Turkish Citizenship & Investment Legal Updates
Short, dated notes on changes to the law and regulations affecting Turkish citizenship by investment, real estate, and tax residency. Each item cites its official source.
- Tax
Türkiye enacts a 20-year foreign-income tax exemption
Law No. 7582 added Mükerrer Article 20/D to Income Tax Law No. 193, exempting qualifying new Turkish tax residents from income tax on foreign-source income for up to twenty years. It applies to persons settling in Türkiye from 1 January 2026 who had no domicile or tax liability in Türkiye during the preceding three calendar years. The implementing Communiqué (Series No. 333) followed on 4 July 2026 (Resmî Gazete No. 33300).
Official source: Law No. 7582 · Resmî Gazete No. 33270 · 4 June 2026
- Regulation
Bare land excluded from the real-estate citizenship route
A Presidential Decision amended Article 20 of the Citizenship Law Implementation Regulation so that real estate qualifying for citizenship must carry kat mülkiyeti or kat irtifakı, or bear a building — bare land (arsa/tarla) no longer qualifies. The USD 400,000 threshold was unchanged.
Official source: Cumhurbaşkanı Kararı No. 7938 · Resmî Gazete No. 32397 · 12 Dec 2023
- Regulation
Real-estate citizenship threshold raised to USD 400,000
A Presidential Decision amended Article 20(2)(b) of the Implementation Regulation, changing the real-estate figure from USD 250,000 to USD 400,000 (based on the TKGM-appraised value), and added a private-pension (BES) investment route. The USD 400,000 real-estate change took effect one month after publication, on 13 June 2022.
Official source: Cumhurbaşkanı Kararı No. 5554 · Resmî Gazete No. 31834 · 13 May 2022
- Regulation
Foreign-currency citizenship investments converted via the Central Bank
A Presidential Decision set that foreign-currency amounts used for the investment must be sold to a bank operating in Türkiye and converted to Turkish lira at the Central Bank (TCMB) rate, with the Turkish-lira proceeds held for the three-year period. The dollar thresholds were unchanged.
Official source: Cumhurbaşkanı Kararı No. 5072 · Resmî Gazete No. 31711 · 6 Jan 2022
- Regulation
Notarized promise-to-sell recognized for the real-estate route
A Presidential Decision amended Article 20(2)(b) of the Implementation Regulation to recognize a notarized promise-to-sell (noter satış vaadi) contract — for a property with kat mülkiyeti or kat irtifakı, at the USD 250,000 real-estate level then in force — with a three-year no-transfer annotation on the title.
Official source: Cumhurbaşkanı Kararı No. 418 · Resmî Gazete No. 30618 · 7 Dec 2018
These notes are general legal information, not legal advice, and reflect the position at the date shown. For advice specific to your situation, book a consultation with Av. Abdulsamed Burak Turak.