Should you get Turkish Citizenship by Investment?
The Turkish Citizenship by Investment program sounds tempting. Buy property in Turkey and get citizenship on top. In this article, I’ll break down exactly who should consider it and what you need to know before applying.
All information in this article and more is also included in my YouTube video:
Overview Turkish Citizenship by Investment
In my opinion, there’s only one main reason to consider for Turkish Citizenship by Investment. I’ll explain this in detail and also show the different options to get a Turkish passport. This article is split into two parts:
- Main reason to get Turkish Citizenship by Investment
- How to get Turkish Citizenship by Investment
1) Main reason to get Turkish Citizenship by Investment
When should you actually consider the Turkish Citizenship by investment program? In most cases, it only makes sense if you, your partner or your children plan to live in Turkey. Either now, in the future or regularly for more than three months per year.
Typical situations are: You want to retire and live several months or full-time along the Aegean or Mediterranean coasts of Turkey. Or you earn a good income online and want to enjoy a higher quality of life in a sunny and affordable country. Maybe you prefer living in a beautiful and relatively stable muslim country. Or perhaps there are challenges in your home country and you want a more stable environment for your family’s future.
Nowadays, getting residency in Turkey has become quite restrictive. Currently, there are basically two main options for long-term residency if you don’t work in Turkey. The first is citizenship by investment. The second is buying property in Turkey worth more than 200.000 US dollars.
However, the property residency option has three major drawbacks. First, some neighbourhoods are now closed for foreigners to get residency. Second, you can only apply for long-term residency after living eight years continuously in the same property in Turkey. And third, your residency is linked only to that specific property. This means you can’t move and keep your residence permit. Also check out this this article where I explain all the different options to get residency in Turkey.
The Turkish Citizenship by Investment program overcomes all these drawbacks. It gives you, your spouse and children under 18 the same rights and obligations as any Turkish citizen. You don’t even have to live in Turkey to get the passport. But once you have Turkish citizenship, you and your family can live there medium or long-term whenever you want.
This also means it’s important to have a genuine connection with Turkey. If you love Turkey, you’ll appreciate the value of a Turkish passport. But if you are mainly looking for a second passport that gives you visa-free access to many countries, then there are better citizenship options available.
2) How to get Turkish Citizenship by Investment
So, how do you actually get Turkish Citizenship by Investment? There are two main routes. First, by buying property in Turkey worth more than 400.000 US dollars.
Second, by investing 500.000 US dollars – either by placing it in a bank deposit for three years, buying government bonds and holding them for three years or investing in an approved investment fund.
By far, the property investment option is the most popular. You can buy one or several properties – old or new, for your own use or for rental income. You must hold the properties for at least three years. Turkey allows dual citizenship, so this would be a second passport. Simply said, you’re buying property in Turkey and receiving citizenship on top.
Do you want to learn How to buy the Best Property in Türkiye?
It’s very important to know exactly where and how to buy property in Turkey. Otherwise, your 400.000 US dollars could turn into a bad investment.
I personally bought eight properties in Turkey and became financially independent. I quit my job in Germany, moved to Istanbul and now live comfortably off the rental income here.
If you also want to learn how to buy your dream property in Turkey or how to find a great investment property in Istanbul, then subscribe to my newsletter by clicking on this link.
Disclaimer
You need to be very tedious if you want to apply for the Turkish Citizenship by Investment Program. I recommend to work with a specialised lawyer. Also click on this link to check the official website of the government. This article reflects the status as of October 2025. Make sure to check the latest regulations carefully. Unfortunately, regulations change quite often.
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