After the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, many Russian citizens began to apply for Turkish citizenship. Russian citizens, who have the condition that there is no situation that would pose an obstacle to national security or public order, can easily acquire citizenship by the decision of the President, if they provide any of the investment conditions.

Foreign investment expert and attorney at Law Abide Gülel gave the following information about Russian citizens being able to acquire Turkish citizenship through investment:

‘Making a fixed capital investment of at least 500 thousand US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency,

Purchase of real estate worth at least 400 thousand US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency, if it is not sold for 3 years, or a condominium or floor easement has been established, at least 400 thousand US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency amount has been deposited in cash, and an undertaking that no transfer or cancellation will be made for three years. Promising the purchase of real estate with a real estate sales promise contract drawn up in a notary public, if it is annotated,

Creating employment for at least 50 people,

To deposit at least 500 thousand US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency deposits in banks operating in Turkey, if they are kept for 3 years,

To purchase government debt instruments worth at least 500 thousand US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency, if they are kept for three years,

To purchase real estate investment fund participation shares or venture capital investment fund participation shares worth at least 500 thousand US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency, if they hold them for at least three years,

To keep the contribution amount of at least 500 thousand US Dollars or equivalent foreign currency in the funds determined by the Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Agency and to deposit it into the private pension system, if it remains in the system for three years.

THEIR SPOUSES AND CHILDREN MAY ALSO BECOME TURKISH CITIZENS

Applications can also be made within the scope of the same investment for the foreign spouses of Russian citizens who apply for Turkish citizenship through investment, and their spouse’s minor or dependent foreign children. Russian citizens who meet any of the investment conditions mentioned above can acquire Turkish citizenship exceptionally.

CITIZENSHIP APPLICATION PROCESS

A foreigner can apply to acquire Turkish citizenship if he meets one of the conditions mentioned above. In order to make this application, some steps must be taken. The application for acquiring Turkish citizenship through investment basically consists of three stages.

First of all, a “Certificate of Compliance” must be obtained from the relevant institution stating that one of the investment conditions specified in the Regulation has been completed. After obtaining the Certificate of Eligibility, a short-term residence permit must be obtained in accordance with subparagraph (j) of the first paragraph of Article 31 of the Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection (“Law No. 6458”).

The residence permit obtained in accordance with subparagraph (j) of the first paragraph of Article 31 of Law No. 6458 is an exceptional method and is given only to foreigners who have received a certificate of eligibility, and in this type of residence permit, unlike other types, the applicant does not need to be in Turkey at any stage. Finally, after the residence permit is issued, the application is made along with the documents required for citizenship.

APPLICATION PROCESS THROUGH REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT

According to TÜİK data, the most preferred application type in our country is the acquisition of Turkish citizenship through real estate investment.

The foreign exchange equivalent of the sale price of the real estate, which will be selected from the parcels where the military prohibited zone annotation has not been processed by the governorships, where a floor easement or condominium ownership has been established and which does not have an annotation/lien or mortgage restricting ownership (excluding project finance mortgage), should be sold to the Central Bank before the transfer and the duly issued “Foreign Exchange Purchase Certificate” will be issued for Turkish citizenship. The process should be started by having it prepared with an annotation that the application will be made, and then paying the price to the seller.

Applications are made from the land registry offices with the “Certificate of Compliance” (valuation report), which shows the real market value of the real estate and shows that it is worth at least 400 thousand USD, obtained within the last three months, together with the buyer’s nationality proof documents and routine documents used in the sale of real estate. Again, during or after the same application, a request is made for a 3-year unsaleability annotation to be placed on the real estate in accordance with the relevant article of the Turkish Citizenship Law. After the annotation is processed, the applicant’s file is sent to the relevant land registry cadastre regional directorate and a certificate of conformity is issued if the requirements are met.

RESIDENCE PERMIT APPLICATIONS THROUGH INVESTMENT

After obtaining the certificate of conformity issued by the land registry and cadastre regional directorate, the residence permit application form to be filled in the online system of the provincial immigration administration, the translated documents of the investor and other necessary documents, the application is made by the investor himself or only the lawyer holding the power of attorney from the Foreign Investor Private Partner Office.

Following the receipt of a residence permit specific to investors, the citizenship application can be completed with the internationally approved documents of the foreigner within the validity period.

Following the positive outcome of this application and the security investigations of the foreigner, a citizenship decision is made by the decision of the President, and the process is completed by giving fingerprints to the foreigner who has acquired Turkish citizenship, and then applying for an ID and passport.

IF THE DOCUMENTS ARE MISSING, THE PROCESS WILL BE PROLONGED, WORK WITH AN EXPERT LAWYER

Applications to acquire Turkish citizenship through investment are frequently preferred, especially by Russian citizens, as short-term residence permit applications are completed in a short period of time, such as one month, and citizenship applications are completed in a short period of time, such as 3-6 months.

It is extremely important that applications are completed completely, and the process is followed completely and accurately.

There are also many citizenship applications that are interrupted due to the applicant’s mistake, which is frequently encountered throughout the procedure. In order to avoid such errors and to prevent the process from being interrupted, the real estate should be examined by an expert real estate lawyer before the investment is made and it should be ensured that the real estate to be purchased meets the requirements for obtaining a certificate of conformity.

It is necessary to ensure that the documents to be used in the subsequent citizenship application have the necessary international approvals and that the validity period is not missed.

It is of great importance that this process is carried out by a lawyer who is competent in citizenship application, private international law and real estate law, as any error that may occur during the application process or a deficiency in the documents may cause the application process to be prolonged or the application to be rejected.

For more information:

Abide Gülel, Attorney at Law

info@gulelhukuk.com

0212 465 08 48

Huzur Mah. Azerbaijan Cad.

Skyland Sky Office B Block Floor:32 No:456-457-458

Seyrantepe Sariyer / Istanbul