Amendment to the Legislation on the Acquisition of Turkish Citizenship
December 14, 2023
The amendment on the acquisition of the exceptional Turkish citizenship (purchasing a real estate worth USD 400,000 or more) was published in the Official Gazette dated 12.12.2023.
With the amendment published and entered into force on 12.12.2023, the nature of the immovable property (real estate) acceptable for acquiring the exceptional Turkish citizenship has been limited to real estate properties with:
- “Kat mülkiyeti” ownership, which is the ownership of relevant independent section with details such as the floor, number, quality, area, etc. in which it is located in a building.
- “Kat irtifakı” ownership, which is the ownership for a construction to be started or completed on a plot of land.
- Land on which there is a construction on it.
In other words, the acquisition of citizenship through the purchase of an unbuilt (vacant) plot of land has been prevented.
This amendment has been made as follows:
Article 20, paragraph (b) of the “Regulation on the implementation of Turkish citizenship” titled “Exceptional acquisition of Turkish citizenship, documents required for the application and procedures to be carried out” has been amended.
The article before the amendment stated that “the immovable property amounting to at least 400.000 US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency has been purchased with the condition that an annotation not to be sold for three years is placed in the title deed records, or a condominium or condominium easement has been established, the amount of at least 400. 000 US Dollars or the equivalent amount of foreign currency deposited in advance and the sale of the immovable is promised with a notarized contract on the condition that the commitment that it will not be transferred and abandoned for three years is annotated in the title deed registry.”
After the amendment, the expression “immovable in foreign currency” has been changed as “immovable in the amount of foreign currency with condominium or condominium easement established or land qualified immovable with a building on it.“.
