Turkey accepts the foreigners who meet required criteria for Turkish citizenship. This article will show you how to be Turkish in detail.
Criteria for Turkish Citizenship
There are two ways to be a Turkish citizen. First one is citizenship by birth and birthplace. The baby can be Turkish if one of his or her parent is Turkish. Also, a baby who is born in Turkey and if the baby’s parents are not known or are stateless, the baby is accepted as Turkish citizen.
The second way is to acquire Turkish citizenship for the foreigners who meet the required criteria in the below;
1. The person needs to be an adult according to its own country’s constitution. If the person is stateless, the person must be adult according to the Turkish constitution.
2. The person must live at least five years before the application date
3. The person must prove his/her intention to live in Turkey by meeting some conditions.
4. The foreigner who applies for citizenship must not have health conditions that endanger society.
5. To have good morality, to be a trustable person and not to have bad addictions.
6. To be able to speak Turkish in a necessary and desired level
7. To have the economic capacity or a job to take care of himself/herself and his/her family
8. Not to be a threat to Turkish national security and social order.
Proof of Intention to Live in Turkey
Through Investment
As mentioned above, Turkey expects from the foreigners who want to be Turkish citizen, to meet the 8 conditions. In the third conditions, the foreigner who applies for citizenship has to prove his or her intention to live Turkey to Turkish authorities. There are various ways to prove the intention to live in Turkey. A foreigner who applies for Turkish citizenship can prove his or her intentions by buying an immovable asset worth of at least $250.000, by making a capital investment worth of at least $500.000, by buying state bonds worth of at least $500.000, and by establishing a business that employs at least 50 people.
After the adjustment made in the Citizenship Law in 2018, the minimum prices for immovable assets and investments has been reduced. For immovable assets, the minimum amount was reduced to $250.000 from $1.000.000. For investments, the minimum amount was reduced to $500.000 from $2.000.000. Thus, Turkey provides lots of opportunities for investors to be Turkish citizen.
Turkey is an appealing country for investments by buying immovable assets. With the booming construction sector, buying houses and offices is the most stable investment in Turkey. The prices are also very low compared to other European countries. There are lots of cities in construction and numerous new places are open for construction investment and have a high potential to be a stable and profitable investment. Not only İstanbul but also numerous cities of Turkey have a developing construction sector that creates new living areas in all these cities. Thus, potential investments through immovable assets are very profitable in big cities such as İzmir, Trabzon, Antalya and Bursa.
For the immovable assets like houses and offices in İstanbul and other big cities in Turkey, you can visit https://www.propertytr.com/ and see the opportunities and guides to get Turkish citizenship through buying immovable assets.
Through Marriage
Another way to show the proof of intention to live in Turkey is through marrying a Turkish citizen. However, marrying a Turkish citizen does not bring Turkish citizenship automatically. There are some conditions that have to be met. From the applying date for citizenship, the foreigner has to be married at least for 3 years. The citizenship status is not affected by divorces that take places after three years. The persons who are charged for a crime or have a continuing trial cannot apply for Turkish citizenship.
Apply for Turkish citizenship as a family
All these conditions that are lined up above, aims to show your willingness to live as a Turkish citizen in Turkey. If you want to convince Turkish authorities that you are willing to live in Turkey as a Turkish citizen, you should apply for citizenship not only for yourself but also for your family. This will be an important factor to convince the Turkish authorities that you are willing to live in Turkey as a Turkish citizen.
The Application Process for Turkish Citizenship
Since the criteria is stated above, the process is the other aspect of how to be Turkish question. Here is the process;
- If the person is in Turkey, the application is made to the governorate of the city of residence, if the person is not in Turkey, the application is made to the Turkish Embassies or Consulates.
- As the person can apply for citizenship directly, he or she may give procuration for citizenship.
- The person has to apply to the institution in charge of all different types of proofs that he or she provides to indicate the intention to live in Turkey.
- If you make an investment through buying immovable assets, you have to apply to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization to prove the convenience of the investment to get Turkish nationality.
- If you make a capital investment, you have to apply to the Ministry of Industry and Technology General Directorate of Incentive Implementation and Foreign Investment to prove the convenience of the investment to get Turkish nationality.
- If you make the investment by creating employment, you have to apply to the Ministry of Labor, Social Services and Family General Directorate of International Labor to prove the convenience of your investment to get Turkish nationality.
- If you marry a Turkish citizen and meet the required criteria, you have to apply to the Ministry of Labor, Social Services and Family to prove the convenience of your marriage.
‘How to be Turkish’ is a twofold question; first one is through meeting the criteria, the second one is through knowing the application process. Turkey welcomes investors, students and families who wants to be Turkish.
