Turkey citizenship by property: the USD 400,000 test, and the valuation that decides it.

How much property do you need to buy for Turkish citizenship?

At least USD 400,000, or the same amount in another foreign currency, under Article 20(2)(b) of the regulation implementing the Turkish Citizenship Law. The title must carry an annotation that the property will not be sold for three years. Citizenship is then granted by Presidential decision.

The threshold was USD 250,000 until Presidential Decision 5554, published in the Official Gazette on 13 May 2022, raised it to USD 400,000 from 13 June 2022. Several properties may be combined to reach it, and they do not have to be bought on the same day.

An off-plan unit can qualify too: a sale-promise contract made before a notary, with at least USD 400,000 paid in advance and a three-year undertaking registered on the title. On that route the whole amount has to sit in one contract. Several smaller contracts do not add up.

Which property counts, and which does not?

A unit registered as a condominium (kat mülkiyeti) or under construction servitude (kat irtifakı), or a building plot with a permanent building that holds an occupancy permit. Bare land and agricultural land do not count, and neither does a share of a property.

The property-type rule was added by Presidential Decision 7938, in force from 12 December 2023. On shares, the land registry gives an example: if two foreigners buy one flat together, it cannot be used for citizenship by either of them. If one foreigner buys the whole of a flat that several people owned, it can.

The land registry also excludes a property bought from someone who themselves gained citizenship this way, or that such a person moved to a Turkish citizen or company in the last three years. Ask the land registry office for the property's history before you pay.

What is the valuation (TTB), and why does it decide the application?

The Tutar Tespit Belgesi (TTB) is the land registry's amount confirmation certificate. It is built from a valuation report by a valuer authorised by the Capital Markets Board and ordered through Web Tapu. The deed price, the payments and the TTB must each reach USD 400,000. If the TTB comes in below it, the application is refused.

That refusal rule applies to transactions after 13 June 2024. A TTB is valid for twelve months; after that, the valuation report behind it has to be renewed. The money has to arrive as foreign currency sold to a bank in Turkey, which the bank documents with a foreign exchange purchase certificate (DAB): how the DAB works.

This is where an overpriced unit fails. A seller can write USD 400,000 on the deed. An independent valuer still has to agree the property is worth it.

What happens after you buy, and what if you sell early?

You apply for an eligibility certificate, then a residence permit under Article 31(1)(j) of the Law on Foreigners, then file the citizenship application with the provincial population directorate. If you stop meeting the conditions during the required period, the citizenship decision is cancelled.

The three-year annotation is removed at your request once the three years have passed. On a sale-promise purchase, it cannot be removed before the sale itself is completed.

Three years also matters for tax. The first sale of a new building to a non-resident foreigner is exempt from VAT if paid in foreign currency, but selling within three years brings that VAT back: Turkey property buying costs.

Does passing the USD 400,000 test mean the property is worth it?

No. The test checks that the price, the payments and the valuation each reach USD 400,000. It does not check what the unit rents for after costs, or how easily it resells after you have held it for three years.

That is the trap in any value threshold. A price set just above USD 400,000 can be set for the programme rather than for the market, and you cannot sell for three years if you find out late. How buying works step by step: can foreigners buy property in Turkey.

The Custom Report checks that a unit clears the bar on value before you sign: every listing in your budget, ranked against comparable homes in the same area on what it rents for after costs and how easily it resells.

Header photo: ampersandyslexia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. All credits: image credits.