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Some foreigners can obtain Turkish citizenship in some exceptional cases, if they do not pose a threat to national security and do not threaten public order, such as:

• Everyone who contributes and is expected to contribute to the effective and fundamental development of industry, technology, economic, social science, art, and sports.
• People who are believed that they must obtain Turkish citizenship.
• People who have been accepted as refugees.

Generally speaking, Turkish citizenship and the Turkish passport can be obtained in several ways, some of which fall under the investment clause, others fall under the clause, in addition to other situations through which the Turkish citizenship can be acquired.

1. Obtaining Turkish citizenship through investment according to one of the following items:

• Real estate ownership
• Financial deposit
• Investing in Turkey
• Hiring 50 Turkish citizens.

2. Obtaining Turkish citizenship through marriage or lineage
3. Other situations for obtaining Turkish citizenship

• Residence in Turkey with a 5-years work permit period
• Exceptional nationality which is usually granted to certain people like those with university certificate of who came to Turkey and live in it.

The Turkish passport is one of the strongest passports in the world, and while so many countries require a visa, they grant it for the holders of Turkish citizenship with easy terms. The Turkish passport holder can travel to more than 80 countries with a Turkish passport without a visa, or with a visa issued upon arrival at the airport.

Briefly, applying for Turkish citizenship and the stages of obtaining it are seven stages, but they can be summarized in the following four points:

Submitting the citizenship application request to the competent authority such as the investment office for investors and the Population Department for in case of marrying a Turkish person; after preparing the required documents and papers according to the case (investment, real estate ownership, Turkish origin...).

Then the request is transferred to the Population Department for necessary action.

The study and security research stage.

The decision-making stage.

The conditions for obtaining a Turkish passport and obtaining Turkish citizenship differ according to the different ways that lead to obtaining the citizenship (real estate investment - shares investment - employment Turkish citizens...), and these conditions all have these items in common:

The person is of one of the nationalities allowed to benefit from the nationality law.

The person must be an adult.

Adherence to the provisions of the Nationality Law and the details it falls under them.

The person should have no serious infectious diseases.

Clean criminal record.

According to the decision of granting Turkish citizenship to investors that was issued in 2018, obtaining Turkish citizenship in exchange for a real estate investment worth only $250,000 has become possible, the decision specified buying a property worth $250,000 at least and not selling it for three years; instead of one million US dollars in the previous decision, and according to the real estate ownership law, the owner has the right to apply for Turkish citizenship.

You can also obtain a Turkish passport by:

1.Investing in Turkey with a value of 500 thousand dollars.

2.Depositing $500,000 in a Turkish bank for 3 years.

3.Buying shares of government bonds worth $500,000.

4.Employing 50 Turkish citizens.

5.Turkish citizenship by residence permit for 5 years.

6.Turkish citizenship by marrying a Turkish person.

7. Turkish citizenship by proofing Turkish origins.

Right now, the Turkish passport holder can enter the following European countries: Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Albania, Macedonia, and Montenegro, and if Turkey joins the European Union, the option to enter European countries will be available of course.

The Turkish passport is one of the strongest passports in the world, and many of the countries that require visa grant holders of Turkish passport the visa with easy conditions.

The Turkish passport allows its holder to enter more than 43 countries without being required to obtain a visa in advance, including Qatar, Tunisia, Jordan, Iraq, Morocco, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, Paraguay, Serbia, South Africa, Thailand, Northern Cyprus, Ukraine, Uruguay.

The Turkish passport holder can also enter more than 40 countries with a visa issued upon arrival, the most important of which are: Kuwait, Bahrain, Lebanon, Sudan, and most African countries, in addition to three countries that issue an electronic visa online, they are Ivory Coast, Jamaica, and Mexico.

In 2020, the Turkish passport was ranked 24th in the world after the Corona pandemic, recording 86 points on the passport index, it allows its holder to enter more than 40 countries without obtaining an entry visa in advance, and holders of Turkish passport can enter more than 40 countries with an entry visa issued upon arrival, and more than three countries grant the Turkish passport holder an electronic entry visa online. It is expected that the Turkish passport will return to its rank after Corona which removed it from its previous position slightly.

Applying for the renewal of a work residence permit in Turkey is carried out personally in accordance with the law at the consulates of the Turkish republic in the country in which the applicant resides if outside of Turkey, and the new application requires a certain residency period inside Turkey, the applicant will get the result within one month, maximum.

The work residence is granted to foreigners who are employed in Turkish companies, where the company obtains a work permit from the Ministry of Labor for the foreigners to be employed, then applies for a work residence permit for the employee.  

There are several advantages for the work permit in Turkey such as obtaining health and social security for the worker as well as the worker's family, getting medical treatment at the expense of the country in all its hospitals, the children can enter various government schools, the worker can get a pension after sixty, also, the worker may obtain Turkish citizenship after five years of obtaining the work permit, it is also easily possible to apply for a visa from other countries, not to mention other advantages such as preserving the rights of the worker and ensuring that the worker obtains all the privileges.

The foreigner must be holding a valid passport and a residence permit for a period no less than six months, and if the foreigner does not hold a residence permit in Turkey, the application shall be submitted at the Turkish embassies in the foreigner's country or in the country in which the foreigner has been residing before coming to Turkey.

Turkish law stipulates that a fine of 17,000 Turkish liras on should be imposed on the employer, and the worker will be deported at the expense of the employer, also, the violations are doubled for every employer who has workers without a work permit.

A work permit is granted to the foreigners who are employed in Turkish companies, and it entitles them to work in the Turkish Republic and benefit from health insurance. If a father or mother obtains a work permit, then all family members (husband, wife, and children) have the right to obtain a residence permit, the duration of which is the same as the duration of the primary work residence permit of the father or the mother.

The cost of obtaining a work permit in Turkey is about 1,200 Turkish liras

The residence permit in Turkey is considered one of the short-term residence permits in Turkey.

The residence permit in Turkey can be Renewed by submitting the necessary documents to renew the tourist residence permit, which are:

-Residence permit application form

-A copy of the passport ratified by the notary.

- A copy of the current residence permit card.

- Four colored personal photos with white background

- Health insurance

- Address verification.

- A copy of the application fee payment receipt

A date of renewing the residence permit can be reserved for those outside Turkey, then they must come on the appointment date to the interview, taking into account that the Turkish state no longer accepts renewing the residence permit without an acceptable reason.

The short-term residence permit is rejected, canceled if granted, or may not be extended after expiring in the following cases:

• Failure to fulfill one of the conditions required to obtain a residence permit.
• If proven that the residence permit has been used contrary to the purpose for which it has been granted.
• If there is a deport decision outside of Turkey or if there is a decision that prevents the applicant from entering the country.
• Breaching the period required to reside outside Turkey for foreigners who entered it before.

The fees paid in the finance department differs according to the nationality of the applicant, as for the cost of health insurance, its value is determined depending on the age group of that person, where this matter varies greatly between one nationality and the other according to age groups.

Foreigners who have stayed in Turkey under a residence permit for no less than eight consecutive years, and foreigners who fulfill the conditions set by the Immigration Policy Foundation, are granted a long-term residence permit with the approval of the Turkish Ministry of Interior.

The applicant can obtain a long-term residence after fulfilling the conditions mentioned in Article 43 of the Foreigners and International Protection Act, which are:

• The foreigner has resided for at least eight continuous years in Turkey
• The foreigner should not have received any social assistance in the last three years.
• The foreigner has a source of income sufficient for his/her livelihood and as well as his/her family if any.
• The foreigner must have valid health insurance.
• The foreigner does not pose a threat to public order and security in Turkey.

1.    What documents do I need for Turkish residence?

There are some documents required to apply for a permanent residence permit in Turkey, they are:

• Residence permit application form.
• The original and an original copy of the passport or travel document.
• Submit the previous residence permit document.
• Two personal photos the same size as passport photos.
• Clean criminal record document.
• Medical Insurance (Sigorta).
• Permanent residence permit application.
• Home address.

The previous documents are submitted in one file to the Turkish Ministry of Interior - General Directorate of Immigration Management.

Real estate residence permit (residence in Turkey by buying a property) is usually granted for one year, also the wife and children under the age of 18 are entitled to obtain residence permits as they are considered to be the escorts of the owner.

Real estate residence permit in Turkey is one of the rights of the foreign real estate owners in Turkey, and it is granted by the Immigration Department in the province in which the person owns a property. It is not required to obtain a real estate residence permit in Turkey unless the property is intended for residence, also, there is no minimum price for the property is required, as any house in Turkey at any price allows its owner to obtain a real estate residence permit directly.

There are some documents required for the real estate residence permit in Turkey, they are:

• The title deed of the real estate.
• Earthquake insurance of the real estate.
• A passport that is valid for six months at least.
• A family statement of the children, translated into Turkish and ratified by the Turkish embassy in the home country.
• Health insurance in the Turkish territory for each family member.

The merchant card is issued in Turkey from the chambers of commerce centers in the Turkish provinces, you can apply for it through the company’s legal accountant, as the accountant fills out a special form signed by the concerned person, and then the documents are delivered to the responsible employee who receives the request, after that, within ten days, the card or a business license is sent to the address of the company.

Usually, the legal accountant's fees are predetermined and are not related to the percentage of profits of the company or institution, also, the legal accounting must be of Turkish nationality.

The chartered accountant is the person legally authorized to manage all kinds of accounts of companies and institutions, and the accountant's work includes company accounts, feasibility studies, cost studies, financing, and so on, also, the accountant is the party authorized to deal as a mediator between the company or institution and between the other legal institutions in the country such as the Tax Authority, Social Insurance, banks, etc.

Three different language alternatives can be offered.

Owners of expired passports, residence violators, and those who do not have a residential address are not entitled to obtain a tax number.

It is mainly different numbers from the residence card number or the identity number, and the tax number can be known after extracting it from the tax department.