Turkish Tax Number and Bank Account for Foreign Investors: The Prerequisites to Any Investment

The Tax Identification Number Is the Gateway

A Turkish tax identification number (vergi kimlik numarası) is the identifier through which a foreign national is recognised in Turkish administrative and financial systems. It is not merely a tax formality. Without it, a foreign national cannot open a bank account, cannot be registered as an acquirer at the Land Registry, cannot complete most notarial transactions, and cannot subscribe to utilities in their own name.

For foreign nationals the number is issued by the Revenue Administration (Gelir İdaresi Başkanlığı) on the basis of passport identity, and is commonly referred to as a potential tax number where it is obtained before any Turkish tax liability arises. It is issued to enable transactions; obtaining it does not itself create a tax liability and does not make the holder a Turkish tax resident, which is a separate question determined under Income Tax Law No. 193.

Why This Determines the Timetable

Investors frequently plan a citizenship investment around the investment itself — the transfer of funds or the identification of a property — and treat the administrative prerequisites as incidental. In practice the sequence runs the other way. The tax number must exist before the bank account can be opened; the bank account must exist before funds can be placed and the blockage constituted; and registration at the Land Registry cannot proceed without the identifier. A delay at the first step propagates through every subsequent one.

This is the principal reason that timetables communicated in the abstract — quoted as though the process begins on the day funds are transferred — tend to understate the real position. The clock starts earlier.

What a Turkish Bank Is Obliged to Verify

Banks operating in Türkiye are subject to BDDK regulation and to the anti-money-laundering obligations imposed by Law No. 5549 and administered by MASAK. Account opening for a non-resident foreign national is accordingly not a clerical exercise. The institution is required to identify the customer, to understand the intended nature and purpose of the relationship, and to establish the origin of the funds to be deposited.

For a citizenship-route deposit the requirements extend further, because the bank must in addition issue the blockage commitment letter to the BDDK confirming that the qualifying amount is held and will not be withdrawn for the three-year term. That letter is a regulatory instrument, and a bank will issue it only where its own compliance requirements have been satisfied in full.

The practical consequence is that the strength of the source-of-funds documentation assembled at the outset determines how the account opening proceeds. Documentation that traces the funds coherently to an identifiable and lawful origin is the single most significant factor. Where that trail is incomplete, the difficulty presents itself at the bank rather than at the citizenship application, and it is considerably harder to remedy after the fact.

Access and Oversight of the Account

An investor placing a substantial sum with a foreign institution, in a jurisdiction whose language they may not read, is entitled to see the account. In our practice, clients receive full online banking access to the account opened in their name and can verify the balance and the blockage at any time throughout the three-year period. The account belongs to the client; the representation exists to constitute and maintain it, not to stand between the client and their capital.

Acting Through a Representative

Turkish law permits these steps to be undertaken by an attorney acting under a notarised power of attorney (vekâletname), which is the ordinary arrangement where the investor cannot be present in Türkiye for each stage. The scope of the authority granted is defined in the instrument itself, and it should be drawn to cover the specific acts contemplated and no more. A power of attorney is a significant grant of authority and its terms warrant the same attention as the investment it facilitates.

The Foundation Determines the Structure

The tax number and the bank account are described as preliminary steps, but they are the points at which the case is either placed on a sound documentary footing or is not. Applications that encounter difficulty at a later stage can very often be traced back to a compromise made at this one.

This article provides general information on Turkish law and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Requirements applied by individual institutions vary and are subject to change. To review the preliminary requirements applicable to your circumstances, book a consultation with Av. Abdulsamed Burak Turak.