Moving to Turkey

Stated in the Regulation implementing the Turkish Citizenship Law (Art. 20(2)(b), consolidated text on mevzuat.gov.tr): a foreigner may acquire Turkish citizenship by decision of the President under Law No. 5901 Art. 12(1)(b) where the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change determines that they bought real estate worth at least USD 400,000 (approx. EUR 364,000) or the equivalent in foreign currency, with an annotation in the title-deed register that it will not be sold for three years, or promised its purchase by a notarised sale contract with the full amount paid in advance and a three-year no-transfer undertaking annotated in the land register. Since an amendment of 12 December 2023 the property must be under condominium ownership or a condominium easement (kat mülkiyeti or kat irtifakı), or be land with a building on it. The threshold was raised from USD 250,000 to USD 400,000 by Presidential Decision No. 5554 (Resmî Gazete 13 May 2022) and has moved before, so re-check it before any purchase. Before the transaction the foreign currency is sold to a bank operating in Turkey, which sells it to the Central Bank (Art. 20(10)); values are fixed at the Central Bank's effective selling rate on the date of determination (Art. 20(6)); and switching between the listed investment types to complete the holding period is allowed (Art. 20(8)). Law No. 5901 Art. 12(1)(b) covers holders of the investor residence permit of Law No. 6458 Art. 31(1)(j), and their foreign spouses and minor or dependent foreign children; it names no period of residence and no language condition, it does not require giving up another citizenship, and an applicant who is an obstacle to national security or public order is refused (Art. 12(2)). NOT in these texts, and still to be confirmed before relying on them: a government-approved valuation report, combining several properties to reach the threshold, the processing time (commonly reported as 3 to 6 months), and the exclusion of nationals of some countries reported by secondary sources.

Stated in the Regulation implementing the Turkish Citizenship Law (Art. 20(2), consolidated text on mevzuat.gov.tr), each as determined by the named authority: (a) a fixed-capital investment of at least USD 500,000 (approx. EUR 455,000) or the equivalent in foreign currency, Ministry of Industry and Technology; (c) employment created for at least 50 people, Ministry of Labour and Social Security; (ç) a deposit of at least USD 500,000 with banks operating in Turkey, kept for three years, Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency; (d) government debt instruments of at least USD 500,000, kept for three years, Ministry of Treasury and Finance; (e) participation shares of at least USD 500,000 in a real-estate investment fund or a venture-capital investment fund, kept for at least three years, Capital Markets Board; (f) at least USD 500,000 paid into the private pension system (bireysel emeklilik), held in the funds the Insurance and Private Pension Regulation and Supervision Agency designates and kept in the system for three years (added by Presidential Decision No. 5554, Resmî Gazete 13 May 2022). The Regulation states no holding period for (a) or (c). For (ç), (d), (e) and (f) the foreign currency is sold before the transaction to a bank operating in Turkey and by it to the Central Bank, and the Turkish-lira proceeds of (ç), (d) and (f) are kept for three years in lira deposits, lira government debt instruments and the designated pension funds (Art. 20(10)); values are fixed at the Central Bank's effective selling rate on the date of determination (Art. 20(6)); switching between the listed investment types to complete the holding period is allowed (Art. 20(8)). Citizenship is then granted by decision of the President under Law No. 5901 Art. 12(1)(b), which covers holders of the investor residence permit of Law No. 6458 Art. 31(1)(j), and their foreign spouses and minor or dependent foreign children; it names no period of residence and no language condition and does not require giving up another citizenship. These thresholds have been revised more than once, so re-check the current Regulation before committing funds. NOT in these texts, and still to be confirmed: the processing time (commonly reported as 3 to 6 months) and the exclusion of nationals of some countries reported by secondary sources.

Stated in the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458 (consolidated text on mevzuat.gov.tr): a short-term residence permit may be granted to foreigners who come for scientific research, own immovable property in Turkey, will establish commercial connections or a business, come for tourism, for medical treatment or for Turkish-language courses, or graduated from higher education in Turkey and apply within six months of graduating, among the other purposes Art. 31(1) lists; it is granted for at most two years at a time (Art. 31(2)); a language-course permit at most twice (Art. 31(3)); and the Ministry sets the nature and value of property that can ground it (Art. 31(6), added in 2024). Art. 32 asks the applicant to state the purpose with its documents, not to fall under the entry bans of Art. 7, to have accommodation meeting general health and safety standards, to provide a criminal-record document if asked, and to give an address in Turkey. Eight years' uninterrupted residence on residence permits can lead to a long-term (indefinite) permit (Arts. 42 and 43), and time abroad of more than six months in total in one year, or more than one year in total in the last five, interrupts residence under that Law, except for compulsory public service, education or health (Art. 28(1)). Toward naturalisation, Law No. 5901 asks for five years' uninterrupted residence (Art. 11), with time abroad totalling no more than twelve months in that period (Art. 15), sufficient spoken Turkish, good moral character and means of support, and does not require giving up another citizenship. NOT in Law No. 6458, and still to be confirmed before relying on them: an income level (reported as about 1.5 times the net minimum wage, roughly EUR 9,000 a year), health insurance, a bar after receiving social assistance, limits on renewing touristic permits in some provinces, and neighbourhood saturation quotas.

Stated on the Presidency of Migration Management's work-permit page: the permit is issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (the Ministry of Labour, Social Services and Family) or by another institution authorised by its own legislation; while valid it counts as the residence permit and ends on the same day; applying from inside Turkey needs at least 6 months' prior residence on a permit other than a touristic short-term one; and a holder must register with the Provincial Directorate of Migration Management within 20 working days of entering Turkey. Legal residence counts toward naturalisation under Law No. 5901: five years' uninterrupted residence (Art. 11), with time abroad totalling no more than twelve months in that period (Art. 15), sufficient spoken Turkish, good moral character and means of support; Art. 11 does not require giving up another citizenship. NOT on that page, and still to be confirmed with the Ministry before relying on them: the employer conditions (paid-in capital of at least TRY 100,000 or equivalent turnover; five Turkish employees for each foreign worker, with sector, investment and spouse-of-a-Turkish-citizen exemptions), salary floors by occupation (from 1x to 6.5x the minimum wage), first permits of up to 1 year with one employer extendable to 2 then 3 years, family members applying separately for family residence permits, and an independent (indefinite) work permit after 8 years of legal residence.

Stated in the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458 (consolidated text on mevzuat.gov.tr): a family residence permit may be granted to the foreign spouse, and to the minor or dependent foreign children of the sponsor or of the spouse, where the sponsor is a Turkish citizen, a person covered by Law No. 5901 Art. 28 (the Blue Card), a foreigner holding a residence permit, a refugee or a holder of subsidiary protection; it is granted for at most three years at a time and never beyond the sponsor's own permit (Art. 34(1)); in a polygamous marriage, to one spouse only (Art. 34(2)); and for a child, with the consent of a parent abroad who shares custody (Art. 34(3)). The sponsor must have a monthly income of at least one third of the minimum wage for each family member, and in total at least the minimum wage; accommodation meeting general health and safety standards for the family's size, and health insurance covering every family member; a criminal record showing no conviction for an offence against the family order in the five years before the application; one year's residence in Turkey on a residence permit; and an entry in the address register (Art. 35(1)). The one-year residence condition does not apply to a sponsor with a scientific-research residence permit or a work permit, to a Blue Card holder, or to a foreigner married to a Turkish citizen (Art. 35(2)). The applicant must live, or intend to live, with the sponsor, must not have married in order to obtain the permit, and both spouses must be at least 18 (Art. 35(3)). Where there is reasonable suspicion, the governorship investigates whether the marriage was made only to obtain a permit (Art. 37). The permit gives children schooling to age 18 without a student permit (Art. 34(4)); a holder of at least three years who turns 18 may convert it to a short-term permit (Art. 34(5)); after a divorce, the foreign spouse of a Turkish citizen who held it for at least three years may be granted a short-term permit, without the three years where a court has established that they were a victim of domestic violence (Art. 34(6)); and on the sponsor's death, a short-term permit may be granted without a time condition (Art. 34(7)). Toward citizenship, a foreigner married to a Turkish citizen for at least three years, whose marriage continues, may apply if living within the unity of marriage (Law No. 5901 Art. 16); that three-year route is for the spouse of a Turkish citizen only, and the spouse of a foreign resident is under the five-year residence rule of Art. 11. Law No. 5901 does not require giving up another citizenship. NOT in these texts: home visits as a screening method.

Stated in the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458 (consolidated text on mevzuat.gov.tr): a student residence permit is granted to foreigners who will study for an associate, bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree at a higher-education institution in Turkey (Art. 38(1)); where the course is shorter than a year, the permit does not exceed it (Art. 38(4)). The applicant submits the documents for that study, must not fall under the entry bans of Art. 7, and gives an address in Turkey (Art. 39). It gives the student's parents and other relatives no right to a residence permit (Art. 38(3)). Associate, bachelor's, master's and doctoral students in formal education may work if they obtain a work permit; for associate and bachelor's students the right starts after the first year and is governed by the relevant laws and Presidential decrees (Art. 41(1)) — the Law's former cap of 24 hours a week was replaced by that reference in 2016 (Law No. 6735). In counting uninterrupted residence under that Law, student permits count at half and other permits in full (Art. 28(2)), which slows the eight years needed for a long-term permit (Arts. 42 and 43). NOT in Law No. 6458, and still to be confirmed: proof of funds and health insurance as conditions, how long each permit is issued for, the weekly hours students may work today, and whether student years count toward the five years' residence for naturalisation (Law No. 5901 Art. 15 defines residence as residing in Turkey in conformity with Turkish laws and does not single out students). Law No. 5901 does not require giving up another citizenship.