Citizenship by Investment to rise from $250,000 to $400,000

BREAKING NEWS: Foreigners who want to become Turkish Citizens via property investment will now have to purchase a home worth at least $400,000 USD and agree to not sell the property for three years in order to meet the minimum requirement to apply.

This breaking news comes from a Cabinet meeting that was held on Tuesday and is set to become official in the near future once it is announced in the Official Gazette.

How much did Turkish Citizenship originally cost?

When first launched in 2017, the scheme cost $1,000,000 USD for applicants, dropping later in 2018 to $250,000 USD as one of the world’s most affordable and popular citizenship schemes.

Between 2017 and 2020, more than 7,000 foreigners successfully applied for and received their Turkish Citizenships via purchasing real estate. The new minimum requirement comes on the back of soaring sales to foreign buyers.

Accelerated property sales in Turkey

Property sales have accelerated in 2021 and 2022 as the depreciation of the Turkish Lira made real estate more affordable and more attractive to foreign buyers – buyers are able to purchase a bigger home in order to meet the minimum requirement.

The Turkish government also pursued an economic policy of low interest rates to boost investment, exports, and credit. To support this, the Central Bank had brought down the benchmark policy rate by 500 points to 14% since September 2021.

Who is buying in Turkey?

In 2021, sales of properties to foreigners increased 43.5% year-on-year when compared to 2020 with data showing that 58,576 units were sold to foreign buyers – a new record, beating the previous record set in 2019, which was 45,483 units.

The January-February 2022 period saw house sales jump by 55.5% on an annual basis with 8,843 total units sold. Nationals of Iran, Iraq, Russia, Ukraine, and Afghanistan are the most popular when it comes to foreigners buying in Turkey.

Other ways to obtain Turkish Citizenship?

Foreigners can also become Turkish Citizens if they are determined to have invested at least $500,000 USD in the country, employed at least 50 people, deposited at least $500,000 USD into Turkish Banks, purchased at least $500,000 USD in government dept, or made a venture capital purchase of at least $500,000 USD. The new minimum for real estate ensures that buying a home is still the cheapest way to obtain Citizenship in Turkey.