Turkish passport: visa-free countries and E-2 access to the USA

The Turkish passport is not a passport for Europe. It is a passport for the world between Europe and Asia, for Latin America and for entrepreneurs who want to build something in the United States. Türkiye grants it by law to investors, and as a German you keep your German passport. Every programme of this kind is covered in Buying citizenship, and how passports perform worldwide is shown in the passport ranking. With Türkiye, one question comes first: where can I go with this passport, and what does it give me on top of my German one?

Turkish passport: the countries you can visit without a visa

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs sets out, country by country, which visa rules apply to Turkish citizens, broken down by type of passport. The one that matters for you is the ordinary passport, in Turkish the Umuma Mahsus Pasaport. With it you enter around 70 states and territories without a visa. A dozen or so more are open to you with a visa issued at the border or online, for example the Maldives, South Africa, Kuwait or Saudi Arabia.

Malaysia stamps a free 90-day tourist visa into the passports of Turkish citizens on arrival, which in practice amounts to visa-free travel. The list applies expressly to tourist trips with a single entry. If you want to study, work or stay longer, check the entry rules with the destination country's embassy or consulate.

With the ID card to Georgia, Northern Cyprus, Azerbaijan and Ukraine

One special feature: with the new Turkish identity card, Turkish citizens can travel to four destinations in the region without a passport at all. The list names Georgia, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Ukraine when entering directly from Türkiye, and Azerbaijan for tourist trips directly from Türkiye. Since 1 January 2026, Georgia has also required travel and accident insurance with cover of at least 30,000 lari.

Where the Turkish passport needs a visa

For Europe, North America, Australia and some of Asia's big countries, the ordinary Turkish passport needs a visa:

The Schengen states make an exception only for diplomatic, service and special passports. For the ordinary passport the visa stays, as the German Federal Foreign Office's list of countries also confirms for entry into Germany. The EU's roadmap towards visa liberalisation covers 72 criteria and is tied to the readmission agreement, which has been in force since 1 October 2014. For the ordinary passport, the visa requirement still applies today.

For you as a German, that is no drawback. You keep travelling to Europe, North America and the UK on your German passport. How far it takes you and where it hits its limits is covered in German passport: visa-free countries, and which second passports get into the US, the UK, Canada and China without a visa in USA, UK, Canada, China: which second passport travels visa-free where. The Turkish passport complements your German one where a second passport genuinely adds something.

German and Turkish passports together: what dual citizenship gives you

Since 27 June 2024, acquiring a foreign citizenship by application no longer costs you your German one. On the investor route, Türkiye does not ask you to give up your existing citizenship either. Its Citizenship Law No. 5901 even defines multiple citizenship expressly and provides in Article 44 that it is recorded in the civil registry. You then hold two passports, each with its own rights.

What the second passport actually gives you

A right instead of a permit in Türkiye. As a foreigner you live there on a residence permit that has to be renewed and can be refused. As a citizen you no longer need any residence permit. If you want to move your home to Türkiye, the facts on residence, tax and daily life are in the German-language country profile Moving to Türkiye.

A second travel document. If your German passport is lost, stolen or held abroad, you carry on travelling lawfully with your Turkish passport. With two passports you also have two states whose consulates you can turn to.

E-2 access for your family and your company. This is where the value lies that many people overlook.

ESTA and taxes

When you travel to the US under ESTA on your German passport, the form asks about every citizenship you hold. Declare your Turkish one truthfully. What that means for your application is explained in ESTA with a second citizenship.

For tax purposes, a second passport changes nothing on its own. Under section 1 of the Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz, EStG), you are fully liable to tax in Germany if you have a home or your habitual abode there, not because you hold a particular passport. How residence and citizenship interact for tax is shown on the Taxes page.

E-2 visa with a Turkish passport: your access to the USA

The E-2 visa is the visa for investors who build or buy a business in the US and run it themselves. It is open only to nationals of countries with which the US has a suitable treaty of commerce or investment. According to the US State Department's list, Türkiye has been a treaty country for E-2 since 18 May 1990, and for the E-1 treaty trader visa since as far back as 15 February 1933.

Türkiye shares this status with other countries in the comparison, among them:

The Grenada route is described in detail in The Grenada passport and the E-2 visa. The full list of every treaty country is in the overview E-2 visa: list of treaty countries.

Why this matters for Germans too

Germany itself has been an E-2 treaty country since 14 July 1956, Austria since 1931 and Switzerland since 1855. As a German, you already have E-2 access. The Turkish passport extends it to family members who hold no such passport, and gives you room to manoeuvre when you structure your US company:

• Spouses and children from non-treaty countries. Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are not on the list. As family members of an E-2 investor, spouses and children do accompany you whatever their nationality. With the Turkish passport from the joint investor application, though, they can qualify in their own right as an E-2 investor or E-2 employee, with a company of their own or in yours.
• Employees of the same nationality. E-2 employees must share the company's nationality, which is determined by its owners: at least 50 percent must be nationals of the treaty country. A company that counts as Turkish for E-2 purposes can bring qualified specialists and managers from Türkiye to the US.
• Free choice as a dual citizen. The US State Department requires dual citizens to choose a single nationality for a given company and to identify as nationals of that country for every E visa of that company. With two treaty country passports, you decide which nationality your US company carries.

Treaty status alone is not enough. You need a substantial investment in a real, operating business that earns more than a modest living for you and your family, and you must develop and direct it. How much you should invest, which documents the consulate wants to see and how the interview works are explained in the guide US E-2 visa: requirements and process.

How to get a Turkish passport: investment from 400,000 USD

The legal basis is Article 12(1)(b) of Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901, read together with Article 20(2) of its implementing regulation. Citizenship is granted by decision of the President, provided there are no grounds of national security or public order against it. These routes are available:

Amounts are converted at the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye's foreign exchange selling rate on the day of assessment. Before you apply, you need a residence permit under Law 6458, Article 31(1)(j), which exists specifically for these investors. The conditions must remain met throughout the holding period, otherwise the naturalisation is revoked. What to watch for on the real estate route is described in Turkish passport through property purchase, and the total costs of every programme on the Costs page.

Your family in the same application

Your foreign spouse and the minor or dependent children of the investor and the spouse can be included in the application. That way your whole family receives the same passport with the same travel rights and the same E-2 eligibility. How other programmes treat families is shown on the Family page.

Military service in Türkiye: what sons should know

Türkiye has conscription, and Law No. 7179 sets out expressly what applies to new citizens. Under Article 43, naturalised citizens serve according to their age and level of education in the year of naturalisation, just like the conscripts of that age group. Two groups count as having served:

• anyone who is 22 or older in the year of naturalisation
• anyone who can show that they did military service in their previous country or are deemed to have served there

Younger sons can, on request, receive a two-year deferral from the date of naturalisation. In the event of mobilisation, naturalised citizens can also be called up as needed. For dual citizens living abroad, the law provides two concessions: deferral of all military service matters until the end of the year in which they turn 35 (Article 38), and, after at least three years of actual residence abroad, discharge of the service obligation by payment in foreign currency, known as dövizle askerlik (Article 39(2)).

For families with sons under 22, it therefore pays to choose the timing of the application with care. What the German side of conscription looks like is covered in Military service, and what applies to dual citizens in an emergency in Dual citizenship in wartime.

Who the Turkish passport is worth it for

The Turkish passport does not replace your German passport, and it is not meant to. It is an addition with a clear profile.

Entrepreneurs with their eye on the US. If you are building a US company with partners or employees from non-treaty countries, the Turkish passport gives you freedom to structure the E-2 visa for yourself, your family and your team.

Anyone who wants to live in Türkiye. A residence permit is a permission that an authority has to renew. Citizenship is a right that depends on no renewal.

Families with a binational background. A spouse from Brazil, India or Russia gains, with the Turkish passport, their own E-2 eligibility and the right to live in Türkiye without giving up their existing citizenship, provided their home country allows it.

A Plan B alongside your German passport. Two passports mean two states that recognise you as a citizen. You will find eight reasons for a second passport under Why a second passport.

Investment is not the only way into Turkish citizenship, but it is the fastest. If you live there anyway, you can keep ordinary naturalisation in view at the same time; under Article 11 of the Citizenship Law it requires five years of uninterrupted residence in Türkiye. Why you should pursue both routes is explained in CBI and naturalisation: the investment buys you the time that naturalisation through residence would otherwise cost. All figures, legal bases and authorities for the programme are on the Türkiye page, and the application process step by step under How it works.

Frequently asked questions