Exceptional acquisition of Turkish citizenship
Turkish citizenship granted outright for a USD 400,000 property investment held three years, with no residence requirement and no presence test.
This is the one Turkish route that does not depend on an official’s view of your intent, income or neighbourhood. Meet the valuation, bring the funds in properly, and you are a citizen in six to twelve months.
It is not a cheap EU alternative. Turkey is not in the EU and the passport does not give Schengen access. The threshold rose from USD 250,000 in 2022.
Programme snapshot
| Item | Current rule |
|---|---|
| Main audience | High net worth investors, mostly from the Middle East, Russia, Iran and Central Asia |
| Route family | investment |
| Validity | Not a permit. Citizenship granted outright |
| Stay per entry | No residence period required |
| Threshold | USD 400,000 in real estate (2026), held 3 years |
| Renewal | Not applicable |
| Settlement | Direct |
| PR clock | None. Citizenship is immediate |
| Citizenship clock | 0 years. Processing 6 to 12 months |
| Family | Yes. Spouse and children under 18 included |
| Local employment | Yes. Full right to work and to own or run a company |
| Tax headline | Citizens taxed on worldwide income; new citizens abroad are usually non-resident, but the citizenship is reported through CRS |
| Processing | 6 to 12 months, two stage |
Application flow
- Choose a property that passes military-zone clearance. Some coastal and border districts are closed to foreign buyers.
- Transfer the full amount from abroad in foreign currency, convert to lira, and obtain a DAB certificate proving the funds entered through a Turkish bank.
- Obtain the ministry valuation. The appraised value must reach USD 400,000, not the price you agreed.
- Complete the purchase and place the three year no-sale annotation on the tapu.
- Apply for a short-term residence permit for the duration of the application.
- File the citizenship application with the investment attestation and land registry documents, then wait for the cabinet decision.
Good fit
An investor who wants a G20 passport with US E-2 treaty access and family inclusion for a defined price. Someone who would rather pay USD 400,000 once than spend five years on work permits and tax filings.
Poor fit
Anyone treating it as an EU passport, or assuming Schengen travel. It is visa-free to roughly 110 countries and Schengen is not among them for long stays. Anyone buying below the threshold through a side arrangement, the fastest way to lose both the money and the citizenship. Applicants from red-list countries, including Syria, Armenia and the Greek Cypriot administration, are barred regardless of investment.
Watchpoints
- The valuation is the ministry’s, not yours. Overpaying a developer does not help you clear USD 400,000. Underpaying on paper to shrink the transfer gets the file refused and can cost the citizenship years later.
- The money must come from abroad, in foreign currency, through a bank. Cash, crypto and lira already in Turkey do not count.
- A three year no-sale annotation goes on the tapu. Selling early triggers revocation, and Turkey has cancelled citizenships retroactively where the valuation was inflated.
- Military-zone clearance can kill a purchase. The check happens after you pick the property.
- Red-list nationalities are excluded regardless of capital.
- The passport is not a Schengen key. The US requires an E-2 application.
Sources
- Ministry of Interior, Directorate of Civil Registration and Nationality (NVİ), citizenship FAQ, checked 2026-10-22
- Invest in Turkey, acquiring property and citizenship, checked 2026-10-22
- Law No. 5901, art. 12, and the Citizenship Law regulation, art. 20(2)(b), checked 2026-10-22