Investing in Turkey has become a valuable matter for many foreign investors, as it is considered a golden option due to its privileges, perhaps  the most important of which is “ Obtaining Turkish citizenship through investment”  

In Fanar Realty we monitored official Turkish statistics about the number of foreign investors who obtained Turkish citizenship reaching more than 9000 investors a few years after the announcement of this decision, and only two years after the approval of amendments to the law on obtaining Turkish Citizenship through investment, which carried additional benefits and encouraging foreign investors, the most important of which is related to real investment in Turkey. 

The number of foreign investors who obtained Turkish citizenship 

According to an official announcement issued by the General Directorate of Civil Affairs in Turkey, there have been talking about 9,011 foreign investors obtaining Turkish citizenship since the announcement of the amendments to the naturalization law for foreign investors in September 2018.

As for the number of investors who acquired Turkish citizenship only in the first seventh months of 2020, it reached about 2000 foreign investors.

Fanar Realty has monitored three announcements issued by the Civil Affairs Department in Turkey in regard to the number of those who obtained Turkish citizenship through real estate investment, and we have organized this in the following table:

 

Duration

The number of those who obtained Turkish citizenship by investment

From September 2018 to January 2019

2700 investors

2019

4311 investors 

From January 2020 to July 2020

2000 investors 

In general, the acceptance of the naturalization of foreign investors in Turkey was announced in July 2016, after a series of legal reforms on investment, especially real estate ownership in Turkey by foreign buyers and investors, which leads to a large wave of foreign investments flowing into Turkey.

There are also other reasons for increasing investments in Turkey which we will discuss in later paragraphs of this article in detail.

 

The volume of foreign investments for holders of Turkish citizenship

The value of foreign investments in Turkey for those who obtain Turkish citizenship amounted to 3 billion, 261 million, and 500 thousand US dollars.

Turkish laws provide for granting citizenship to foreign investors in exchange for a fixed volume of investment in certain sectors and within conditions and controls specific to each investment.

The most important of them are:

  • Real estate investment of $ 250,000 with a mortgage of the property against sale for a period of 3 years

  • A bank deposit in a bank in Turkey is at least 500 thousand US dollars.

  • Invest in Turkey with at least 500 thousand US dollars.

  • Purchase of at least $ 500,000 in government bonds.

  • Providing job opportunities for at least 50 Turkish citizens.

Currencies and real estate are evaluated based on the exchange rate against the US dollar in the Central Bank of Turkey on the day of purchasing the financial asset or property.

 

For more information, you can read an article: Turkish citizenship in return for buying a property in Turkey

Investor incentives to obtain Turkish citizenship

This large number of foreign investors in Turkey who were granted Turkish citizenship did not come out of anywhere. Rather, it is the result of a package of incentives in Turkey, the most important of which are:

  • To allow Turkey to naturalize foreigners and grant them full rights, and to encourage it permanently to do so

  • Continuous growth in the Turkish economic sector

  • Turkey mediates the continents of the world and its geographical position strategy 

  • The political and social stability in Turkey

  • The existence of laws that encourage preserving the freedoms and rights of Turkish citizens

  • Increasing the percentage of the Arab community in Turkey, which opens a large consumer market for Arab investors, who represent the largest proportion of foreign investors in Turkey

  • The strength and advantages of the Turkish passport

Challenges of the foreign investment sector in Turkey

There is no doubt that investment in Turkey, like any economic sector in any country on this earth, is affected by many variables, but the balance of strength of any investment in the state’s ability to spare it the negative effects of the changes, and this is what is known as the challenges of the foreign investment sector in Turkey, and we will address the most important challenges:

Corona crisis and its negative effects

The Corona crisis in Turkey has caused a negative impact on foreigners' appetite to invest in Turkey due to the temporary suspension of flights, import and export, and other commercial and tourism sectors that have decreased in demand during the second third of 2020

The challenge comes in the possibility of reactivating foreign investments, especially in the real estate sector, which is the most active of these economic sectors and is the most attractive option for foreign investors for many considerations, especially since the property is a safe portfolio of funds away from the fluctuations of the exchange rate in Turkey, in addition to the limit. The minimum for real estate investment for a candidate for Turkish citizenship is much lower than the minimum limits for other investments, as you noted in what we mentioned in the previous paragraph.

In addition to what was previously mentioned, real estate offers to obtain Turkish citizenship did not stop during the spread of the virus. Rather, procedural facilities increased and most transactions turned into "online transactions" that can be completed from home.

 

Also read: The impact of the Coronavirus on the real estate market in Turkey

But in general, Turkey has demonstrated flexibility in facing the crisis of the spread of the Coronavirus and has contributed to limiting its negative effects and has reached the stage of implementing development plans for the post-Corona stage.

 

The exchange rate of the Turkish lira against other currencies

The Turkish lira is facing a crisis in the exchange rate against the US dollar and other currencies, as the Turkish lira lost approximately 23% of its value in 2020 during the first eight months of the year.

Where the exchange rate of the Turkish lira against the dollar changed from 5.97 at the beginning of 2020 to 7.34 at the end of the eighth month of the same year

The question may be: If the investment is in US dollars, what is the effect of exchange rate fluctuations?

It is no secret to the observer that this effect is limited, but we are discussing it in order to inform you of the most accurate details regarding the investment challenges nominated for Turkish citizenship.

The effect has many types:

  • On Residents of Turkey who deal in Turkish lira:

This increases the amount required to be transferred to the dollar, for example, the investment of 500 thousand US dollars was equivalent at the beginning of this year about 2,985,000 Turkish liras, while at the end of August of the same year it amounted to 3,670,000 Turkish liras.

This increase is costed by the foreign investor residing in Turkey and who deals in the Turkish lira. As for those who deal in other currencies from outside Turkey, the effect will be on them according to the changes in the exchange rate of their local currencies against the US dollar.

  • On Investors by a deposit in a bank in Turkey:

The monetary policy in Turkey is based on the principle of resisting raising the interest rate as much as possible, and this procedure may be harmless to ordinary depositors who can withdraw their balances as soon as they feel in danger of any collapse of the Turkish currency, but for those who deposit 500 thousand US dollars, there is a deposit required for a period of 3 years. Consecutive, which means it is difficult to withdraw the balance until after the aforementioned period has passed

But in general, this is not considered a real threat to the foreign investor, as the Turkish economy does not face real risks and is characterized by seasonal growth and the presence of many innovative sectors that achieve a continuous recovery of the Turkish economy.

  • On Investors in the real estate sector in Turkey:

There is no negative impact of the change in the exchange rate of the Turkish lira with real estate prices in Turkey, as the real estate evaluation in Turkey is in the Turkish lira and not in any other currency, which means the safety of the real estate sector from the impact of the exchange rate fluctuations in Turkey.

The government has many economic plans to overcome the fluctuations in the Turkish lira's exchange rate, especially since most of the reasons for these fluctuations are due to some pending political problems between Turkey and the United States of America, and not due to weakness or stagnation in the Turkish economy.

It is well known that political problems can be overcome and diplomatic channels can be found to solve them.

The need for reforms and amendments to investment laws

The organizational structure of the Turkish state believes in flexibility in laws and procedures and has witnessed during close periods of time many amendments in investment laws and incentives for them, and Turkey's economic plans always focus on attracting more foreign investors into Turkey.

Also, the objectives of investment attraction do not focus on quantity as much as they focus on quality, as economic plans target the world's wealthy and well-known, and influential businessmen in their countries in order to open the way for them to work in Turkey, settle there and obtain its nationality.

Turkey is also working continuously to abolish and shorten Routine procedures, especially with regard to the transactions of obtaining Turkish citizenship through investment.

The period of the spread of the Coronavirus in the country had a positive impact on the experience of working remotely and the ability to complete many legal transactions and procedures online without the need for regular routine.

What does Al Fanar offer to foreign real estate investors?

Al-Fanar Real Estate provides foreign investors with distinguished services to obtain Turkish citizenship through real estate investment, and we would like to inform you about our most important services in this aspect:

Real estate ownership services

It starts from real estate tours to signing the ownership contract, passing all steps between the two phases, including real estate consultancy.

legal services

Extracting the real estate appraisal document in Turkey

Extracting the ownership instrument “tapu”

Obtaining all necessary documents to own or obtain Turkish citizenship

Follow up the Turkish citizenship file with you directly

 

Watch investor experiences with Al-Fanar

Those who are best able to talk about Fanar's services and their advantages are those who dealt with them and obtained Turkish citizenship through real estate investment.

Check out customer experiences on our YouTube channel.

Our real estate offers are distinguished

Fanar Realty has an extensive list of real estate offers suitable for obtaining Turkish citizenship, including:

 

Project F1901

The project is located in Buyukcekmece

It has 327 apartments

Its prices are very suitable for obtaining Turkish citizenship

Find out more details about this project

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Project F1611 

The project is located in the Halkali district

It has 390 apartments

Its prices are very suitable for obtaining Turkish citizenship

Find out more details about this project

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You can also contact Fanar Realty or send your name and contact number to inform you about the strongest real estate offers to obtain Turkish citizenship