Nowadays, with the effect of globalization and development in the world, individuals live outside their country of citizenship and even acquire citizenship of another country. The fact that individuals want to be citizens of different countries for economic reasons has led to questions about how to gain citizenship. While people aim to obtain the citizenship of the country they want for a new life, states give citizenship to attract foreign capital, which they see as investment and employment.
When the citizenship acquisition request is Turkish citizenship, the rules that should be followed are explained below.
I. Acquisition of Turkish Citizenship Through the Competent Authority
Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law no. 5267 regulates the acquisition of Turkish citizenship in two ways: a birth or later acquisition. The issue of later acquisition of citizenship will be discussed below.
In this context, the later acquisition is possible with the decision of the competent authority, adoption, and the use of the right of choice. The regulation also collects the acquisition of citizenship through the competent authority under four sub-titles, which are as follows: general acquisition, excellent acquisition, re-acquisition, and acquisition through marriage.
A) Acquisition of Turkish Citizenship Through General Way
To acquire Turkish citizenship by the general rules, the following conditions must be complied with. Required conditions can be listed as follows: being of legal age and having mental competence by their national law or if they are stateless by the Turkish law, living as a legal and duly resident in Türkiye for consecutive five years preceding the application date, confirming the intention of living in Türkiye with their actions, not having a disease which can endanger the public health, having good moral characters, being able to speak Turkish sufficiently, having an income or profession that will provide for themselves and their dependents in Türkiye, and should not be in a situation that may pose an obstacle in terms of national security and public order. The regulation also specified which documents will be requested within Article 17. It should be noted that providing all the conditions listed will not grant citizenship to the person; the discretionary power of the sovereign state is always reserved.
B) Acquisition of Turkish Citizenship Through the Exceptional (Investment/Purchased real estate) Way
Countries make different practices to stimulate the economy, provide employment, or encourage foreign capital and investments. One aspect of this is to give citizenship in return for investment. Persons who bring industrial facilities to Türkiye or who have extraordinary service in scientific, technological, economic, social, sports, cultural and artistic fields and for whom the relevant ministries have made a justified offer have made a fixed capital investment of at least 500,000 USD or equivalent in foreign currency, citizenship will be granted to persons determined by the Ministry of Industry and Technology.
Conditions of the real estate value for foreigners to purchase real estate in the Republic of Türkiye to obtain citizenship have been changed. The Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5267 was amended by Presidential Decree 5554 on 13.05.2022. In clause (b) of Article 20, it has been decided to increase the real estate value for Turkish citizenship from 250,000 USD to 400,000 USD. If we go back a little before Presidential Decision No. 106 was published in the Official Gazette dated 19.09.2018, the amounts determined in the citizenship to be acquired through real estate were more than now. For example, the purchase of real estate within the scope of subparagraph 12 (b) was 1,000,000 USD before the 2018 change, decreased to 250,000 USD after the change, and now with the new amendment, it is 400,000 USD. It is possible to acquire Turkish citizenship with a real estate value of 400,000 USD with a pre-sale contract, and then the transaction will take place in front of the land registry office, and the law seeks a commitment to be given for three years.
C) Acquisition of Turkish Citizenship by Marriage and Re-Naturalization
First, marrying a Turkish citizen does not directly grant Turkish citizenship to a foreign person. However, foreigners may apply for citizenship who have been married to a Turkish citizen for at least three years and whose marriage continues can acquire Turkish citizenship on the condition that they live in family unity, do not engage in any activity incompatible with the marriage union, and do not have a situation that will pose an obstacle in terms of national security and public.
II. Acquisition with the Right to Adopt and Choice
A minor who a Turkish citizen has adopted may acquire Turkish citizenship if they do not have a situation that would constitute an obstacle to national security and public order.
Children who lose their Turkish citizenship due to their parents can also acquire Turkish citizenship by using their right to choose within three years of adulthood.
III. The Importance of Managing the Citizenship Process Through ALSP
Within the explanations above, to collect documents, forms, and translations within the scope of legal legislation and effective follow-up, it is essential to receive professional support from experienced counsels. In this context, the ALSP team, with its professional, experienced counsels specialized in technical and legal fields, takes all necessary steps to manage the process effectively and quickly before and after the application process.
To get the best result, it is essential to track all the documents, deadlines, changing regulations, decisions, and decrees within the scope of the legislation. ALSP team provides the management of the process with its expert counsel to get results.
IV. Our Services
- For the acquisition of citizenship through purchasing real estate, the team prepares a legal review report stating whether any restrictions on the real estate, such as mortgages, and liens, would prevent the sale. Drafting a pre-sale contract protects the buyer, and the ALSP team collects all the necessary documents. For this reason, the ALSP team, which has the technical and legal knowledge, will take and follow all these steps for you.
- For the acquisition of citizenship through marriage, notarized translations of the forms and necessary documents to be filled and applications to the institutions can be made by the ALSP team with an extraordinary power of attorney.
- For the acquisitions through the right of choice, forms to be filled in after renounced, and the conditions to obtain Turkish citizenship can be done by the ALSP team with an extraordinary power of attorney.
- For the acquisitions through adoption, translation of documents received from foreign authorities and forms that need to be filled can be done by the ALSP team.