5 min read 
A new citizenship law has recently been adopted in Turkey, and this has prompted many questions from people interested in obtaining a Turkish passport. Before 2017, foreign buyers of real estate or investors in the economy could not obtain Turkish citizenship. In other words, one could only become a citizen for family reasons: marriage, family reunification, or belonging to a Turkic group (Meskhetian Turks). Thus, the Republic of Turkey has traditionally taken a stricter approach to granting citizen status, unlike Europe, which has long been granting citizenship by investment.
It was only in January 2017 that Turkey first adopted a law under which investors in the economy and real estate buyers gained the opportunity to officially become Turkish nationals. Initially, this law did not receive wide application or response among people, since the limit for purchasing real estate was $1,000,000. Moreover, this is the cadastral amount that had to be indicated in the TAPU, which is always significantly lower than the actual value. For example, when buying a villa worth $1,000,000, its value in the cadastral document was 3-4 times lower. The other limits were as follows: one had to invest in industrial production or deposit $2,000,000 into a bank account. In other words, these were serious sums even by European standards.
On September 19, 2018, the country's president approved an amendment to this law — the limits for obtaining Turkish citizenship were lowered, and now it is much easier for a foreigner to obtain a Turkish passport.
There are 5 ways to obtain Turkish citizenship:
- Investment in the Turkish economy (for example, building a plant or factory) – $500,000 (previously $2,000,000)
- Investment in Turkish real estate – $250,000 (previously $1,000,000) – note that this is the cadastral value, meaning the TAPU must indicate an amount equivalent to $250,000. The minimum ownership period for the property is 3 years, i.e. it can be sold after 3 years
- Creating 50 new jobs (previously 100) – this can be a production facility, cafe, restaurant, etc.
- Depositing money into a bank account for 3 years – $500,000 (previously $2,000,000). The interest rates offered are also higher than at European banks
- Investment in Turkish securities worth $500,000
