Turkish citizenship by investment. Some significant changes were made in the legislation of acquiring Turkish citizenship through investment in 2018. The applications and principles for foreign investors to acquire Turkish citizenship have been determined with The Regulation on the Amendment to the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law, published in the Official Gazette on 12 January 2017. Accordingly, the US dollar limit, which is required for foreign investors to acquire Turkish citizenship, has been reduced. For instance, there was an obligation to purchase a house for 1 million dollars for the acquisition of Turkish citizenship beforehand. It is now possible by purchasing a house which will cost 250 thousand USD. Determining these stated monetary values will be based on the effective exchange rate or cross-exchange rate of the Central Bank of Turkish Republic on determination date.
Types of Turkish Citizenship by Investment
What are the criteria sought for Turkish citizenship by investment, what are the types of getting Turkish citizenship in Turkey through investment? In accordance with the mentioned Regulation, a foreign investor must realize one of these six conditions in order to become a Turkish citizen by investing:
1) Making a fixed capital investment of at least 500.000 USD
2) Purchasing a property with an amount of at least 250,000 USD and annotating on the land registry not to be sold for 3 years
3) Creating employment for at least 50 people
4) Depositing at least 500,000 USD to the banks operating in Turkey and keeping the account for three years
5) Purchasing, at least 500.000 US dollars, debt instruments of government on the condition of keeping them for 3 years
6) Purchasing, at least 500.000 USD, participation share of real estate investment’s fund or participation share of venture capital investment’s fund for at least three years. However, the foreign investors will be able to realize their investments in terms of foreign exchange or TL against the USD specified in the conditions.
The process to be followed by foreigners to become a Turkish citizen with investment
The process to be followed for Turkish citizenship by investment consists of 3 stages. These stages are the receipt of a certificate of conformity, obtaining a residence permit and applying for citizenship. Application for the receipt of conformity certification shall be made to:
1) The Ministry of Industry and Technology, General Directorate of Incentive Implementation and Foreign Investment in case of fixed capital investment
2) The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadaster in the case of purchasing immovable property
3) The Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services, General Directorate of International Labor in the case of employment
4) The Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, the Financial Consumer Relations Department in case of depositing to the banks operating in Turkey
5) The Ministry of Treasury and Finance in case of purchasing debt instruments of government
6) The Intermediary Activities Department of Capital Markets Board in case of purchasing participation share of real estate investment’s fund or participation share of venture capital investment’s fund.
The second step is to obtain a residence permit. The last step for the foreigner who has obtained the residence permit is to apply for citizenship. For this, the application should be made to the Provincial Population and Citizenship Directorate. Thus, the citizenship application file will be issued and sent to the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs. In the meantime, it is investigated whether there is any issue that will prevent acquisition of citizenship in terms of national security and public safety. If archive research of General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs is successful, it submits the file to the Ministry. It is sent to the Presidency by the Ministry Office for the purpose of taking the Presidential Decree. If the president decides positively in the acquisition of citizenship, the foreign investor will now be granted with Turkish citizenship.
