificate of conformity is made to the General Directorate of International Labor Force.

4.) Persons who are determined by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA) to have deposited at least USD 500,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency in banks operating in Turkey with the condition of maintaining the deposit for at least three years may acquire Turkish citizenship through investment. The application for the certificate of conformity is made to the BRSA Department of Financial Consumer Relations.

5.) Persons who are determined by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance to have purchased government debt instruments worth at least USD 500,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency, provided they hold them for at least three years, may acquire Turkish citizenship through investment. The application for the certificate of conformity is made to the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.

6.) Persons who are determined by the Capital Markets Board (CMB) to have purchased real estate investment fund shares or venture capital investment fund shares worth at least USD 500,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency, provided they hold them for at least three years, may acquire Turkish citizenship through investment. The application for the certificate of conformity is made to the CMB Department of Intermediary Activities.

7.) Persons who are determined by the Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Agency (SEDDK) to have invested at least USD 500,000 or its equivalent in foreign currency in the private pension system and to have maintained their participation in the system for at least three years, may acquire Turkish citizenship through investment.

3. SECOND STAGE: DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR OBTAINING A RESIDENCE PERMIT

 

1. Two biometric photographs

2.Residence Permit Registration Form (available at e-ikamet.goc.gov.tr)

3.Certificate of conformity

4.Copy of passport translation (and visa page if the country is subject to visa)

5.Birth certificate

6.Copy of previous residence permit or work permit (if any)

7.Power of attorney and copy of attorney’s bar card

8.Fingerprint data

9.Health insurance covering the requested period

10.Criminal record certificate issued within the last 6 months from the applicant’s home country (original or notarized copy; if a notarized copy is submitted, the original must also be presented to the officer

11. Address document (title deed, address statement, lease agreement, or letter for office address)

12. For spouse: copy of investor’s passport and marriage certificate

13.Fees:

Residence permit card fee: 810 TRY

Single-entry visa fee: 7,880.80 TRY

Residence permit fee: varies by country (see https://www.goc.gov.tr/belge-bedeli-ve-harc-miktari)

The residence permit fee for up to 1 month is 292.70 TRY per day (minimum 549.60 TRY and maximum 2,824.70 TRY for the first month). For each subsequent month, 1,876.70 TRY is charged.
These amounts apply to nationals of countries not included in any group, such as Serbia, Fiji, Norway, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Czech Republic, Denmark, Ireland, Kosovo, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Syria, and Turkmenistan have been exempted from residence permit fees since 2011 based on the principle of reciprocity.

4. THIRD STAGE: DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR CITIZENSHIP APPLICATION

1.VAT-4 Application Form

2. Passport or equivalent document proving nationality (or notarized Turkish translation of the statelessness certificate if applicable)

3.If the applicant has a child under parental custody who is to acquire citizenship together, a notarized consent letter from the other parent or its duly certified Turkish translation (if abroad, issued by a Turkish consulate or competent authority)

4. Certificate of marital status (marriage certificate if married, divorce certificate if divorced, death certificate of spouse if widowed)

5.Birth certificate or civil registry extract showing personal details and, if married, documents proving family ties (e.g., spouse and children’s civil registry extracts)

6.If the applicant’s date of birth is incomplete (missing day/month), a document from the relevant authority of their home country completing the information, or a signed statement consenting to completion under Article 39 of the Population Services Law No. 5490

7.Receipt showing payment of the service fee to the Ministry of Finance

8.Two biometric photographs (50x60 mm, white background, pattern-free, ICAO-compliant, machine-readable)

9. Criminal record certificate

5. FINALIZATION OF CITIZENSHIP APPLICATIONS

After all these stages are completed, the finalized file is forwarded to the relevant ministry. Depending on the type of investment chosen by the foreigner, the respective ministries evaluate the citizenship application within a joint commission and submit it for approval by the President of the Republic of Turkey. The final decision is made by the President.

All these procedures — obtaining the certificate of conformity, applying for a short-term residence permit, receiving the residence permit card, and submitting the citizenship application — can be completed remotely through a special power of attorney, without the foreigner needing to enter Turkey.

The list of required documents provided in this article is up-to-date for the year 2025, but applicants should always verify whether there have been any changes to the required documents before submission.

6. REJECTION OF CITIZENSHIP APPLICATIONS AND LEGAL REMEDIES

Citizenship applications submitted by foreigners who meet the relevant legal conditions are examined and decided upon by the competent administrative authorities. In certain cases, however, the administration may reject these applications for various reasons.

 

The reasons for rejection may include failure to meet the legal requirements, submission of incomplete or incorrect documents, or other grounds within the discretion of the authority.

 

Nevertheless, if a foreigner believes that the decision rejecting their citizenship application is unlawful, they have the right to challenge the decision before the administrative courts.

 

As the rejection of a citizenship application constitutes an administrative act, it is subject to judicial review. Accordingly, a foreign national whose application has been refused may:

 

File an annulment action directly before the administrative court within 60 days from the date of notification of the rejection decision.

 

Before filing a lawsuit, the applicant may also submit an administrative objection within the same 60-day period, requesting the cancellation of the rejection decision. Such an objection temporarily suspends the time limit for filing a lawsuit.

 

If the administration fails to respond within 30 days, the objection is deemed to have been rejected by operation of law. In that case, the applicant may proceed to file an annulment action.

 

Under Article 1 of the Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577, the competent court to hear annulment actions against citizenship rejection decisions is the Administrative Court. The venue for filing such a lawsuit is the administrative court located in the same province as the authority that issued the rejection decision.

As explained above, the action must be filed within 60 days from the date of notification of the decision rejecting the citizenship application. Failure to file the case within this statutory period will result in the dismissal of the case by the court on procedural grounds.

Stj. Av. İrem ÖZBERK 

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