THE CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN THE APPLICATIONS FOR OBTAINING TURKISH CITIZENSHIP BY EXCEPTIONAL MEANS WITH THE GUIDE ON THE REGULATION ON THE APPLICATION OF THE TURKISH CITIZENSHIP LAW

The “Guideline on the Regulation on the Application of the Turkish Citizenship Law”, which was prepared by the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre in order to regulate the procedures and principles to be applied to the title deed transactions for obtaining of Turkish citizenship, has been updated and entered into force as of 01.01.2023.

With the published guide, some changes were made in order to prevent collusive transactions and to ensure foreign exchange inflow to the country.

Accordingly, as of 01.01.2023, the transactions based on the preliminary sales contract can only be made with a single contract. In this context, it is possible for more than one property to be the subject of a single preliminary sale contract. However, in case of more than one preliminary sales contract are signed, the applications based upon these contracts will not be subject to the citizenship application process, even if the total price of the contracts exceeds USD 400.000,00.

Again, as of 01.01.2023, the properties purchased as shares will not be subject to citizenship application. In other words, even if the total value of the property purchased by two or more foreigners in shares exceeds 400,000,00 USD for each foreigner, this acquisition cannot be the subject of the citizenship application.

However, as of 01.01.2023, the obligation of cash or bank transfer in paying the property value has been removed and it has been made possible to optionally use secure payment systems offered by banks such as blocked checks.

Finally, as of 01.01.2023, the second-hand property/properties subject to sale or preliminary sales contract should not be among the properties transferred to the Turkish citizen/company by the person who will apply for citizenship or their first-degree relatives.

KSSA LAW FIRM