How to Apply for - and Obtain the Turkish Citizenship

Many aspire to obtain a second passport in addition to their original one; especially, residents of undeveloped countries who face many obstacles while traveling. Therefore, Turkish citizenship is considered the best option because the country has many advantages that make it superior to many developed countries. Today, Türkiye is witnessing an industrial and economic boom despite the depreciation of its currency against the US dollar, due to its privileged geographical location in the middle of the world. Likewise, Türkiye is the link between the continents of Asia and Europe. Therefore, in this article, we will learn about the stages of applying for Turkish citizenship and the most important ways to obtain it.

Obtaining Turkish Citizenship

Turkish law allows foreigners to obtain Turkish citizenship through several different methods, namely:

1. Real Estate Investment: Foreigners can obtain citizenship through real estate investment, after purchasing a property worth 400,000$, provided that it must not be sold for 3 consecutive years and that the owner of the property is of Turkish origin with an evaluation issued by the government evaluation committee at the required value. Here, it must be noted that not every property worth $400,000 is suitable for obtaining Turkish citizenship.
2. Bank Deposit: Türkiye grants its nationality to foreigners after depositing an amount of money in a Turkish government bank in the amount of 500.000$, provided that the deposit is not withdrawn for a period of 3 years.
3. Marriage: Foreigners, when marrying a Turkish citizen, can obtain citizenship after 3 years of establishing the marriage within the country.
4. People of Turkish Origin: Foreigners who have Turkish origins after living in the regions of the Ottoman Empire can apply for citizenship, provided they have the documents that support their application.
5. Exceptional Cases: The presidency of the Republic of Türkiye grants the country's citizenship in exceptional cases to distinguished persons who reside within the country and were able to accomplish works that contributed to the country's service and development, such as inventors, artists, and athletes.
6. Work Permit: A work permit holder in Türkiye can apply for Turkish citizenship, provided that he has not left the country for 5 consecutive years.

Advantages of Obtaining Turkish Citizenship

After adhering to the law of applying for Turkish citizenship and then obtaining it, the recipient enjoys many advantages that open many horizons for him/her. The following are some of these advantages:

• Speed of Procedures: Obtaining Turkish citizenship or passport does not take long, as this period does not exceed 4 months only.
• Granting Citizenship to the Family: The family, represented by the wife and children, is entitled to obtain citizenship, except for children who are over 18 years old.
• Disposal of Investments: After obtaining citizenship and the passage of 3 years, your investments can be disposed of and then the money that was paid can be recovered.
• Investment Diversity: The law on obtaining Turkish citizenship provides many options for investors and they can choose the method that suits them in their real estate or commercial investment.
• Low Expenses: This matter relates to the administrative expenses and government fees imposed when adding a family member to the file for the Turkish citizenship application. This matter constantly attracts many investors to Türkiye in particular.

There are several ways to obtain the Turkish citizenship and the conditions of applying for it vary accordingly. For example, investors must buy real estate for $400,000 or more or have an investment(s) worth $500,000 or more in securities, business, or bank deposits. The registration process usually takes 3 to 6 months and the investment can be returned after 3 years.

Conditions for Obtaining Turkish Citizenship

Many conditions must be adhered to in order to obtain Turkish citizenship, and these conditions are included in the citizenship law, namely:

1. Reaching the Legal Age: A state in which people are stateless according to the definition of Turkish laws.
2. Residence in Türkiye: The applicant must have spent 5 years in the country without interruption.
3. Stability: Determined to settle down in Türkiye with serious steps and measures to prove that.
4. Free From Diseases: The applicant must be free from any disease that threatens public health.
5. Turkish Language: The applicant must be able to speak the Turkish language.
6. Appropriate Income: The applicant must have sufficient income to help him/her live in the country.
7. Security: The applicant must not pose any threat to the regime or the security of the country.

The Stages of Obtaining Turkish Citizenship

Candidates for obtaining citizenship must go through 8 stages, regardless of the method by which they applied for citizenship, and these stages are:

• The 1st Stage: The stage of registering the application and its approval with the concerned Turkish authorities, which is the entry gate for the next stages of Turkish citizenship.
• The 2nd Stage: The file was sent to the General Directorate in charge of analyzing the file, but it has not arrived yet.
• The 3rd Stage: The arrival of the applicant’s file to the General Administration with a preliminary investigation of the file.
• The 4th Stage – 1st Section: The stage of expanding the review, saving the documents, and transferring them to the competent authority for evaluation. This stage is considered the most important stage in this citizenship process, and it may last for several months before a decision is made to move to the 5th stage.
• The 4th Stage – 2nd Section: In which the file enters the archive stage and sends it to the competent authorities for evaluation and remains in it. This means that all authorities' responses have not yet arrived.
• The 4th Stage – 3rd Section: The file is still under investigation.

Standing By: This stage is mediated by the 3rd or 4th audit stages, and the following message appears when a shortage of papers in the file is noticed. At that time, the Directorate-General of Census in the state must be reviewed to find out the remaining document in the file and move to the next stage.

• The 5th Stage – 1st Section: This stage means the end of the fourth stage, and it is awaiting approval to enter the application for the application to the list that will be transferred to the Council of Ministers.
• The 5th Stage – 2nd Section: It was approved to add the file to the Council of Ministers list.
• The 6th Stage – 1st Section: The file has been sent to take the naturalization decision.
• The 6th Stage – 2nd Section: Waiting for the result.
• The 7th Stage: The applicant must review the authority through which the application was submitted to find out the outcome of the application.
• Re-Evaluation Stage: At this stage, the file entered the re-evaluation stage again. This is for some faltering files or related to family files.

Therefore, as the Homeland Real Estate Company team, we are ready to provide free real estate consultations to fulfill your desire to own a distinguished property. Do not hesitate to contact us at +905377793006.