Is this a direct passport, or residency first?

Direct. Unlike the Greek and Portuguese residence permits, this Turkish route grants citizenship and a passport directly, with spouse and children under 18 obtaining them at the same time. The cost is the narrowest family scope: adult children and parents cannot accompany and must be planned for separately.

Does a Turkish passport give visa-free access to Europe and the US?

No. A Turkish passport gives visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to about 112 destinations (Henley, July 2026 edition), mainly covering Asia, Africa, Latin America and some CIS countries; Schengen, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia all require visas. Its positioning is "one more usable passport plus a country you can live in", not a European access pass. Türkiye has a US E-2 treaty and its citizens can separately apply for an E-2 investor visa (requiring a genuinely operated business, adjudicated case by case), but that is a different matter from visa-free access.

What price is the US$400,000 measured on?

On the SPK valuation report's figure, not the contract price. The valuation is issued by a licensed institution on a market basis; below US$400,000 it does not qualify. In practice, asking prices for popular developments are often above the valuation, and buyers are forced to buy a larger area or higher total price to qualify — budget on the basis of "the valuation must suffice" rather than "the total price must suffice", and allow for the possibility of a second valuation.

Can I sell within 3 years? Does the status survive a sale?

Not during the annotation period (3 years). Once the annotation expires after 3 years, it can be sold freely and the status is retained. How much it sells for depends on the market and exchange rate at that time: the property is priced and traded in lira, so the dollar recovery may be above or below the purchase price; this site cites no project's appreciation marketing.

Does obtaining Turkish status mean paying tax on worldwide income?

No, unless you voluntarily become tax resident. Citizenship and tax residency are two separate statuses: those who do not live in Türkiye and do not constitute tax residents do not pay Turkish tax on foreign income. Law No. 7582, effective June 2026, actually gives new tax residents a benefit: individuals who become Turkish tax residents from 2026 and were not tax residents in the preceding 3 years enjoy a 20-year exemption on foreign-source income and capital gains — a clause for "people who genuinely move there to live", with detail governed by the official gazette and tax-adviser opinion. This page is general information and is not tax advice.

Status by investment · Türkiye · Citizenship by investment · Identity board #3

Turkish Citizenship by Investment (Property Route)

Identity-board score: 6.5

Threshold: Property US$400,000 (research candidate — no figures verified in this pass)

Time limits & uncertainty： Research candidate: this entry comes from demand-side signals (Middle East and CIS demand); threshold, holding period and resale restrictions are unverified by this site, and no conclusion is drawn until research completes.

Identity-board entry. Türkiye is the second "direct citizenship" programme on this board after Grenada: buy property valued by an SPK-licensed institution at not less than US$400,000 (multiple properties may be combined), register a 3-year no-sale annotation on the title deed, and obtain Turkish citizenship and a passport for yourself, your spouse and children under 18, with practical processing of 3–6 months and no residency requirement. The "return" it buys is a multi-use passport plus a country you can live in freely: visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to about 112 destinations (Henley, July 2026 edition) — but not including Schengen, the UK or the US; this is not a European access pass. The cash position: the US$400,000 buys real property, sellable after 3 years with citizenship retained; but the property is priced in lira, so the dollar recovery amount is dominated by the exchange rate, and there is a further roughly 4%–7% in transaction and processing costs that do not count toward the threshold. This page is general information only and is not immigration or tax advice.

Six factor grades & their basis

Factor	Score	Basis
Countries you can enter	5.0	Visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to 112 destinations (Henley, July 2026 edition), covering many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America and carrying US E-2 treaty eligibility, but not including Schengen, the UK or visa-free US access — clearly insufficient for those whose purpose is European travel.
Value for money	6.5	US$400,000 buys real property that can be lived in, rented out and sold, and is US$100,000 lower than the same country's financial routes; points are deducted for the 4%–7% additional costs and the price volatility of a lira asset.
Speed	8.0	Purchase to passport in practice 3–6 months, with citizenship granted directly and no residency-to-naturalisation stage — tied with Grenada as the fastest.
Getting your money back	6.5	After the 3-year annotation period the property can be sold freely with status retained, and liquidity in markets such as Istanbul is fair; the dollar value of the recovery is dominated by the lira exchange rate — the main deduction on recovery certainty.
Do you have to live there	9.0	No residency requirement; one visit completes biometrics and residency formalities and the rest can be delegated by power of attorney — in the same lightest tier as Grenada.
How stable the rules are	5.5	The threshold has a complete adjustment history of US$1M → US$250k → US$400k, and revision requires only regulatory-level action; but the current threshold has been stable for over four years, and the 2026 law even added a benefit in reverse for new tax residents, so the probability of near-term abolition is not high.

Key numbers

Purchase threshold (by SPK valuation)

400,000 USD

Verified As of: 2026 Source: UInvest Group Turkiye citizenship page - SPK valuation threshold requirement, DAB foreign-exchange purchase certificate, 4% title-deed fee and additional costs of 4%-7%

Additional purchase costs (% of price, not counted toward the threshold)

4–7%

Verified range As of: 2026 Source: UInvest Group Turkiye citizenship page - SPK valuation threshold requirement, DAB foreign-exchange purchase certificate, 4% title-deed fee and additional costs of 4%-7%

Processing time (purchase to passport)

3–6 个月

Verified range As of: 2026 Source: Lincoln Global Partners Turkiye CBI guide - US$400,000 threshold and 3-year holding, 3-6 months' processing, Law No. 7582 (20-year tax exemption on overseas income for new tax residents under the 2026 rules)

No-sale annotation period (registered on the title deed; citizenship retained after expiry)

3 年

Verified As of: 2026 Source: Property Istanbul Turkiye citizenship-by-property page - rules in force in November 2026, TKGM Circular 2024/4 and the land registration process

Visa-free / visa-on-arrival destinations (excl. Schengen, UK, US)

112 个

Verified As of: 2026-07 Source: Henley Passport Index 2026 (July 2026 edition, IATA data; each country's score cross-checked against the full ranking as published by the Telegraph)

Why it is on the board

Direct citizenship at first-tier speed: 3–6 months from purchase to passport (institution practice basis), no residency requirement, with a single visit completing biometrics and residency formalities; among this board's five entries, it stands with Grenada in the minority that "takes the status first and talks later".

The US$400,000 buys an asset, not a donation: unlike the full sinking of Grenada's donation route, the Turkish route's property can be sold after 3 years with citizenship retained; and among the financial routes (deposits, government bonds, funds — all US$500,000), the property route's threshold is a further US$100,000 lower, which is why it has become the mainstream route.

Qualification rules are verifiable: the threshold is policed by an SPK-licensed valuation, funds must pass through a bank currency exchange leaving a paper trail (DAB), and the annotation is registered on the title deed — every stage has an official document to check; it is not a verbal-promise programme.

A new tax option added in 2026: Law No. 7582 gives new tax residents a 20-year exemption on foreign-source income (effective June 2026), adding a calculable layer of value to the "status + tax-residence" combination for those genuinely intending to relocate; for those who do not relocate, the Turkish tax system is entirely irrelevant.

How it works

When choosing property, look first at two hard constraints: whether the property's neighbourhood is open to foreign purchase (some neighbourhoods are closed because the foreigner-share cap has been reached); and whether the developer/listing can produce a compliant SPK valuation. Verify these two items before negotiating price.
Payment and valuation: the price is remitted through a bank and converted into lira, obtaining the DAB; an SPK-licensed institution issues the valuation report, and the valuation must be ≥US$400,000 (converted at the official exchange rate) — if the valuation falls short, the whole deal fails; this is this route's most common point of failure.
Transfer and annotation: complete the transfer at the Land Registry (TKGM), paying title-deed tax at 4%; at the same time register the "no sale for 3 years" annotation on the title deed, during which the property cannot be transferred.
Qualification confirmation: the land-registry authorities issue the real-estate investment qualification certificate (Taşınmaz Yatırımı Tespit Belgesi), confirming the investment meets the citizenship conditions.
Residency and naturalisation: with the qualification document, first obtain CBI-type short-term residency, then file the naturalisation application with the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs, passing through stages such as security screening; on approval, collect the citizenship certificate and passport. Spouse and children under 18 are in the same application; the whole process in practice takes 3–6 months (up to 8 months where documents are complex or screening queues).
After the holding period: once the 3-year annotation expires the property can be sold freely, and citizenship is unaffected by the sale; the dollar amount recovered on sale depends on the property price and the lira exchange rate at that time.

Costs & where the money goes

Capital: Medium (property from US$400,000, plus about 4%–7% transaction and processing costs)
Effort: High (one visit for biometrics and residency formalities, the rest can be delegated to a lawyer by power of attorney; no residency requirement)

Costs, item by item:

Purchase price: from US$400,000 (multiple properties may be combined), governed by the valuation report issued by an SPK-licensed valuation institution — not the contract price: if the assessed value is below US$400,000, paying a higher price still does not qualify. The funds must be remitted into Türkiye, converted into lira through a bank and a foreign-exchange purchase certificate (DAB) obtained; the funds-path documents are part of the application materials.
Title-deed tax (tapu harcı): by law 4% of the registered price (2% each for buyer and seller); in practice foreign buyers are often asked to bear the full 4% — on US$400,000 that is US$16,000. The share borne must be written into the contract when negotiating.
Other processing costs: SPK valuation report about US$300–1,500, notarised translation, residency and naturalisation application fees (usually under US$500 per person in total), legal fees (US$1,000–7,000, market figures diverge widely). All additional costs together come to about 4%–7% of the property price, and not one cent counts toward the US$400,000 threshold.
VAT: non-resident foreigners buying for the first time from a developer, paying in foreign currency and holding for a full 1 year may enjoy a VAT exemption (the rate is otherwise 1%–20%); second-hand transactions do not involve VAT. Applicability is confirmed case by case.
Holding costs: annual property tax is 0.1%–0.6% of the registered price (by area and type); compulsory earthquake insurance (DASK) carries a small annual premium but transfer cannot complete without a policy. Valuations and rents on the lira-priced property transmit exchange-rate movements directly into the asset's dollar value (see the risk section).

Risks & counter-evidence

The threshold's political sensitivity has a complete track record: US$1,000,000 in 2017 → cut to US$250,000 in 2018 → raised to US$400,000 in 2022, each change made by presidential-decree-level regulatory amendment, with voices discussing a further rise or abolition never disappearing. The current threshold has not moved since June 2022, but "the rules can change within a single gazette" is this programme's inherent attribute, and the 3-year holding period stacks one more policy cycle of uncertainty on top. What would flip this verdict: If the official gazette publishes a threshold adjustment, this entry is re-estimated at the new threshold; if the adjustment includes protection clauses for those in flight, existing buyers are executed under the protection clauses. Before filing, rely on the current position of TKGM and the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs.

The lira exchange rate eats the recovery amount: the property is priced in lira, and valuation, rent and resale price are all anchored to the lira, while the qualification threshold is policed in dollars. The lira has depreciated over the long term in recent years, so the dollar amount recovered on a sale after 3 years carries significant uncertainty — the "recoverability" of the US$400,000 is discounted in dollar terms; this is this route's biggest gap from its on-paper narrative. What would flip this verdict: If the applicant buys on an own-use or long-hold (10+ years) logic, the weight of exchange-rate risk falls; if the calculation is purely on a 3-year dollar recovery, this risk becomes the primary constraint and the verdict should be downgraded to "cautious".

Valuation threshold risk: qualification is judged on the SPK valuation, not the contract price. The gap between asking prices and valuations in popular areas, the closed-neighbourhood lists for foreign buyers, military-screening zones and similar factors can all mean that "US$400,000 paid" still does not qualify or cannot be transferred. Due diligence at the property-selection stage (valuation prediction, neighbourhood open status, title encumbrances) decides success or failure — not the application stage. What would flip this verdict: Once a valuation report has been issued at ≥US$400,000 and the transfer completed, this risk is lifted for the individual case; before obtaining the valuation report, do not assume on the contract price that you already qualify.

The narrowest family scope: accompanying family is limited to spouse and children under 18; adult children and parents cannot be included in the same application. Set against Grenada (parents, grandparents and siblings includable) and Greece (both sets of parents can accompany), a multi-generational family's real cost on this route must add separate arrangements for the other members. What would flip this verdict: If the family structure is a spouse plus minor children, this risk does not apply; if it includes adult children or parents, plan separate channels for them before assessing this entry's verdict for that family.

What we have not verified

The following key figures have not yet been verified; the reason is noted for each item.

Divergence between sources on processing time: multiple institutions give 3–6 months, some give 4–8 months; this site takes 3–6 months as the metric range and notes in the main text that complex cases can reach 8 months; the Turkish authorities publish no unified processing-time statistics.
Legal and intermediary fees have no official standard (market accounts of US$1,000–7,000 coexist); this site has not put a definite figure into total cost, counting them only within the 4%–7% additional-cost range.
The claim that the threshold may rise to US$600,000 has circulated in legal circles for years with no official gazette or formal announcement; this site discloses in the risk section only qualitatively that "the threshold has a record of adjustment", without citing specific rumoured figures as expectations.
Law No. 7582's 20-year foreign-income exemption: the provisions are in force (June 2026), but the application conditions for individual cases are still being settled following the implementing detail (Income Tax General Communiqué No. 333, July 2026); when citing it, rely on a tax adviser's opinion on the individual case.
The closed lists for foreign purchase in individual cities and neighbourhoods are adjusted dynamically; this site has not obtained TKGM's current complete list — check case by case when selecting property.

FAQ

Is this a direct passport, or residency first?: Direct. Unlike the Greek and Portuguese residence permits, this Turkish route grants citizenship and a passport directly, with spouse and children under 18 obtaining them at the same time. The cost is the narrowest family scope: adult children and parents cannot accompany and must be planned for separately.
Does a Turkish passport give visa-free access to Europe and the US?: No. A Turkish passport gives visa-free/visa-on-arrival access to about 112 destinations (Henley, July 2026 edition), mainly covering Asia, Africa, Latin America and some CIS countries; Schengen, the UK, the US, Canada and Australia all require visas. Its positioning is "one more usable passport plus a country you can live in", not a European access pass. Türkiye has a US E-2 treaty and its citizens can separately apply for an E-2 investor visa (requiring a genuinely operated business, adjudicated case by case), but that is a different matter from visa-free access.
What price is the US$400,000 measured on?: On the SPK valuation report's figure, not the contract price. The valuation is issued by a licensed institution on a market basis; below US$400,000 it does not qualify. In practice, asking prices for popular developments are often above the valuation, and buyers are forced to buy a larger area or higher total price to qualify — budget on the basis of "the valuation must suffice" rather than "the total price must suffice", and allow for the possibility of a second valuation.
Can I sell within 3 years? Does the status survive a sale?: Not during the annotation period (3 years). Once the annotation expires after 3 years, it can be sold freely and the status is retained. How much it sells for depends on the market and exchange rate at that time: the property is priced and traded in lira, so the dollar recovery may be above or below the purchase price; this site cites no project's appreciation marketing.
Does obtaining Turkish status mean paying tax on worldwide income?: No, unless you voluntarily become tax resident. Citizenship and tax residency are two separate statuses: those who do not live in Türkiye and do not constitute tax residents do not pay Turkish tax on foreign income. Law No. 7582, effective June 2026, actually gives new tax residents a benefit: individuals who become Turkish tax residents from 2026 and were not tax residents in the preceding 3 years enjoy a 20-year exemption on foreign-source income and capital gains — a clause for "people who genuinely move there to live", with detail governed by the official gazette and tax-adviser opinion. This page is general information and is not tax advice.

Other identity-board entries

General information only — not immigration, tax or investment advice. This site offers no application handling and refers no specific projects or intermediaries. Program rules follow the latest official publications; verify with a licensed adviser before applying. Page updated 2026-11-08。This section is general information only — not immigration or tax advice. Program rules change frequently; before acting, rely on the official texts and a licensed adviser.