Obtaining citizenship under a simplified scheme
In September last year, Turkey amended the law "on citizenship". The requirements for foreign citizens have been significantly relaxed: now you can get Turkish citizenship immediately, without a five-year wait, based on the following:
- Open a Deposit account. If a foreign citizen deposits at least 500 thousand dollars in any Turkish Bank, they can count on obtaining Turkish citizenship under a simplified scheme. It is worth noting that the required amount cannot be withdrawn for three years.
- Invest in the Turkish economy. Another option to obtain Turkish citizenship under the simplified scheme is to invest in the country's economy. A foreigner can apply for a Turkish passport provided that they have invested at least 500 thousand dollars in the Turkish economy.
- Buy government bonds. It is also a great option to get Turkish citizenship under a simplified scheme. To do this, you need to purchase government bonds worth at least 500 thousand dollars.
- Create jobs. A foreigner can open a business in Turkey in any field: catering, agriculture, services, etc. If when creating a business, it will employ at least 50 Turkish citizens, then you can also count on getting a Turkish passport ahead of time.
- Buy real estate in Turkey for the amount of 250 thousand dollars. When considering an application for citizenship under the simplified scheme, real estate purchased after September 18, 2018 — since the adoption of the relevant law-is taken into account. The main condition is that the property cannot be sold for three years. At the same time, you can buy real estate not only for dollars, but also for euros or Turkish Lira. Note that in the Cadastral office in official documents, the cost of real estate is written in Lira. Therefore, the amount paid for real estate should not be less than 250 thousand dollars at the time of the transaction, taking into account the exchange rate in the Lira-dollar pair. It is required that the property must pass an appraisal examination before being sold. And based on the report of the expert Commission, the cadastral value of housing is determined. In other words, this document is taken into account by state agencies when considering an application for citizenship. The application for citizenship must be submitted within three months after the conclusion of the purchase and sale transaction. When submitting an application, you will also need a Bank statement stating that the required amount was transferred from the buyer's account to the seller's account.
Real estate must be registered only for the person who is applying for citizenship under the simplified scheme, and not for his wife (husband) or children.
It is worth noting that if the property was purchased from / to 18.09.2018, then Turkish citizenship can also be obtained under a simplified scheme. But there is a different rule-the cost of housing must be at least 1 million dollars.
All other application procedures are the same as described above.
The process of obtaining citizenship under the simplified scheme lasts no more than 2 months. You can find out about the advantages of obtaining Turkish citizenship here.
Obtaining Turkish citizenship in kind
But if a foreigner does not have a large amount of money, they can still become a Turkish citizen. However, in order to apply for a Turkish passport, it must take at least five years. During this time, the foreigner must stay in the country for a total of at least 180 days per year. Also, the foreigner must have a permanent official income and know the Turkish language. When considering the application, the Turkish authorities also take into account such factors as the reliability of the foreign citizen, the absence of offenses, especially in Turkey, the presence or absence of diseases that pose a threat to society (primarily HIV and tuberculosis in advanced forms).
More options for obtaining citizenship:
Marriage. After three years of official marriage with a Turkish citizen, a foreigner can apply for citizenship.
Childbirth. If the child was born in the country and one of its parents is a Turkish citizen, the child is given Turkish citizenship.
Origin. If a foreigner is Turkish by nationality but lives in another country, they can also count on obtaining Turkish citizenship. The process of obtaining citizenship by natural means takes about six months.
The Turkish passport is issued for 10 years, then it needs to be changed. Also, a foreign citizen, becoming a Turkish citizen, can get a Turkish passport, which is also issued for a maximum of 10 years.
Another important point. Dual citizenship is allowed in Turkey. In other words, you can remain a citizen of your country and be a citizen of Turkey. But there is one caveat. This law does not work in all countries. For example, dual citizenship is allowed in Russia. But the residents of Kazakhstan, if they decide to accept Turkish citizenship, will have to renounce their country's citizenship.
For all questions related to obtaining citizenship, you can contact our company. We will also help you with the paperwork.