OLD REGULATION
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NEW REGULATION
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1.Acquiring Turkish citizenship exceptionally, required documents and procedures for application Article 20 b) (Amended: RG-6/1/2022-31711-C.K 5072/ 1 md.) Individuals whose real estate worth at least 400,000 US dollars or its equivalent in foreign currency, has been sold or a co-ownership or co-usufruct has been established, and at least 400,000 US dollars or its equivalent in foreign currency has been paid in cash and a pledge has been made that the transfer and cancellation of the property will not be made for three years, as stated in a notarized contract regarding the sale of the property, as determined by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, can acquire citizenship exceptionally.
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It has been stipulated that real estate sales based on sales promises will be carried out with a single contract as of January 1, 2023. In this context, if sales promise contracts are signed based on multiple real estates, even if the total amount exceeds 400,000 US dollars, citizenship application cannot be made.
Real estates purchased with a real estate sales promise contract cannot be used to complete the 400,000 US dollar amount together with another real estate.
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2.An application can be made if the value of the share of a real estate purchased between 01/12/2017 and 09/18/2018 is at least 1,000,000 US dollars, and if the value of the share of a real estate purchased on or after 09/19/2018 is at least 400,000 US dollars.
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An application for citizenship cannot be made by acquiring a share of real estate. For example, even if two foreigners acquire an equal share of a real estate worth 900,000 US dollars, they cannot apply for citizenship. Only one foreign individual can be the owner of each real estate, and only the foreign owner can apply for citizenship.
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3.The sale price of the real estate must be sold to a bank in US dollars or its equivalent in foreign currency by the buyer, seller, their agents or representatives, in order to be sold to the Central Bank, and the "Foreign Exchange Purchase Certificate" issued by the bank must be submitted to the Land Registry Office prior to the sale transaction.
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In the sales promise contract, the foreign exchange purchase certificate must be issued for at least the part paid in advance and at the latest on the date of the contract.
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4.An approved bank statement showing that the TL amount stated in the Foreign Exchange Purchase Certificate/Certificates has been transferred/electronically transferred to the seller or related party of the real estate must be submitted to the Land Registry Office.
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The use of secure payment systems offered by banks for transferring/paying the price of real estate has been made optional. In this context, it is considered that payment by blocked check is explicitly permitted.
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5.The real estate/real estates subject to sale or sale promise must not be real estate transferred to a Turkish citizen/company by a foreign natural person, his/her spouse and children or a foreign natural person of the same nationality after 01/12/2017, for the purpose of acquiring citizenship.
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The second-hand real estate/real estates subject to sale or sale promise must not be real estate transferred to a Turkish citizen/company by any foreign natural person within the last three years. Acquisitions resulting from construction contracts are determined as an exception to this article.
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6. Payment receipts for installments made after 01/12/2017, the date on which the first application for citizenship began, can be used in the transaction.
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The amount indicated in the official document of a real estate whose payment was made before the implementation of the Foreign Exchange Purchase Certificate application must be equal to the total of the amounts indicated in the payment receipts before 01/24/2022 and the amount indicated in the foreign exchange purchase certificate.
For example, in a transaction where the 450,000 US dollars equivalent of the real estate, which was applied for the establishment of a deed at the Land Registry Office after 01/24/2022, is paid in two installments, 200,000 US dollars before 01/24/2022 and the remaining amount after this date, the total of the 1,600,000 TL amount indicated in the receipt and the 4,500,000 TL amount equivalent to 250,000 US dollars indicated in the foreign exchange purchase certificate will be 6,100,000 TL, thus satisfying the required amount specified in the Regulation. In this example, the official document sales price will be taken as 6,100,000 TL.
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