Turkey's citizenship-by-investment programme grants full citizenship directly, not just residence, for a minimum $400,000 real estate investment held for 3 years. Turkey also holds an American E-2 investor treaty, alongside Grenada the only citizenship-by-investment route to it, though the UK does not hold this treaty at all.
TL;DR · LAST REVIEWED 10 July 2026
- Turkey's real estate route requires a minimum $400,000 investment, raised from $250,000 in June 2022, held for 3 continuous years, annotated as a sale restriction on the property's title deed, the TAPU.
- Unlike Portugal, Greece and the UAE, Turkey grants citizenship directly, not a residence permit; there is no separate naturalisation step and no minimum residency requirement before or after the investment.
- Alternative routes include a $500,000 bank deposit, $500,000 in government bonds, or $500,000 in business capital creating at least 50 jobs, each also held for 3 years.
KEY FACTS
- Turkey's real estate route requires a minimum $400,000 investment, raised from $250,000 in June 2022, held for 3 continuous years, annotated as a sale restriction on the property's title deed, the TAPU.
- Unlike Portugal, Greece and the UAE, Turkey grants citizenship directly, not a residence permit; there is no separate naturalisation step and no minimum residency requirement before or after the investment.
- Alternative routes include a $500,000 bank deposit, $500,000 in government bonds, or $500,000 in business capital creating at least 50 jobs, each also held for 3 years.
- Turkey holds a bilateral E-2 investor treaty with the United States, active since 1990, making Turkish citizens, alongside Grenadian citizens, eligible to apply for the American E-2 visa; the United Kingdom holds no equivalent treaty.
- A Turkish passport does not provide Schengen Area visa-free access; Turkish citizens require a Schengen visa, though a 5-year multi-entry C-2 Schengen visa option is available to reduce repeat applications.
The one programme in this comparison that grants citizenship, not residence
This is the central distinction worth understanding before comparing Turkey against Portugal, Greece or the UAE, all covered elsewhere on this site. Those three programmes grant a residence permit; reaching citizenship through them, where possible at all, requires a separate, later naturalisation process on top of the investment. Turkey's programme, launched in 2017 under its Citizenship by Investment framework, grants Turkish citizenship directly and immediately upon approval of the qualifying investment, with no separate residency period, language test, or integration examination required either before or after. A short-term investor residence permit is obtained as part of the application process itself, but this is a procedural step within the citizenship application, not a separate multi-year residency requirement of the kind Portugal or Greece impose.
The $400,000 property route
The dominant route is a real estate purchase, or combination of purchases, totalling at least $400,000, a threshold raised from $250,000 in June 2022 and unchanged since. The property, or properties, must be purchased from a Turkish national or a Turkish-incorporated company, not from another foreign national, and the value must be confirmed by an SPK-licensed government appraiser rather than simply the purchase price stated in a sale agreement. Eligible asset types include residential, commercial and land, though land generally needs either an existing qualifying building or a building permit. Once the purchase completes, a restriction on sale is annotated on the title deed, the TAPU, for a minimum of 3 years; selling before that period expires triggers automatic revocation of the citizenship granted on that basis, while selling after the 3-year period has no effect on citizenship already granted. Spouses and children under 18 are included in the same application at no additional investment; adult children require their own separate qualifying investment.
Alternative routes and processing
Beyond real estate, Turkey offers three further routes, each requiring a higher $500,000 threshold: a bank deposit held in a Turkish bank for 3 years, an equivalent investment in Turkish government bonds held for the same period, or a capital investment of at least $500,000 in a Turkish business that creates at least 50 jobs for Turkish citizens. Processing timelines are consistently reported as among the fastest of any citizenship-by-investment programme covered on this site, commonly 3 to 8 months from a complete application to citizenship being granted, with Turkey having introduced same-day biometric submission in place of the week-long in-country stay previously required.
What the Turkish passport does and does not open up
A Turkish passport provides visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to approximately 110 to 120 countries, a mid-range figure by comparison with the Caribbean five or the strongest EU passports. The clearest limitation is Europe itself: Turkish citizens do not have visa-free access to the Schengen Area and must apply for a Schengen visa for any European travel, though a 5-year multi-entry C-2 Schengen visa option, once obtained, reduces the burden of repeat applications for frequent travellers. What partly offsets this limitation, and is the programme's most distinctive feature, is Turkey's bilateral E-2 investor treaty with the United States, in force since 1990 and unmodified since. Turkish citizens, whether by birth or by investment, are eligible to apply for the American E-2 nonimmigrant investor visa on the same basis as any other Turkish national, since Turkey's treaty status, unlike some Caribbean programmes' equivalent provisions, does not appear to carry the same specific multi-year domicile requirement for investment-based naturalisers that applies under Grenada's route, covered in the dedicated E-2 guide linked below; applicants should still confirm current USCIS and State Department guidance on this point directly, since treaty-investor eligibility rules can be revised.
Why the UK angle matters here specifically
The United Kingdom holds no E-2 investor treaty with the United States, meaning British citizenship alone never provides a route to the E-2 visa, regardless of the size of any American business investment a UK citizen might make. This is precisely the gap that leads some UK citizens to look at Turkish citizenship by investment specifically for its E-2 angle rather than for the Turkish passport's own travel value. Turkey permits dual citizenship without requiring renunciation of any existing nationality, and the United Kingdom places no restriction on British citizens holding additional citizenships, covered in the dedicated dual citizenship guide linked below, so acquiring Turkish citizenship through this route does not affect a UK citizen's British nationality in any way. Turkey imposes no wealth tax and no dedicated inheritance tax, though general inheritance provisions apply at rates from 1% to 30%, and capital gains on property held over 5 years are exempt from income tax, details worth factoring in alongside the citizenship decision itself for anyone treating the qualifying property as a genuine long-term asset rather than a pure citizenship cost.
RELATED GUIDES
DISCLAIMER
This article is editorial information, not immigration, legal, tax or investment advice. Rules, thresholds and fees change and should be verified against the official sources cited below before acting. Kael Tripton Ltd receives no fee, commission or referral payment in connection with any programme described on this page.
Frequently asked questions
Does Turkish citizenship by investment grant citizenship immediately, or residence first?
Citizenship directly. Unlike Portugal, Greece or the UAE's investment programmes, which grant residence permits requiring a separate later naturalisation process, Turkey's programme grants full citizenship upon approval of the qualifying investment, with no separate residency period required.
How much does Turkish citizenship by investment cost?
A minimum $400,000 in real estate, held for 3 years, is the most common route. Alternative routes require $500,000 in a bank deposit, government bonds, or business capital creating at least 50 jobs.
Can UK citizens get the American E-2 visa through Turkish citizenship?
Turkish citizens, including those who naturalise by investment, are eligible to apply for the American E-2 investor visa, since Turkey holds a bilateral treaty with the United States. The UK holds no such treaty, so this route is unavailable to British citizens directly.
Does a Turkish passport give visa-free access to Europe?
No. Turkish citizens require a Schengen visa to travel to the EU's Schengen Area, though a 5-year multi-entry Schengen visa option is available to reduce the burden of repeated applications.
Do I have to live in Turkey to keep citizenship gained through investment?
No. There is no residency requirement before, during or after obtaining Turkish citizenship by investment. The only ongoing condition on the real estate route is holding the qualifying property for the 3-year restriction period.
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