Citizenship by investment: the official routes, in the regulation's words, and the document chain behind each
Article 12 of the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901 allows citizenship to be granted, by Presidential decision, to a foreigner who makes an investment of a type and size set in article 20 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Law. The regulation lists the routes and the authority that certifies each one with a certificate of conformity (uygunluk belgesi); the applicant then obtains a short-term residence permit under article 31/1-j of Law 6458 and applies for citizenship. The decision is the state's; nothing is automatic and nothing is fast. What is in your hands is the document chain — valuation, title annotation, bank transfer with DAB, bank letters, civil records, translations — and that is what we prepare.
Price — document pack, one applicant and family
State fees and the notarial tariff are paid by you directly to the state or to the notary. We are not a notary and receive no remuneration from any notary, bank or lawyer.
Last verified: 24.10.2026 · source: Law 5901 art. 12 and Regulation art. 20 — mevzuat.gov.tr; TKGM — tkgm.gov.tr; BDDK — bddk.org.tr; NVİ — nvi.gov.tr; Göç İdaresi — goc.gov.trPilot price, valid until 31.12.2026, incl. KDV. No outcome and no timeline is promised; we do not offer property, deposits or funds and receive nothing from any seller, bank or fund. Amounts in the table are those in the Regulation as last amended; check the consolidated text on mevzuat.gov.tr on the day you invest.
Routes in article 20 of the Regulation and who certifies each
| Route | Minimum in the Regulation | Holding condition | Certifying authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real estate purchase | USD 400,000 | 3-year no-sale annotation on the title (tapu şerhi); price paid by bank transfer with DAB; valuation report | TKGM (Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change) |
| Bank deposit | USD 500,000 (or equivalent) | Held 3 years in a Turkish bank, blocked | BDDK |
| Fixed capital investment | USD 500,000 | Certified investment | Ministry of Industry and Technology |
| Government debt instruments | USD 500,000 | Held 3 years | Ministry of Treasury and Finance |
| Real-estate or venture-capital investment fund shares | USD 500,000 | Held 3 years | Capital Markets Board (SPK) |
| Private pension contribution | USD 500,000 | Kept 3 years in designated funds | SEDDK |
| Employment | 50 employees | Certified employment | Ministry of Labour and Social Security |
After the certificate of conformity: short-term residence permit (Law 6458 art. 31/1-j) via Göç İdaresi, then the citizenship application at the investor joint office or the İl Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık Müdürlüğü. Spouse and children under 18 are included in the file. The Regulation also restricts which property qualifies (for example property previously owned by the applicant's family or acquired from certain foreign sellers); a lawyer you retain checks the specific property.
How it works
Route and document map
You tell us the route you and your lawyer have chosen and where your civil documents were issued. You receive the map: every document by stage, who issues it, which need apostille abroad and sworn translation here, and the sequence with the three-year conditions marked.
Investment-stage documents
Property: valuation report from an SPK-licensed firm, bank transfer with the DAB wording the Tapu will accept, the sale and the no-sale annotation at the Tapu Müdürlüğü with an interpreter. Deposit: account opening pack, transfer, blockage letter from the bank in the BDDK's format. We coordinate; you sign everything.
Certificate of conformity and residence permit
We assemble the application pack for the uygunluk belgesi to the certifying authority and, when it is issued, the residence-permit file you submit through e-ikamet and in person at Göç İdaresi.
Citizenship file
Civil records (birth, marriage, children) and criminal-record certificates from abroad with apostille and sworn translation, biometric photographs, the application forms, indexed in the order of the NVİ list. You lodge the file in person; we interpret at the appointment and keep the log.
Typical cases
- Property route, family of four, documents from three countries. The chain is long but ordinary; the valuation and the DAB wording are where files go wrong.
- Deposit route through a Turkish bank for an applicant who does not want property; the bank's blockage letter must match the BDDK's required text.
- Property bought before the citizenship decision was made; whether it qualifies depends on dates, seller and payment proof — a lawyer's question, then a document question.
- Applicant resident abroad coming for short visits; sequencing the visits so that each stage's signature falls on a day you are here.
- Spouse with a different nationality and a name change; the civil records must reconcile across passports, marriage certificate and children's birth records.
What can go wrong
- Paying the purchase price in a way that leaves no DAB. Cash, crypto or transfers from a third party's account do not produce the proof the Tapu and the certifying authority require.
- Valuation below the threshold. The valuation report, not the contract price, is what the authority reads; a shortfall after the purchase cannot be fixed.
- Breaking the three-year condition. Selling the property, withdrawing the deposit or moving funds before three years is a ground for revocation under the Regulation.
- Expired documents. Criminal-record certificates and civil extracts have acceptance windows; ordering them too early means ordering them twice.
- Anyone promising a decision, a date or a contact. There is no such thing. Read our standard; retain a lawyer directly for the law.
Questions
Do you sell property or arrange the deposit?
No. We do not sell, broker or recommend any property, bank, fund or bond, and we receive nothing from anyone who does. You choose the investment with your own advisers; we prepare the documents around it.
How long does citizenship by investment take?
We do not give a timeline. The investment stage depends on you; the certificate of conformity, the residence permit and the citizenship decision each take the time the authority takes. Anyone quoting a fixed number of months is guessing or worse.
Can my family be included?
Under the Regulation the applicant's spouse and children under 18 (or dependent children) are included in the application; adult children apply separately on their own grounds. Each person needs their own civil records, translated and apostilled; we build the family file together.
Is the USD 400,000 figure still current?
It is the figure in article 20 of the Regulation as last amended, and we show it with the source. Thresholds have been changed by Presidential Decision before and can be again; check the consolidated text on mevzuat.gov.tr on the day of your investment, and your lawyer confirms.
Related: citizenship document pack — any route · interview accompaniment · incoming transfer pack (DAB) · guide: property purchase documents · legal information — retaining a lawyer · back to citizenship
Which route, which documents?
Opens in WhatsApp. Documents are sent through WhatsApp or e-mail during the pilot. Reply within one business hour.