Turkish Citizenship by investment 2020

More than 200 nationalities around the world are obtaining Turkish citizenship, which is very important due to the advantages of the Turkish passport on the one hand and the services and rights of Turkish citizenship holders on the other hand, in addition to the restrictions applied in many countries of the world on trade, travel and money transfer.

Before the cost of obtaining Turkish citizenship was a million USD, an official Gazette in September 2018 announced that the cost of citizenship of Turkey reduced to 250K USD, to attract the foreign traders and investors who consider Turkish citizenship a safe haven for them and an alternative plan for their troubled countries economically or politically.

Many of obtainers for citizenship, do not pay attention to the investment process, as if they are buying Turkish citizenship without giving attention to creating a succeful investment that generates money on them, perhaps better than their basic profession, we saw to write this article to explain the importance of investment in Turkey and what can the investor get within this budget.

Before we start with this, we must mention the necessary documents and the steps required to obtain Turkish citizenship, 

What are the documents required to obtain Turkish citizenship in exchange for buying a property in Turkey?

What are the documents required to obtain Turkish citizenship when buying a property in Turkey?

1. A copy of the TAPU (Title deed) or the promise of sale contract with the notary (Noter).
2. Valid evaluation report of the property, the validity of the real estate evaluation reports is three months, and the value does not exceed the value recorded in the title deed, and has a specific issuance cost, and is extracted within two or three working days by a valuation institution licensed by the Turkish government.
3. Original payment receipts from the buyer's account, stamped from the sending bank.
4. Original receipts from seller's account, stamped from the receiving bank.
5. Two copies of the proxy of the application for citizenship, granted by the investor to the law firm to submit the file of citizenship, and follow-up with the official departments. The proxy is organized through a Notary in Turkey (Noter) at an estimated cost of 600 to 700 TL per copy. If the investor's spouse is added to the naturalization file, a similar proxy mist be provided for each of the spouses, and one joint proxy may be organized for the client and his wife. The fees of the legal team vary according to each case in terms of the number of papers and the number of individuals in the file and others.
6. Translation of the passport into Turkish, certified by a notary in Turkey (Noter) for the whole family: husband, wife and children under the age of 18.
7. Picture of the last VISA and entry date to Turkey.

What are the steps to obtain Turkish citizenship by buying a property in Turkey?

1. Purchasing a property of 250K USD or more, and the amount must be transferred through the bank at the value we mentioned or at a higher value, in addition to mentioning the reason for the purchase of the property (this property was purchased in order to obtain Turkish citizenship).
2.  The original payment receipts are stamped from the bank from which he sent (the account of the buyer) to the account of the construction company (the seller), and the seller must be exclusively Turkish.
3. The value of the purchase recorded in the title deed will be calculated according to the price of the Turkish lira at the Central Bank on the day of obtaining the title deed.
4. Governmental valuation of the "purchased" property, issued by a comittee appointed by the Turkish government, must take place, so that the price of the property mentioned in the evaluation should not exceed the price of the property, as the result of the estimation must be issued that the property has a value of 250K USD and above, then the property is registered in the Ladn Registry. After that, the property will be seized for a period of three years, not to sell it and to obtain Turkish citizenship.
5. Here we are awaiting the issuance of a paper confirming that the person who purchased the property is suitable to obtain Turkish citizenship, and this paper is issued from the Land Registry of Ankara and comes via the email of the person who made the reservation on the property, as we mentioned in the previous step.
6. Submit an investor residency request application for the person who purchased the property, and prepare the required documents for presentation.
7. Here the investor must go to the Chamber of Commerce, there is a place for foreign investors. In order to deliver the file by hand or through an attorney exclusively, he will deliver and sign the file.
8. The next day, the application for citizenship is submitted to the Chamber of Commerce, to the investor and to all members of his family.
9. After submitting the papers and the citizenship file, follow-up is done through a special website for that through the application number which was provided by the employee receiving the file.
10. Upon the issuance of the nationality, the invested person and his family go to the General Nufus Department "Emniyet" and a role is taken within a list called registration", the father and mother passports and two personal photos are shown to them and they sign the papers.
11. In this step you should go to the nearest PTT center or Ziraat Bank to pay the fees for obtaining the identity document and passports, usually the identity document 90 TL, the passport 1150 TL, the passport period for adults 10 years, for children 5 years.
12. Here 4 personal photos must be attached to each of the father, mother and children and go to the Nufus that registered in it previosly, there is an application for obtaining identity and passports based on the documents received from "Emniyet", we give them the papers and they provide us with a paper of temporary ID, after two days, family IDs and passports will be mailed to the address mentioned in the last request at the Nufus.

After we mentioned the legal aspects, we can move on to the most sensitive issue, lets start with following question:

What can I invest in the Turkish real estate market?

When you contact any real estate consulting company and ask them for investment advice in order to obtain Turkish citizenship, you will immediately find 4 answers that will mention and then we will discuss each of them:

1. You can buy four properties and sometimes 6 in zone C of Istanbul, at a value of 250K USD.
2. You can buy 2 and sometimes 3 properties in zone B of Istanbul, at a value of 250K-260K  USD.
3. You can buy one investment property in zone A from Istanbul at a value of 260K-350K USD.
4. You can buy real estate in the Asian side of Istanbul for 250K USD or in another city outside Istanbul.

Let's discuss the answers in details to clear them,

1- You can buy four properties and sometimes 6 in zone C of Istanbul with a value of 250K USD.
 

This zone, as noted in the above drawing, represents the outskirts of Istanbul, far from the real Istanbul center, which includes a very large number of ready-made and under construction housing projects and a high ratio of its properties not sold until now, we talked in one of our previous articles about the elements of a successful real estate investment in Istanbul where it was:

1. That the price of the property be less than the prices of the neighboring properties in the same area.
2. The possibility of selling it after the end of the investment period is easy.
3. That is has desirable specifications by the local market, which also constitutes more than 96% of the real estate sales and purchases in Istanbul.
4. That the operating plan be feasible if it is ready or the exempted amount of capital increase is high if it is under construction.
5. To be in a strategic location that contributes to increasing the feasibility of investment and facilitating the process of ending the investment in a timely manner.

Therefore, any offer of investing 250K USD in zone C does not achieve the elements of successful real estate in Istanbul, we can consider it as a losing investment, you can easily lose at least half of your capital when reselling your properties after 3 years or more, especially if the motivation that encouraged you to invest in these areas only to get many properties with relatively large square meters without giving them attention to the rest of the other basic ingredients.

Therefore, we recommend that you discuss any offer made to you with real estate consultant to clarify if this property is profitable or losing investment.

2- You can buy 2 and sometimes 3 properties in zone B of Istanbul, which its value around 250K-260K USD.

The same talk in zone C applies to zone B regardless of the number of apartments that you will get or the square meter of each apartment, this zone remains far from the center of Istanbul and remains an emerging and residential zone more than being an investment zone, the offers in it is extensive vary and the demand is average, regardless of packaging of the offers presented as being a rental guarantee due to its hotel apartments or they are apartments suitable for offices or commercial stores, and regardless of the rhetoric that misleads the foreign investor with poor information on the Turkish real estate market such as Basin Express is the modern Istanbul center, or the famous Basak square will get cover Taksim square popularity and many more.

All of the above has on value in terms of investment if it does not achieve the elements of a successful real estate investment that we mentioned above.

Sisli will remain the center of business, even after decades, and Taksim square will remain the best due to its historical and touristic importance, which surely surpasses the Basaksehir square now and in the future.

3- You can buy one investment property in Zone A from Istanbul, at a value of 260K-350K USD.

You will find in the distinguished real estate from zone A that you will get within your budget a room apartment and a hall only and sometimes two rooms and a hall, most of the offers will be with a budget higher than 270K USD also the price of one property may reach 400K USD because the real estate in the centre of Istanbul is not encapsulated offers to obtain citizenship Turkish valued only 250K USD, but they are real investment offers and each property has its advantages in terms of location, finishing, floor, etc.

The city centre represented by zone A is distinguished by the following:

• Investing depends in a specific time and the closer we get to the centre of Istanbul, the easier it will be to finish the investment and sell the property again with additional profits.
• New projects in the centre of Istanbul are limited and thus the demand for them is great now and in the future, so when it will be resold, the profit rate will be higher.
• The rental yield for real estate in the centre of Istanbul is higher than the rental return for real estate away from the centre.
• If the project is under construction, this is also more profitable for short-term investment.
• Istanbul’s central regions properties never lose their value, the more urban expansion spreads across Istanbul east and west, the greater the importance of the central regions and the higher their investment value.

Many other detailed reasons for preferring the centre of Istanbul to investors, you can get to know them completely by contacting our advisory team.

4- You can buy real estate in the Asian side of Istanbul for 250K USD or in another city outside Istanbul.

The Asian side of Istanbul is a modern residential and investment environment that is not hostile to foreigners, as in the European side which includes the majority of foreigners in Istanbul.

Real estate in the Asian side close to the Bosphorus is quiet and luxurious residential real estate that is equal in prices. Real estate in the European side is also sometimes superior to it. As for investment in the Asian side, it has lower returns on profit than the European side, as we said that the elements of a successful real estate investment are the fact that the price per square meter in the project to buy the property has less than the neighbouring projects and this is achieved in the centre of Istanbul in the European side, because it has urban regeneration areas and therefore the new projects are carrying distinctive investment opportunities. In the European side of Istanbul, the urban expansion was rapid and random during the past 60 years and therefore now there are areas which is an old building that is rebuilt, and it constitutes a very valuable investment opportunity, while the Asian side of Istanbul is a modern side that has been systematically built, so we cannot find the same opportunities that exist in the European side.

In other Turkish cities outside Istanbul, we say that Istanbul is distinguished from the rest of Turkey by the following:

To answer the question, it is necessary to identify other cities, and accordingly we reach the answer, but generally, Istanbul is distinguished from the rest of the cities of Turkey by the following,

1. The population of Istanbul exceeds 20 million and reaches to 25 million with foreign residents and tourists, and therefore it is a city the size of a whole country, and the presence of foreigners in it is familiar to its population.
2. The vast majority of those who want to buy real estate in Turkey go to Istanbul, and therefore we find in Istanbul the diversity that suits all these nationalities and cultures from educational and medical centres, restaurants and fashion houses.
3. Istanbul includes the Bosphorus Strait, it is bordered on the south by the Sea of Marmara, on the north by the Black Sea, and it connects Asia and Europe with no other city in Turkey similar to Istanbul.
4. The weather in Istanbul is moderate, compared to the rest of the Turkish cities. In the north and east are very cold cities, and in the south are cities with hot weathers.

The only advantage that a foreigner may be looking to buy a property outside Istanbul in Turkey is the price difference, and this is true, but we should not forget the following points:

• In the southern coastal cities, the weather is good during the summer period, which is only 4 months, and the remaining of the year is harsh winter.
• Istanbul services and infrastructure, such as transportation, government and educational centres, cannot be compared with any other city with cheaper real estate prices.
• Growth, development and possibility of selling the property easily not available in the remaining cities at the same rate as in Istanbul.

It can be said buying real estate in Turkey outside the European side of Istanbul remains at the specific desire of a specific type of customer and constitutes the small percentage of investors in general Turkey.

In conclusion, we will provide important advice to everyone who wants to buy a property in Turkey,

Whether for living or investment

1. Discuss with your real estate advisor Istanbul areas and their advantages before discussing specific projects and make sure that the professional advisor has everything you want to know about real estate in Turkey.
2. So not judge the price of any property as high because the real estate consultant does not choose the prices but the construction company is doing this, but try to get to know the advantage of any real estate and why it is so expensive and accordingly you can decide if it suits you or not.
3. Sharing the approximate budget that you want to buy a property in Turkey with your real estate advisor will facilitate the process and make the offers submitted to you appropriate for your budget.

If your goal is residential, then:

• Ask your real estate advisor about the features of the region where he offers you and how they can fit your and your family’s needs.
• The great importance here is of having the services you mainly need, regardless of the growth rates of real estate prices.
• Think about the distant future and how this property can stay suitable for you and your family needs.
• Ensure that the square meter of the property is suitable for you and sufficient for your needs now and in the future.

If your goal is investment, then:

• Ensure that the property includes the elements of a successful investment that we mentioned above.
• Focus on real estate with high investment values regardless of the size of the property (you will not live in it in the end).
• Ensure that it can be easily sold after the investment period and the investment feasibility during the same process.
• Think about the near future if you want to invest in order to obtain Turkish citizenship and in the medium and long term if you want real estate investment in Istanbul to be part of your business.