Citizenship in Turkey

Naturalisation timelines, tests, and dual nationality

Turkey offers two very different citizenship routes: ordinary naturalisation after five years of continuous residence, which is discretionary and includes a Turkish language and integration assessment, and citizenship by investment, which is the country's best-known programme and is decided on documentary criteria in months rather than years.

Citizenship by investment

The programme has run since 2017 and is administered against published investment thresholds. The property route is the most used: a purchase commonly valued at around USD 400,000, supported by an official valuation report, with an annotation placed on the title deed undertaking not to sell for three years. The threshold has been raised more than once and the older USD 250,000 figure is out of date.

The alternatives are financial rather than real: commonly around USD 500,000 held as a bank deposit for three years, invested in government debt instruments, placed in qualifying investment or venture capital funds, or committed as fixed capital investment. There is also an employment route based on creating a published number of jobs.

Applicants first obtain a certificate of conformity from the relevant ministry, then a short-term residence permit on the investment basis, then apply for citizenship. The spouse and dependent children are included. The process is commonly measured in months, which is fast by international comparison, but the amounts are substantial and property valuations are scrutinised.

Ordinary naturalisation

• Five years of continuous residence in Turkey immediately before the application, with absences within published limits.
• An intention to settle, evidenced by matters such as property, business activity, investment or family in the country.
• Sufficient Turkish language ability and evidence of integration, assessed in an interview conducted by a provincial commission.
• An income or occupation sufficient to support the applicant and any dependants.
• No disease constituting a public health obstacle, and no conduct contrary to public order or national security.
• Even where every condition is satisfied, naturalisation is discretionary: meeting the criteria creates no entitlement, and applications are refused without a detailed statement of reasons.

Citizenship through marriage

A foreigner married to a Turkish citizen for at least three years may apply, provided the marriage subsists, the couple live as a family unit, and there is no conduct incompatible with the marriage. This route is examined closely and interviews with both spouses are standard.

Dual nationality

Turkish law permits dual nationality, and acquiring Turkish citizenship does not by itself require renouncing another. Whether the other nationality survives depends on that country's own law, and several states do not permit it.

Official sources

• Directorate General of Civil Registration and Nationality
• Investment Office — citizenship by investment

Checked against these pages in September 2026. Fees and processing times change without notice — confirm before you act.

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