Acquisition Of Turkish Citizenship Through Real Estate Investment Application Guide

INTRODUCTION

As it is known, Article 20 of the Regulation regarding the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 2010/139 (“Regulation“) allows foreign natural persons to acquire Turkish citizenship exceptionally through the purchase of real estate in Republic of Türkiye. Within this framework, the issues to be considered regarding the transactions to be made in practice are explained in detail in the guide (“Guide“) attached to the Circular dated 30.05.2019 and numbered 2019/5 (“Circular“) of the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre.¹

The purpose of this article is to serve as a guide for foreigners applying for Turkish citizenship through the acquisition of real estate in accordance with the amendments and revisions of the aforementioned Regulation, Circular and Guidelines.

A. CHRONOLOGY OF REGULATION AMENDMENTS

The Regulation was amended on 12.01.2017, 19.09.2018, 07.12.2018, 06.01.2022, 13.06.2022 and 12.12.2023, respectively. Accordingly, in terms of the effective dates of the amendments to the Regulation following requirements must be fulfilled:

1. Real estates which are purchased between 12.01.2027 and 18.09.2018 must had a total value of 1,000,000 $.
2. Real estates which are purchased/to be purchased after 19.09.2018 must have a value of 400,000 $.
3. Real estate which a preliminary contract for sale has been/will be issued after 07.12.2018, must have value of 400,000 $.
4. With the amendment dated 06.01.2022, the phrase “Turkish Lira equivalent” was removed from the Regulation, and for sale to the Central Bank, the foreign currency amount of the real estate price must be sold to any bank.

B. LEGAL BASIS AND SCOPE

Pursuant to the aforementioned amendments to the Regulation, the Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre has published guidelines setting out the implementation procedures and principles. This article covers the current and latest situation regarding applications for Turkish citizenship based on the revised Guideline dated 01/02/2024 published by the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre² in line with the amendments made in Article 20 (b) of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 2010/139 with the Presidential Decree dated December 11, 2023 and numbered 7938.

In order to see other amendments to the Circular: https://kilinclaw.com.tr/yabancilarin-turkiyede-gayrimenkul- edinmesi-hakkinda-degisiklik/

C. CONCLUSION

Within the framework of this revised Guideline, which sets out the practical principles of exceptional citizenship applications through real estate acquisition, and the relevant legislation, the current issues to be considered in applications for Turkish citizenship by foreigners are listed below:

• The real estate to be purchased must be worth at least 400,000 $.
• The amount determined in the valuation report to be obtained through (https://webtapu.tkgm.gov.tr/) for the real estate to be purchased must be at least 400,000 $. 
• The sales price declared in the official deed to be issued at the relevant Land Registry Office for the real estate to be purchased and the value shown on the receipt for the transfer of this sales price must be at least 400,000 $. The receipt must contain the real estate information in the foreign currency purchase document or refer to the transaction in the relevant foreign currency purchase document.
• The TL amount shown in the Foreign Currency Purchase Certificate (“FCPC”) must be the same as the sale price in the official deed at the relevant Land Registry Office. For this reason, this situation should be taken into consideration when entering the sales price in the applications to be made through “Wep Tapu”.
• The US Dollar or equivalent foreign currency amount of the sale price of the real estate to be purchased must be sold to a bank to be sold to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey and the FCPC to be issued by the bank must be sent to the relevant Land Registry Office via Registered Electronic Mail. (“KEP”)
• The FCPC must include the name and surname of the person on whose behalf the foreign currency is exchanged, passport number or foreign identity number, real estate number, the US Dollar equivalent of the foreign currency sold and a statement stating that this transaction was carried out within the scope of the acquisition of Turkish citizenship or Article 13 of the Capital Movements Circular³ . Depending on the nature of the immovable, the immovable number of the independent section or the main immovable, and in the absence of this, the island/parcel information should be included.
• The real estate to be purchased must not be one of the real estates transferred by any foreign real person to a Turkish citizen/company within the last three years.
• The real estate acquired both before and after acquisition of citizenship should not be registered in the land registry in the name of persons who have acquired Turkish citizenship exceptionally.
• The real estate to be purchased must not be registered in the land registry in the name of the company legal entity in which the foreign real person who purchases the real estate with the request for citizenship is a partner or manager of himself/herself and his/her first degree relatives (relatives by blood or marriage).
• The real estate to be purchased must not be registered in the title deed registry in the name of foreign persons and first-degree relatives (relatives by blood or marriage) of the buyer foreign real person who are Turkish citizens.
• The real estate to be purchased must not be one of the real estates transferred to a Turkish citizen/company by the foreign real person who will acquire real estate for citizenship purposes, whether or not he/she is a Turkish citizen, or by his/her firstrelatives (relatives by blood or marriage).
• Real estate acquisitions made in the name of foreign real persons’ spouses, children, etc. will not be taken into account in the calculation of the value sought in the Regulation. In addition, real estate acquisitions made on behalf of the legal entity of the company in which these persons are managers or partners will not be evaluated within this scope.

In order to see detailed information: https://kilinclaw.com.tr/yabancilarin-turkiyede-gayrimenkul-edinmesi-hakkinda- degisiklik/

• As from 12/12/2023, the real estates to be purchased in order to gain citizenship within the scope of the Condominium Law No. 634, it must be reserved as an independent section in the registry or, in the case of real estates with the characteristics of land, the real estate must be registered as land and it must be determined that there is a permanent structure in accordance with the legislation with a certificate of occupancy permit.
• It is not possible to acquire unstructured real estates and real estates with the obligation to develop a project within two years and agricultural lands specified in the fourth paragraph of Article 35 of the Land Registry Law No. 2644 in order to gain citizenship.
• The fee for the real estate to be purchased shall be collected not less than the real estate tax value of the real estate subject to the contract and not more than twice the real estate tax value, as specified in the tariff No. 4 attached to the Law on Fees No. 492.
• For real estate(s) registered in the name of a company legal entity (with foreign/international capital) within the scope of Article 36 of the Land Registry Law and subject to sale or sale promise, provided that the condominium easement/ownership is established in the name of the owner company and the independent section has not been subject to any transfer transaction before; The owner company will be accepted as the investor company in cases where it is documented by the construction license that the entire construction investment is made by the owner company (the owner and contractor is the owner company since the construction license was first obtained), or in cases where the construction license holder and the contractor are different, the owner company will be accepted as the investor company in cases where it is documented by the service contract that the entire construction investment is made by the owner company. If these conditions are met, the independent sections registered in the name of the owner company can be subject to citizenship acquisition under this article.

SOURCE:

Land Registry and Cadastre Directorate Guideline attached to Circular No. 2019/5 (Rev_01.02.2024)