Frequently Asked Questions

As 2 persons will be owning the property 50% each, minimum the price should be 500.000 USD.

Same day when the title deed is prepared. When the new owner receives his title deed from the sales office, the value of the property should be over 250.000 USD.

All of the three will be converted to USD same day when the title deed is prepared. They all have to be over 250.000 USD. They don’t necessarily have to be equal.

No. You can only buy a property from a Turkish person or a Turkish company to be eligible to apply for Turkish citizenship.

The payment should come from you only (account owner should be same as the new owner of the property). The money can come from another country directly. Or as second option, you can open an account here in a Turkish bank. First you can make the transfer to your account and then to the seller’s account.

Not necessarily. Payment can be made in instalments as well.

It doesn’t matter if the price includes VAT or not. On the title deed, the value of the property should be over 250.000 USD.

The procedures should take around 45 days normally. It might take 4 to 6 months depending on the procedures and number of applications.

Yes. It is obligatory for the sake of the foreign buyer. The sales price and the valuation should not necessarily be same as long as the buyer and seller are ok with the agreement.

No. The transfer should be made from the owner of the flat only.

Valuation reports are valid for 3 months. If the exchange rate changes and the value is below 250.000 USD with the current exchange rate, the report should be renewed if citizenship application will be made.

You spouse and your children below 18 years old can apply with you. Your spouse should give another Power of Attorney for the application to be made for him/her.

Turkish government does not have a system to inform your origin country stating you were granted Turkish nationality. You have to inform your country about this change in case you want to.

If your first wife gets Turkish citizenship, then the second wife becomes eligible to apply. Second wife cannot make the application first.

She can do it in the future as well as long as the law is valid.

Yes. If the application is rejected, the reason will be given with the application result. You can reapply and get the citizenship after measuring up the criteria.

Those who buy after the new law (19th of Sept 2018) can benefit from the program.

As Syrians are not allowed to buy properties under their names, they cannot obtain citizenship by real estate investment. However, they can benefit from other investment programs such as investing and keeping 500.000 USD in Turkish banks for 3 years.

Citizenship can be granted to the spouse and children below 18 years old after the application.

Yes. What matters is the evaluation report’s value and title deed value should be over 250.000 USD value at that date when the title deed is prepared.

The application will be made to General Directorate of Civil Registration and Nationality. It is surely easier to go through this process by an experienced lawyer.

Yes. In normal cases developers will have one price list which is same for Turkish people and foreigners. This is important for keeping a good reputation also for the developers.

No. Some developers might have two price lists in which they offer higher prices for foreign investors. We recommend you to be careful and think twice while dealing with developers with no references. Also in resale market, you should be careful choosing your real estate agent as some of them can change the price adding high commission on the prices.

Yes. In all cases the taxes to be paid for buying a property are same for Turkish people and foreigners. Even some intensives can be applied for foreign buyers such as VAT Exemption.

Yes. In most cases the developer promises to buy the reservation fee if you decide not to proceed buying. Sometimes, they might say the fee is refundable within two weeks only.

In resale market, you have to make things clear with the agency you are dealing with asking if the reservation fee is refundable or not.

You have to read carefully your sales contract before making a buying decision. Penalties are given in the sales contract for terminating it in different phases. You might have up to 20% termination penalty from the sales prices. Besides you will get paid back in Turkish Liras even if you have the payment in other currencies.

In the sales contract, you have to read your rights carefully. Normally, the developer has to pay monthly rents to buyers in case of a late delivery. The rents will start after 6 months from the given completion date of the project due to Turkish laws.

If you have regular income in Turkish as an employee or employer, you will have chance to get bank credits to make a purchase. Other than that, it will not be possible.

Yearly Property Tax has to be paid which is 0.2% for residential properties and 0.4% for commercial properties. Yearly earthquake insurance is also obligatory to be made which costs around 200-300 TL which depends on the value of your property.

First of all, you have to keep in mind always that you will be exempted from capital gains tax after 5 years of your buying. In other words; if you buy a property and keep this property at least for 5 years, you will not pay any income tax when you sell your property.

Capital gains tax will be calculated if you sell your property within 5 years though. You will be paying 15% to 35% from the inflated net income depending on this amount.

Yes. Within two years, a project should be started with the approval of the municipality.

When a foreigner buys residential property, he/she will be able to get Residence Permit in Turkey. It does not apply for commercial units and lands.

Yes. When you buy a property, you will be owning the property freehold. In other words, this property will be forever your property with all its right and will be acquired with inheritance to your family.

The reserved portion and legal inheritance right of children is %75 for the property and money left by the deceased. It will be equally divided depending on the number of children in the family. Remaining %25 will go to the wife/husband.

All nationalities can buy properties in Turkey except the citizens of four countries for the time being which are Syria, Armenia, North Korea and Cuba.

No. Since 1938, there is an international agreement that disallows Syrians to own properties in Turkey and Turkish people to own properties in Syria. Syrians can only buy a property under the name of a company that they can start here.