Turkish passport through buying property: what Germans need to know

Most passports you can acquire through an investment come from islands in the Caribbean or the Pacific. Turkey is different: a large country with its own industry, sitting between Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Buy property here and you invest in a large real estate market, and with the passport you gain the right to live, work and stay in the country. For the big picture across all programmes, see Buying citizenship. The programme page Turkey sums up the key facts.

Turkish citizenship through real estate: what the regulation requires

The legal basis has two tiers. Article 12 of the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901 allows naturalisation in exceptional cases by decision of the President. Since 2016 this has expressly included foreigners holding a residence permit under Article 31(1)(j) of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458, as well as holders of the Turquoise Card (Turkuaz Kart). Exactly which investments count is set out in Article 20(2) of the implementing regulation.

For real estate, the regulation requires:

• Amount: at least 400,000 USD or the equivalent in another foreign currency. Until May 2022 the threshold was 250,000 USD.
• Type of property: a unit under condominium ownership (kat mülkiyeti), a property under construction with a registered construction servitude (kat irtifakı), or a plot with a building standing on it. Since Decision No. 7938 of 12 December 2023, undeveloped land no longer qualifies.
• Sale restriction: the land register records that the property will not be sold for three years.
• Review: the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change confirms whether the conditions are met.

There is a second variant that many people overlook. Instead of buying a finished property, you can sign a notarised promise-to-sell agreement, provided the property already has condominium ownership or a construction servitude. You then pay at least 400,000 USD in full up front, and the land register notes that the property will be neither transferred nor deregistered for three years. That way, a new-build flat that has not yet been handed over still gets you there.

Two technical rules decide whether your money counts. Before the purchase, the foreign currency is sold to a bank in Turkey, which passes it on to the central bank. And the value is calculated at the Turkish central bank's foreign exchange selling rate on the day of the assessment. If you buy close to the threshold, build in a buffer for the exchange rate on that date.

Real estate, deposit, bonds, funds: the routes at a glance

Property is the best-known route, but not the only one. The regulation lists seven options, each reviewed by its own authority.

One detail makes Turkey more flexible than many programmes: under Article 20(8) of the regulation, you may switch between investment types to complete the required period. With the deposit, the bonds and the pension scheme, the foreign currency is converted into lira and held in lira for three years. Choose property, on the other hand, and you keep a tangible asset. Which investment type suits which purpose is compared in Donation, real estate or government bonds: the investment types in CBI explained.

Applying for Turkish citizenship as a German: step by step

Turkey works in a fixed order. First you invest, then the investment is confirmed, then comes residence, and only after that the passport. The procedural principles of the General Directorate of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs lay down these steps.

1. Buy the property and register the sale restriction

You buy the property, have the three-year annotation entered in the land register and pay through a bank in Turkey. Under Article 35 of the Land Registry Law No. 2644, foreign individuals may acquire property if their country is among those designated by the President. In total, foreigners may hold no more than ten per cent of the privately usable area of a district, and each individual no more than thirty hectares nationwide. For a flat, these limits hardly matter in practice.

2. Apply for the Uygunluk Belgesi

Once you have bought, you apply to the reviewing authority for the Uygunluk Belgesi, the certificate confirming that your investment meets the conditions. You can do this in person or through a representative holding a special power of attorney for exactly this procedure. The certificate goes to you, to the General Directorate and to the migration authority.

3. Residence permit under Article 31(1)(j)

With the certificate in hand, you apply to the provincial migration authority for the investor residence permit. It is no mere formality but your legal entry ticket: Article 12 of the Citizenship Law ties investor naturalisation to precisely this permit.

4. Application for naturalisation

With the residence permit and your documents, you file the application with the provincial directorate of civil registration and citizenship. For Ankara and Istanbul, the procedural principles provide for joint offices of the migration authority and the General Directorate, which accept both applications in one place. According to the regulation, the file includes your passport, documents on your marital status, your birth certificate, proof of your family relationships and the receipt for the fee, among other things. You are notified of the result through the provincial directorate or a Turkish mission abroad. No fixed processing time has been published. How long the programmes take by comparison is shown in How soon will your second passport be in your hand?, and the process in general on the Process page.

Dual citizenship: German and Turkish at the same time

The most important question for Germans has had a clear answer since 2024. Until 26 June 2024, a German lost their citizenship on acquiring, by application, the citizenship of a country outside the EU and Switzerland, unless they had first obtained a retention permit (Beibehaltungsgenehmigung). Since 27 June 2024, acquiring a foreign citizenship by application no longer leads to the loss of German citizenship.

Turkey has no problem with this either. Article 3 of the Citizenship Law expressly defines multiple citizenship, and Article 44 provides for it to be recorded in the civil register. Investor naturalisation under Article 12 does not require you to renounce your existing citizenship. Afterwards you are German and Turkish, with two passports and the rights of both countries. What this means at border crossings and consulates is covered in CBI passport and German passport and in Travelling with several passports.

Military service: what Turkey asks of naturalised investors

Worry about military service holds back many people who are considering dual citizenship with Turkey. Military Service Law No. 7179 deals with naturalised citizens expressly in Article 43, and for most investors the answer is reassuring.

Sons naturalised as children are also covered by the rules for Turkish citizens abroad. Under Article 38, multiple nationals living abroad can have all military service matters deferred through the Turkish consulate until the end of the year in which they turn 35. And under Article 39(2), multiple nationals who have actually lived abroad for at least three years can opt for military service by payment in foreign currency (dövizle askerlik), with no work permit required. Anyone who makes the payment is deemed to have served. In the event of mobilisation, Article 43 reserves the state's right to call up naturalised citizens as well, as needed. Conscription in Germany is a separate topic: see Conscription and a second passport.

Family: who becomes Turkish with you

Article 12(1)(b) of the Citizenship Law brings the family along: the spouse and the minor or dependent children of the investor and of the spouse can receive citizenship together with you, provided they are foreign nationals. A single property from 400,000 USD therefore carries the whole application. Children who were not included in their parents' application and only apply once they are adults fall under ordinary naturalisation under Article 11, by virtue of Article 20(3) of the Citizenship Law. So if you want to take everyone with you, plan for it from the start. How other programmes treat spouses, children and parents is shown on the Family page.

For Germans of Turkish origin: reacquisition instead of investment

For many Germans with Turkish roots, the question is a different one. They were naturalised in Germany, gave up Turkish citizenship for it at the time and now want it back. For them, an investment is usually not needed at all.

• Article 13 of the Citizenship Law: anyone who lost Turkish citizenship with permission to renounce it (çıkma izni) can regain it by decision of the Ministry of the Interior without living in Turkey, as long as no national security grounds stand in the way.
• Article 28, the Blue Card (Mavi Kart): anyone who was Turkish by birth and left with permission keeps most of the rights of a Turkish citizen, together with their descendants to the third degree. The exceptions include the right to vote and a career in the civil service, and there is no military service obligation.
• Article 11, ordinary naturalisation: five years of uninterrupted residence, sufficient Turkish and a secure income.
• Article 16, marriage: anyone who has been married to a Turkish citizen for at least three years and lives in a marital union can apply.

Since Germany has accepted multiple citizenship since 27 June 2024, reacquisition no longer costs you your German passport. If, on the other hand, you have no Turkish roots and don't want to live in the country for five years, investment is the fastest route. Why the two routes don't rule each other out is explained in CBI and naturalisation.

Benefits of Turkish citizenship and what it means for your taxes

A visa can be refused or revoked; citizenship cannot. With a Turkish passport you live and work in Turkey without a residence title, without renewals and without a work permit. And you have a second passport in reserve in case the first is lost, stolen or withheld abroad. Which countries the Turkish passport opens without a visa is covered in Turkish passport: visa-free countries and E-2 access to the USA. How entrepreneurs put it to work is described in A second passport for entrepreneurs.

For tax purposes, the passport alone changes nothing. In Germany, unlimited tax liability under section 1 of the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz, EStG) depends on your residence or habitual abode, not on your citizenship. If you actually move to Turkey, however, you will find one of the most generous rules in the region: under Article 20/D of the Turkish Income Tax Law, inserted by Law No. 7582, the foreign income of individuals is tax-exempt for twenty years if they had neither a residence nor a tax liability in Turkey in the last three calendar years before the move. The details of Turkish tax are in Steueratlas on Turkey, and everything on residence and relocation in Moving to Turkey. How a second passport and taxes fit together in general is shown on the Tax page.

Holding period and revocation: what the three years mean

For the first three years, your naturalisation depends on your investment. The procedural principles are clear: the conditions must remain met throughout the prescribed period. If a condition lapses, for instance because the property is transferred despite the annotation or the deposit is withdrawn early, the reviewing authority records this, and the naturalisation decision is revoked under Article 31 of the Citizenship Law.

In practice, this means: choose a property you will be glad to hold for three years, whether as a holiday home, a rental or your future residence. Once the period is over you can sell, and your passport stays yours. Compared with the Caribbean, the holding period is short: as long as in Dominica and shorter than in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada or St Kitts and Nevis.

The difference lies not only in the figures. In Dominica and Grenada you buy into a government-approved project; in Turkey you choose your property on the open market. The total costs of all programmes are compared on the Costs page, travel freedom and timelines in the Comparison. If you would rather build a business in the Middle East, Jordan: citizenship by investment is the alternative for you.

Frequently asked questions