Foreign property ownership in Turkey, explained: a country list, two caps, and the zones.

Who can own property in Turkey?

Foreign individuals who are citizens of countries determined by the President. Article 35 of the Land Registry Law, re-enacted in 2012, allows acquisitions for international bilateral relations and where national interests require. Reciprocity is no longer the test; whether your nationality is on the Presidential list is.

Residence is not required first. Foreign companies formed abroad may acquire only under special laws, and Turkish companies with foreign capital acquire under a separate regime in Article 36.

Is the list of eligible countries public?

No. TKGM says the list is not open to the public. Its legal basis is Council of Ministers Decision No. 2012/3504 of 25 June 2012, whose annex lists 185 countries whose citizens can acquire property. To confirm your nationality, ask any land registry office.

Lists of excluded countries circulate online. None could be checked against the official list, because it is not published, so this page does not repeat them.

How are buyers with two nationalities treated in Turkey?

On the nationality that gives the fewest rights. If one of a buyer's nationalities is not eligible, the application is refused. If one of them is Turkish, Turkish citizenship governs and the foreign-buyer rules do not apply.

Declare every nationality you hold at the start. The registry assesses the buyer, not just the passport presented.

What limits apply to how much a foreigner can own in Turkey?

Two caps. Foreign individuals' property may not exceed 10% of a district's area open to private ownership, and 30 hectares per person nationwide. The President may raise the per-person cap up to two-fold, to 60 hectares.

Article 35 also lets the President, where national interests require, set, limit, suspend or prohibit acquisitions by country, person, region, period, number, ratio, type, area and amount. None of these caps limits a mortgage held by a foreign lender over Turkish property.

Which areas are closed to foreign buyers in Turkey?

Military prohibited zones and military security zones are closed to foreign individuals. A special security zone needs provincial governorship permission. Military zone data has been entered into the land register in all 81 provinces, so the office checks the register and the zone status appears on the property's entry.

In a protected heritage site area, the land registry asks the relevant Culture and Tourism or Environment and Urbanisation ministry unit whether the purchase complies with its rules, under a 2012 TKGM circular.

What happens if a foreigner buys bare land in Turkey?

The buyer must submit a development project to the relevant ministry for approval within two years. Property acquired in breach of Article 35, used against its purpose, or whose project is not submitted or completed on time is liquidated: sold, with the proceeds paid to the owner.

The project duty lapses if the owner becomes a Turkish citizen within the two years. An apartment or house with a building on it carries no such duty.

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