For International Clients
Turkish Citizenship
Legal guidance for foreign nationals on the routes to Turkish citizenship and the conditions each one involves.
We advise foreign nationals on the legal routes to Turkish citizenship and the conditions each involves, helping you understand your eligibility and the documentation required.
Subsequent acquisition of citizenship is governed by Law No. 5901, which provides a general route resting on uninterrupted residence, an exceptional route operating by Presidential decree, and a route based on marriage to a Turkish citizen. Each rests on different conditions, and Article 10 of that Law states expressly that meeting the conditions does not confer an absolute right to citizenship.
For citizenship through investment, we assist with the legal aspects of the qualifying transaction (including real estate acquisition and its compliance requirements) and with preparing and filing the application, liaising with the competent authorities throughout. The qualifying thresholds are set by secondary legislation and have changed over time, so we work from the legislation in force at the time of the transaction rather than from figures circulating online.
Two questions are better settled at the outset than midway. The position of the spouse and, under certain conditions, the children of an investor acquiring citizenship through the exceptional route may also be considered, but the scope and the conditions sit in secondary legislation and are assessed case by case. The application itself runs in stages, and the completeness of the documents at each stage directly affects the timeline, which is why the family position and the document set are planned together at the start.
Matters we handle in this area
- Eligibility assessment for the available citizenship routes
- Legal support for the qualifying investment and its compliance
- Preparation and filing of the citizenship application
- Assessment of refusal grounds and recourse to the administrative courts
- Liaison with the competent authorities
- Assessment of the position of the spouse and children in an exceptional-route application
- Preparation of the document set required at each stage of the application
Frequently Asked Questions
- Which route applies to a given applicant?
- Law No. 5901 provides distinct routes (one resting on uninterrupted residence, an exceptional route operating by Presidential decree, and one based on marriage to a Turkish citizen) and they are not interchangeable. Establishing which route is genuinely open, before an application is filed or an investment committed, is the step that most affects what follows.
- Can the outcome be predicted in advance?
- No, and any assurance to the contrary should be treated with caution. Article 10 of Law No. 5901 states expressly that meeting the required conditions does not confer an absolute right to citizenship, and Article 12 additionally requires the absence of any obstacle in terms of national security and public order. We can assess whether the conditions are met and prepare the file accordingly; the decision itself rests with the competent authority.
- Why do the investment figures quoted online so often turn out to be wrong?
- Because they sit in secondary legislation rather than in the Law itself, and they have changed over time. Article 20 of the implementing Regulation sets out the qualifying options (among them real estate subject to a no-sale annotation on the title deed, fixed capital investment, bank deposits and government bonds) each carrying its own amount and holding period. We work from the thresholds actually in force at the time of the transaction rather than from figures circulating online.
- What happens to an existing citizenship?
- Turkish law does not, in principle, prohibit multiple citizenship, but whether an existing citizenship survives is a question for the other state’s law rather than Turkish law. Where retaining it matters, that should be checked under the rules of the country concerned before the Turkish application proceeds.