Koca & Ersöz Hukuk Bürosu / Anwaltskanzlei

TURKISH CITIZENSHIP ACQUISITION THROUGH OPENING A DEPOSIT ACCOUNT

Turkish Citizenship by Investment Program offers options of 6 investment tools to foreign investors. Depositing at least USD 500,000 or equivalent of foreign currency in banks operating in Turkey, provided that the deposit is held in the bank for three years, is one of the options in demand by foreign investors due to its investment advantages. This investment tool enables foreign nationals to acquire Turkish citizenship through a Presidential Decree, which is regulated under sub-paragraph (ç) of the second paragraph of Article 20 of the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law (“Regulation”).

It has been regulated that, investments can only be made in foreign currency, and not in Turkish Lira. Before the transaction is made, the total money brought by the foreigner in foreign currency shall be sold to Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey through a bank operating in Turkey.
After the deposit account is opened and the sufficient amount of money is blocked in the bank account for 3 years, an application should be submitted to the bank where the deposit account is held or directly to the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, with a petition prepared by the foreign person or by the attorney of the foreign person, and a proof must be presented evidencing that the deposit is blocked in the bank account in accordance with the legislation. The account holder will be able to receive interest and similar returns on the bank deposit, which can be regarded as an advantage of this investment tool for the foreign investor.
If Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency decides that the conditions are met, a residence permit application should be submitted to the General Directorate of Migration Management, receiving a “Certificate of Conformity”. After obtaining a short-term residence permit issued in accordance with subparagraph (j) of the first paragraph of Article 31 of Law No. 6458, the citizenship application must be submitted to the Provincial Directorate of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs.

When a foreign national’s eligibility is evaluated in terms of fulfilling necessary conditions for acquiring Turkish citizenship, it’s critical that the information prepared and documents presented are handled with great care in order to get an approval of the citizenship application. Therefore, foreign investors may choose to work with specialized attorneys, whose expertise and knowledge will ensure that the probable complications will be cleared up along with the process.

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