Turkish citizenship is acquired in two ways: birth or later. The subject of this article is the acquisition of Turkish Citizenship by exceptional circumstances.
Exceptional circumstances for the acquisition of Turkish citizenship are regulated in Article 12 of the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901. According to this; the foreigners specified below can acquire Turkish citizenship by the President’s decision, provided that they do not pose an obstacle in terms of national security and public order. (Article 12/1) Counted as;
- bringing Turkey to industrial facilities or scientific, technological, economic, social, sporting, cultural and artistic area of outstanding service to the people sooner or later will be considered and reasoned proposals made by relevant ministries about them. (Article 12/1-a)
- foreigners who have a residence permit pursuant to subparagraph (j) of the first paragraph of Article 31 of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection dated 04.04.2013 and numbered 6458, and foreigners holding a Turquoise Card, and their foreign spouse and their minor or dependent foreign children. (Article 12/1-b)
- persons deemed necessary for naturalization.
- persons accepted as immigrants.
In accordance with Article 12/2, the requests of those who have an obstacle in terms of national security and public order are rejected by the Ministry. The exceptional acquisition of Turkish citizenship, the documents required for the application and the procedures to be performed are specified in the Regulation On The Application Of The Turkish Citizenship Law. According to the regulation, the foreigner can acquire Turkish citizenship exceptionally.
Article 20 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law, which determines the exceptional circumstances regarding the acquisition of Turkish citizenship, was amended with the Presidential Decree No. 106 published in the Official Gazette dated 19 September 2018 and entered into force.
With the amendments brought by the Decree, it has become very easy to meet the prerequisites for being a Turkish citizen by reducing the numerical limits for capital and real estate investments and employment. A foreigner who meets any of the following conditions will be able to acquire Turkish citizenship by the President’s decision within the scope of item (b) of the first paragraph of Article 12 of the Law.
- Determined by the Ministry of Economy to have made a fixed capital investment of at least 500,000 USD,
- Determined by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization provided that the immovable property is not sold for three years, purchased the amount of at least 250,000 USD,
- Determined by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security that it has created employment for at least 50 people,
- Deposits in the amount of at least 500,000 USD deposited in banks operating in Turkey that they must keep for three years as determined by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency,
- Determined by the Undersecretariat of Treasury that they purchased the government debt instruments of at least 500,000 USD on condition that they keep them for three years.
- it is determined by the Capital Markets Board that he has received a real estate investment fund or venture capital investment fund participation share of at least 500,000 USD and holds for three years. Foreigners will be able to acquire Turkish Citizenship exceptionally.
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