In the new turkish citizenship investment law, the Turkish government has mentioned carefully that any foreign investor who invests 250,000 USD or its equivalent in Turkish Lira on any immovable property in the country can apply for Turkish citizenship. Based on the past few years' reports, it is observed that most foreign investors put in money in real estate or any such immovable property to seek citizenship. It is because purchasing a property, both residential and commercial or land, is much more comfortable and hassle-free.
However, if you are trying to get dual citizenship status by holding a Turkish passport, you need to keep in mind that the immovable property you invest in cannot be sold for three years. Initially, when the government passed the regulation, the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization suggested the sale of real estate for three years. However, this caused a lot of confusion for the foreigners who were not well-versed with the legislation. Observing the growing chaos, the Ministry revised the regulation by making a fresh arrangement eliminating the requirement. It clearly said that any immovable property purchased for 250,000 USD could not be placed in the land registry records for sale. This made the process of investing in immovable property and getting Turkish citizenship.
Titles
Utilizing Turkish Citizenship Investment Law by Investment in property
As clearly mentioned in the Article 20 of the regulation under the amendment of Article 2, any foreign investor can apply for Turkish citizenship if he has purchased any immovable property in the State valuing to a minimum of 250,000 USD. Once the land deal is registered and determined for the application based on turkish citizenship investment law, the property will not get listed in the land registry records, thus not getting sold for a minimum of the next three years.
Within the scope, the person can, however, exercise the following:
- To seek benefit from the arrangement and calculate the amount reflected in the application about the sale of the said property, a formal valuation report of the property must be prepared. The report needs to be accepted in accordance with the standards of valuation by the valuation expert holding a proper license. The report requires approval from the Capital market Board.
- Based on the value of the said immovable report on valuation showing the property's market value, the final value will be determined in US Dollars by the Central bank of Turkey on the date of the transaction.
- As per the amendment mentioned in the regulation, which dates back to 12.01.2017, in the case of purchase of more than one property by the same person who makes the application, the sum of the price of the property is taken into account, the final value is determined based on the sales price of the all the properties.
- The foreign investor who is investing in the country is required to be arranged or declared.
How long do you need to retain the property as per Turkish Citizenship Investment Law?
The scope of Article 20 of the Regulation on Implementation of the turkish citizenship investment law clearly states that the immovable property/ properties cannot be sold within three years if it is being bought for making the citizenship application. Although the person needs to keep the property for three years; hence, any property purchased after the publication of the law, dated 12.01.2017, can be taken into account for the purpose. Although the foreign investor is granted citizenship on the basis of the investment, citizenship can be revoked until the term of three years ends.
