Turkey citizenship by investment
Turkey citizenship by investment
Turkey grants citizenship from a 400,000 USD real-estate purchase held for three years, or a 500,000 USD bank deposit, government bond or fund investment. It is not Caribbean-style: it is a large, real economy with a genuine property market, and — like Grenada — a Turkish passport can open the door to the United States E-2 investor visa, a point worth verifying against current US rules for your nationality.
What Turkey citizenship by investment is
Turkey's citizenship by investment grants a full Turkish passport in exchange for a qualifying investment, without prior residence. What sets it apart from the Caribbean is scale: this is a large, real economy with a genuine property market, not a set of approved-project islands. You are buying into a functioning market, which is both the appeal and the thing to price carefully.
The routes: $400,000 in real estate, or $500,000 in financial assets
There are two main paths. The property route is a US$400,000 real-estate purchase, held for a mandatory three years before you may sell. The financial route is US$500,000 in a bank deposit, government bond or investment fund, also held for a set period. Both are, in principle, recoverable after the hold — unlike a Caribbean donation — but "recoverable" depends on the market and the exchange rate. Weigh the buy-and-hold logic in our guide to donation vs real estate and, for the property option, our citizenship by real estate page.
A real property market — and real currency risk
Because Turkey has an actual property market, your $400,000 buys a genuine asset you can use, let or eventually sell. The flip side is genuine market and currency exposure: the qualifying amount is set in US dollars, but you are transacting in a market priced in Turkish lira, so valuation, resale liquidity and exchange-rate movements all matter. Treat the property as an investment on its own terms, not a costless passport.
The E-2 visa angle
Like Grenada, Turkey is often marketed for a route to the US E-2 investor visa — and Turkey has a long-standing E-2 treaty relationship with the United States, which makes the claim more solid than some. But E-2 eligibility still turns on your nationality, the nature of your US investment and current US rules, so confirm it with a US immigration attorney rather than taking a brochure's word. For the parallel (and disputed) Caribbean case, see our Grenada passport and E-2 visa page.
The real total, timeline and vetting
The $400,000 or $500,000 is the qualifying investment, not the final bill: government fees, professional fees and — on the property route — transfer taxes sit on top, and they scale with family size. Read how the true total cost is built and price your household on our cost calculator. Every applicant is vetted for identity, background and source of funds (how the vetting works), and while Turkey is known for relatively fast processing, treat any quoted time as a starting point, not a guarantee — see the timeline, step by step.
Tax: Turkey does tax income
Do not mistake Turkey for a zero-tax haven. Turkey levies personal income tax on residents at progressive rates, alongside corporate tax and VAT. Citizenship is not tax residency in any case — the passport alone does not change where you are taxed. See the detail on our Turkey tax overview and read second citizenship and taxes for the general rule.
Before you commit
Turkey suits someone who wants a fast, recoverable-in-principle citizenship in a large economy, is comfortable with property or financial-market and currency risk, and values the E-2 angle enough to verify it. Compare it with the broader citizenship-by-investment field, confirm the current investment amounts, holding periods and fees with the Turkish authorities, and use only reputable, licensed advisers — our guide to risks, scams and vetting an agent applies here. See how we verify every figure on our methodology page.
Key figures
- From
- $400 000≈ $534 000 for a family of four, fees included
- Processing time
- 4–9 months
- Physical presence
- None after approval. No language test, and dual nationality is allowed.
- Family
- Spouse and dependent children.
Investment routes and what each one really costs
| Route | Official minimum | Real total, family of four | Hold | Recoverable |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real estateOne or more properties with an official valuation, held three years. The next buyer cannot re-qualify the same property. Threshold unchanged since the decree of 13 June 2022. | $400 000 | ≈ $534 000 | 3 yr | No |
| Bank depositBank deposit in a Turkish bank for three years — or, at the same threshold and for the same three years, a contribution to an approved private pension fund. Either one is money locked up, not spent. | $500 000 | ≈ $667 500 | 3 yr | Yes |
| Government bondsGovernment bonds held for three years. | $500 000 | ≈ $667 500 | 3 yr | Yes |
| Investment fundUnits of a real-estate or venture-capital investment fund, held three years. | $500 000 | ≈ $667 500 | 3 yr | Yes |
| Capital transferFixed-capital investment confirmed by the Ministry of Industry and Technology. | $500 000 | ≈ $667 500 | — | No |
| EmploymentCreate employment for at least 50 people, confirmed by the Ministry of Labour. | No cash threshold | — | No | |
Limits and drawbacks
- A Turkish passport does not give visa-free Schengen access.
- Real estate and bank routes are settled in Turkish lira through the central bank, which carries currency risk.
- The investor residence permit fees rose sharply in May 2026; budget for them separately from the investment.
- The US E-2 treaty exists, but whether a Turkish citizen by investment can use it immediately or must first hold three years of residence is disputed — see below.
What it gets you
- Real estate threshold unchanged since 2022, one of the largest genuine property markets in the programme world
- No physical presence, no language test, dual nationality allowed
- Refundable routes available through bank deposits, government bonds and funds
Where the sources disagree
Does Turkish citizenship give immediate access to the US E-2 investor visa?
- What the official source says
- The US Department of State lists Türkiye as an E-2 treaty country, with the treaty in force since 1990. The listing states no minimum period of citizenship or residence before applying.
- What practitioners report
- Some immigration practitioners state that a citizen who acquired Turkish nationality by investment must first hold three years of residence in Türkiye before an E-2 application. Other advisers describe no minimum stay.
- What is not settled
- No official US or Turkish source confirms a three-year residence requirement for E-2 applicants who are citizens by investment. If E-2 access is your main reason for choosing Türkiye, put the question to a US immigration attorney before committing funds.
Official sources
Who else accepts the same kind of investment
Government bonds
See also
Frequently asked questions
Has Türkiye suspended Russian applicants?
Does the passport give me a US E-2 visa immediately?
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What we do for you
You are looking at a passport, not a brochure. We take the whole procedure with you — eligibility, the route that actually fits your situation, the file, the follow-up — with one person on your side from the first call to the oath.
For Türkiye specifically, you are talking to someone who already knows the file: who to speak to on the ground, what the unit actually asks for, and the points where applications stall.
- One point of contact, from the first call to the certificate
- Vetted partners on the ground — law firms, licensed agents, banks — introduced, not listed
- It starts with a short qualifying call, and no, it is not a sales call
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