Turkish Citizenship Through Property Investment
A property investment of USD 400,000 or more can make you, your spouse and your children under eighteen eligible. However, not every apartment qualifies — and not every qualifying apartment is a good buy.
IN SHORT
Turkish citizenship by investment through real estate requires buying property worth at least USD 400,000, as confirmed by a valuation report from an SPK-licensed appraiser, paying through a Turkish bank with a foreign-currency purchase certificate (DAB), and registering a three-year no-sale annotation on the title deed. Your spouse and your children under eighteen are included in the same file. Durukan Real Estate shortlists eligible apartments in Maslak, Vadistanbul, Levent, Kağıthane and Göktürk from its Maslak office; the legal file is handled with licensed legal partners. Last checked: October 2026.
Four conditions that must all hold at the same time
Most files that stall, stall on one of these four — and it almost always surfaces after the money has been paid. We check all four before we put a property in front of you.
A minimum of USD 400,000
The property must be valued at no less than USD 400,000 in a report by an SPK-licensed appraiser. What counts is the figure in the valuation report, not the price agreed on paper.
A three-year commitment
An annotation is registered on the title deed stating that the property will not be sold for three years. After that you are free to sell, and the citizenship remains.
Payment through the banking system
The amount must be transferred through a bank and documented with an official foreign-currency purchase certificate (DAB). Cash paid outside the banking system is not accepted. From 1 December 2026 every property sale in Turkey is scheduled to go through the Secure Payment System (Güvenli Ödeme Sistemi); the start was postponed from 1 October. The buyer’s money is held by a bank and released to the seller only after the title deed transfer is completed.
An eligible property
The seller must not be a foreign national, and the property must not have been used for another citizenship file before. The deed must also be free of mortgage and any attachment.
From choosing the property to the passport
Choosing an eligible property
From the available stock we single out the units that both reach the threshold and will still be sellable three years from now. Those two conditions do not always come together. Our Maslak, Levent, Kağıthane, Göktürk and Vadistanbul pages show what we currently have in each area. For Maslak, see also our guide to buying an apartment in Maslak as a foreigner.
The official valuation report
An SPK-licensed appraiser sets the value. The report is valid for two months, so its timing matters.
Purchase and the three-year annotation
The deed is transferred at the Land Registry, and the three-year no-sale annotation is registered on the title at the same time.
Certificate of conformity
With the valuation report and the deed, a certificate of conformity is obtained from the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre.
Residence permit
With the certificate of conformity, the residence permit reserved for citizenship applicants is issued.
The citizenship application
The file goes to the Directorate of Citizenship Affairs. We take this stage forward with licensed legal partners and keep you informed at every step.
For the purchase steps and the costs on top of the price, see our guide to buying property in Istanbul as a foreigner. The rules, thresholds and required documents are set by the Turkish authorities and have changed several times in recent years. So before you commit to anything, we confirm the current conditions for your specific file in writing. We are property advisors, not lawyers; the legal side of the file is handled with licensed legal partners.
What you usually do not get told
A citizenship price is not a market price
Some units are simply priced higher so they clear the threshold. Three years later, when you want to sell, the market does not recognise that price. We show you the real rents and real sales in the same block.
Three years means three years
The annotation is registered on the deed. That means your financial plan has to survive three years without turning this money back into cash.
Sometimes our answer is no
If your budget does not reach the threshold, or what you want does not match what qualifies, we will say so — rather than sell you something that does not work.
Frequently asked questions
Does my family become citizens too?
Yes. Your spouse and your children under eighteen are included in the same file. Children over eighteen need a separate file of their own.
Do I have to give up my current citizenship?
Turkey accepts dual citizenship and does not ask you to renounce your previous nationality. What your country of origin rules is a separate matter, and you should consult your own legal advisor on it. We do not comment on that.
How long does it take?
The property side of the work — from selection to the certificate of conformity — usually takes a few weeks. The review period for the citizenship file is set by government bodies and is not fixed; no agency can guarantee a definite date, and neither do we.
Can I combine several properties?
Yes, reaching the threshold with more than one property is possible, provided they are all bought at the same time and in the same file. In practice, two smaller units sometimes rent better and sell more easily as well.
What if the valuation does not reach USD 400,000?
The file stalls, and you are left owning a property that did not meet your main objective. That is exactly why we have the valuation checked before the purchase, not after.
How is the payment made under the Secure Payment System?
From 1 December 2026 every property sale in Turkey is scheduled to go through the Secure Payment System (Güvenli Ödeme Sistemi); the start was postponed from 1 October. The buyer’s money is held by a bank and released to the seller only after the title deed transfer is completed. The USD 400,000 threshold, the bank transfer and the foreign-currency purchase certificate (DAB) requirements stay the same.
What does USD 400,000 buy in Istanbul?
At about 49 TL per US dollar (early October 2026), USD 400,000 is roughly 19.6 million TL. In our current listings that is close to the median asking price of a 2+1 apartment in Maslak (about 19.5 million TL) and above the median listing in Kağıthane (about 15.5 million TL). What counts for the file is the figure in the valuation report, not the asking price.
Tell us your budget, we will handle the rest
We will send you a list of units that both reach the threshold and will still be sellable in three years — with the reason for each choice.