Getting Turkish citizenship
Turkish citizenship can be acquired in several ways: through 5 years of residence, through marriage to a Turkish citizen, through investment, in other exceptional cases, through adoption, by birth, and by reacquisition. Each way has its own conditions, timescales and deciding authority. In the last four years, more than 30 000 foreigners have qualified for Turkish citizenship through investment.
- of residence without a break: the general way
- 5 years
- of marriage to a Turkish citizen
- 3 years
- investment through a home
- $400 000
- a deposit and other investments
- $500 000
The three main ways compared
The three ways foreigners use most, by the same measures:
| Investment | 5 years of residence | Marriage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | $400 000 home or $500 000 other investment | None | None |
| Waiting time | None: you apply after investing | 5 years of residence without a break | 3 years of marriage |
| Turkish | Not asked for | Asked for, tested at the interview | Not asked for |
| Living in Türkiye | Not required | The main condition | Living together as a family |
| Decided by | The President | The Ministry of the Interior | The Ministry of the Interior |
| Typical time | 3–6 months | 1–2 years | 1–2 years |
| Family | Spouse and children under 18 (or dependent) in one application | Each adult applies separately | Only the foreigner married to a Turkish citizen |
The times are estimates: they depend on how complete the application is, the queue in the province and the interview schedule.
Through 5 years of residence: the general way
Under Article 11 of Law No. 5901, a foreigner who wants citizenship this way must meet these conditions:
- Being of age and legally capable under the law of one's own country (for a stateless person, under the Turkish Civil Code).
- Having lived in Türkiye without a break for the 5 years before the application.
- Having shown by one's actions the intention to settle in Türkiye: buying a home, opening a business, investing, moving one's trade and business centre to Türkiye, working with a work permit, marrying a Turkish citizen, applying with one's family, having a parent, sibling or child who has acquired Turkish citizenship, or completing one's education in Türkiye.
- Having no illness dangerous to public health.
- Living responsibly in society and showing good conduct, earning the trust of those around one, having no bad habits at odds with society's values.
- Speaking enough Turkish to get by in daily life.
- Having an income or a profession in Türkiye enough to support oneself and one's dependants.
- No obstacle in terms of national security and public order.
How are the 5 years counted?
Five calendar years are not always five years in the law's sense:
12 months
Time allowed abroad
Under Article 15 of the law, up to 12 months in all may be spent outside Türkiye during the 5 years. The regulation says 6 months, so beyond 6 months an explanation with the entry and exit records may be asked for. Beyond 12 months, the 5 years start again.
Counts
Permits that show the intention to settle
Time on a work permit, a family permit and a long-term permit counts.
Does not count
Temporary stays
Days on a visa or visa-free, and time on a tourist, student or medical treatment permit or with an asylum application, as a rule do not count.
Through marriage: the conditions
Marriage to a Turkish citizen does not by itself give citizenship. Under Article 16 of Law No. 5901, to apply:
At least 3 years of marriage
Married to a Turkish citizen for at least 3 years, with the marriage still going on on the day of the application.
Living together
Living together as a family.
A security check
No obstacle in terms of national security and public order.
Nothing against the marriage
Not engaging in activity incompatible with the marital union.
Living as a family is checked by life itself, not by the marriage certificate: a shared address, shared bank activity, social insurance, and when needed the spouses are interviewed apart and together. When the Turkish spouse dies after the application, living together is not asked for. When the marriage is found void, the foreigner who acted in good faith keeps the citizenship acquired.
Citizenship by exception
In the cases listed in Article 12 of Law No. 5901 the general conditions are not asked for: provided there is no obstacle in terms of national security and public order, citizenship is granted on the Ministry of the Interior's proposal by a decision of the President. The cases:
- Persons who brought industrial facilities to Türkiye or rendered (or are expected to render) outstanding services in science, technology, the economy, social life, sport, culture or the arts, on a reasoned proposal of the ministry concerned.
- Investors holding a residence permit under Article 31(1)(j) of Law No. 6458 and holders of the Turquoise Card, and their foreign spouse and minor or dependent children.
- Persons whose naturalisation is deemed necessary.
- Persons accepted as immigrants under the Settlement Law No. 5543: the provincial migration office prepares their file and sends it to the ministry.
The Turquoise Card gives an indefinite work permit and opens the way to citizenship, but does not itself give citizenship.
Through investment: how much is needed?
Meeting one of these is enough. Each investment is confirmed by a certificate of conformity (uygunluk belgesi, a document that it meets the conditions) from the authority concerned.
$400 000
Buying property
Property worth at least 400 000 US dollars or the equivalent in another currency is bought, and a note that it will not be sold for 3 years is put on the title deed (tapu). The value is set by the report of a valuer licensed by the Capital Markets Board (SPK). Certificate of conformity: from the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change.
50 people
Creating jobs
Jobs created for at least 50 people are confirmed. Certificate of conformity: from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
$500 000
One of five ways
An investment of at least 500 000 US dollars or the equivalent in another currency in one of these:
Government debt instruments
On condition of keeping them for 3 years. Confirmed by: the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.
An investment in fixed capital
Confirmed by: the Ministry of Industry and Technology.
A bank deposit
In a bank operating in Türkiye, on condition of keeping it for 3 years. Confirmed by: the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK).
Shares in a real estate investment fund or a venture capital fund
On condition of keeping them for at least 3 years. Confirmed by: the Capital Markets Board (SPK).
Contributions to set funds in the private pension system
On condition of staying in the fund and the system for 3 years. Confirmed by: the Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Agency.
The amount is reckoned at the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye's rate on the day of the transaction, and the bank documents showing that the money came from abroad in foreign currency must go with the application. Legal basis: Article 20 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law. Such investors are also granted a short-term permit of up to 5 years under Article 31 of Law No. 6458, or an indefinite permit if they wish. The 3-year holding obligation goes on after citizenship is acquired.
Why the investment way
- Most of it from abroad
- Your representative in Türkiye does most of the buying, the certificate of conformity and the application papers on a power of attorney given abroad. But fingerprints and a photo are taken for the residence card, so you must come to Türkiye at least once during the process.
- A Turkish passport
- A Turkish passport lets you travel to more than 110 countries without a visa.
- Income from the deposit
- A 500 000 dollar deposit placed in an account protected from exchange-rate swings (kur korumalı mevduat) can earn both interest and currency gains for the 3 years.
- Rental income
- Buying a home can bring both citizenship and rental income from the home.
- After 3 years
- Once 3 years have passed, the home can be sold or the deposit withdrawn.
- Business incentives
- You can open a company in Türkiye and use the state incentives given to Turkish citizens.
- Openings in Europe
- It opens the way to investing in, or getting residence in, European countries that offer Turkish citizens easier terms.
What is the Döviz Alım Belgesi (DAB), and why is it required?
One of the main aims of giving citizenship for investment is to bring foreign currency into the country. That is why paying for the home in cash by hand is not accepted.
The investor transfers the price of the home in foreign currency to a bank in Türkiye, the currency is sold to the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, and a Döviz Alım Belgesi (a certificate that the currency was sold) is issued in return. The DAB must be issued so that it shows the transaction was made to acquire citizenship, and must be handed in to the land registry.
This is where the most common mistake is made: the amount on the DAB, the sale price on the title deed, the value in the valuation report and the sum of the payments made through the bank must each reach the 400 000 dollar threshold on its own. If, for example, the price agreed with the seller is 450 000 dollars but the title deed shows 300 000 dollars, the application is refused. A title deed price below the valuation report cannot be corrected once the home has been transferred.
The whole payment must be made from the investor's own account, to the seller's account, and before the title deed transaction; best of all from one's own account abroad, in foreign currency, through a bank. A payment in cash, from someone else's account or from an account inside Türkiye leads to more documents being asked for.
How to apply through investment
If you are abroad, a lawyer in Türkiye handles your matters on the power of attorney you give abroad. The power of attorney must be worded to cover every stage (the home, the certificate of conformity, the residence permit, the citizenship application).
After making the investment you chose, a certificate of conformity is obtained from the authority concerned. When you buy a home, for example, from the land registry.
With the certificate of conformity and the documents needed, a residence permit under Article 31(1)(j) of Law No. 6458 is applied for at the provincial migration office.
Once the permit is granted, the citizenship application is handed in to the provincial civil registry (Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık İşleri) or to the Vatandaşlık Kazanma Ortak Ofisleri opened for investment cases. After the documents are reviewed, citizenship is granted by a decision of the President.
How do you apply for citizenship?
The general procedure, for every way:
First get an appointment: call ALO 199 or use the nvi.gov.tr site. Applications without an appointment are not accepted.
If you live in Türkiye, apply to the İl Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık Müdürlüğü of the province where you live (the address your residence permit is registered at); if you are abroad, to a Turkish embassy or consulate.
The application is handed in in person; applications sent by post are not accepted. Bring the originals of the documents together with one black-and-white copy of each.
On the residence and marriage ways, the conditions are checked by the province's commission for citizenship applications, and an interview is held.
For an applicant who meets the conditions, a citizenship file is prepared and sent to the Ministry of the Interior.
On the residence and marriage ways the Ministry of the Interior decides; in exceptional cases (investment too), the President.
After the decision the person is entered in the Turkish population register, and then gets an identity card and a passport.
You follow the application through e-Devlet; notices of anything missing come separately: if they are not answered in the time given, the application may be taken off the list. When it is refused, an action can be brought before the Ankara Administrative Court within 60 days of the notice. Objecting to the authority first stops that time from running. You can also put right what was missing (a document, or your Turkish, for example) and apply again.
Which documents are needed?
The documents depend on the way. According to the official list of the Istanbul provincial office, for the general way and the marriage way these are mainly asked for:
Payment receipt
Confirms that the service fee was paid at a Ziraat Bankası counter; you are directed to pay after the documents are checked.
Day count (Günsayımı)
On the general way: the original and a copy of the record of the days you spent in Türkiye; the provincial civil registry issues it.
Copy of the residence card
A notarised copy of the latest residence card, valid for at least 3 more months after the application day (on the general way a home, family or long-term permit, or a work permit).
Proof of income
On the general way: if you work, your SGK (social insurance) service record; if you do not, a notarised undertaking and the SGK record of the person who gave it; if you are a company partner, the company's documents; if you are retired, the pension document.
Civil status documents
Birth certificate; if married, the marriage certificate (or Formula B); a document on marital status (valid 6 months); if divorced, the divorce decision; if widowed, the death certificate of your spouse. On the marriage way, the full civil register record of your Turkish spouse and a copy of their identity card are asked for too.
Photos
3 recent biometric photos.
Proof of residence
Obtained from e-Devlet.
Application form
VAT-3 for the general way, VAT-6 for the marriage way.
Medical report
On the general way: a medical board report from a fully equipped state hospital.
Passport translation
A notarised Turkish translation of the passport that shows your citizenship.
Documents issued by a foreign state must be certified by that state's and Türkiye's authorities or carry an apostille, and translated into Turkish by a notary in Türkiye. The name must be written the same on the passport, title deed, bank and application documents: where it differs, a certificate of name equivalence (isim denklik belgesi) is asked for. Where there is a criminal conviction, a certified copy of the judgment is handed in too. A mistake on the residence card is corrected at the migration office first.
What changes after citizenship?
- Dual citizenship
- Türkiye allows dual citizenship. But the law of your own country may not: check your country's rule before you apply.
- Rights
- No work permit is needed, the limits on foreigners owning property fall away, you get the right to vote and stand for election, and you get a Turkish passport.
- Tax
- Citizenship does not by itself make you tax resident: residence depends on where you live in Türkiye and how much of the year you spend there.
- Military service
- For men who became citizens later on, military service is looked at separately, by age and other circumstances.
Other ways
Other ways the official source sets out:
- By birth: through a parent
- A child one of whose parents is a Turkish citizen at the time of birth is a Turkish citizen from birth. A foreign parent is no obstacle.
- By birth: born in Türkiye
- A child born in Türkiye who cannot acquire any state's citizenship (whose parents are unknown or stateless, for example) is a Turkish citizen.
- Adoption
- A minor adopted by a Turkish citizen acquires Turkish citizenship, provided there is no obstacle in terms of national security and public order.
- TRNC citizens
- Those who are citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus by birth acquire citizenship by decision of the ministry when they state in writing that they wish to become Turkish citizens. For those who acquired TRNC citizenship later, the rules of the general way apply.
- The right of choice
- A child who lost Turkish citizenship together with their parents may choose it again by applying in writing within 3 years of coming of age.
- Reacquisition
- Those who gave up citizenship with permission may reacquire it without any time of residence in Türkiye, and those deprived of it after 3 years of residence in Türkiye, provided there is no obstacle in terms of national security.
Need advice on citizenship?
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