In order to acquire Turkish citizenship through real estate investment, the following conditions must be met in full. A valuation report is prepared by an independent company to determine the value of the real estate to be purchased and submitted to the Land Registry Office. The value of the real estate in the valuation report must be at least USD 400,000. Before making any payment, the investor must determine whether the official real estate valuation report is the same as the sales price. After this stage, the investor sells a minimum USD 400,000 of foreign currency to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey through a bank operating in Turkey (if the value of the property is, for example, USD 700,000, then USD 700,000 will be sold). This bank issues a Currency Exchange Document on behalf of the investor. The value declared in the Land Registry Office must be the same as the value in the Currency Exchange Document. The Turkish lira amount written in the Currency Exchange Document is transferred to the bank account of the seller. The bank issues a stamped and signed receipt for this payment. If all the other conditions mentioned above are met, but the title deed value is below USD 400,000, the investor cannot obtain a certificate of eligibility and cannot apply for Turkish citizenship. To summarize briefly: (i) The Real Estate Valuation report must be at least USD 400,000; (ii) A Foreign Currency Exchange document must be obtained from a bank in Turkey. The Turkish lira equivalent must be the same as the sale price of the property; (iii) The Turkish lira amount written in the Currency Exchange Document should be transferred to the bank account of the seller and a signed and stamped payment receipt should be obtained from the bank; (iv) A declaration must be made that the property will not be sold for a period of three years during or after the title deed transfer.
