CHANGES IN THE LAW ON INVESTMENT CITIZENSHIP OF TURKEY

In accordance with Circular 2024/2 of the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre, changes have been made to the procedure for assessing the value of real estate that foreigners acquire for citizenship, and they have already come into effect as of March 4.

Now the real estate valuation will be carried out exclusively by the state organization GEDAŞ Gayrimenenkul Değerleme A.Ş., which is a subsidiary of the Housing Authority (TOKI). Applications for the valuation report will be submitted through the Web Tapu electronic cadastre system.

This applies only to transactions aimed at obtaining citizenship. For residence permits or other purposes, expert reports may be issued by any licensed appraisal agency.

Previously, expert appraisal was carried out by certified organizations of the Banking Regulation Agency (BDDK), supervised by the Capital Markets Board of the Republic of Turkey (SPK).

What will change for the investor?

The amendments have been made to combat violations by private companies so that the valuation process becomes more manageable for the state. It may now take longer to obtain a valuation report due to the increased administrative burden.

The amendments were adopted recently and the practice of their application has not yet been established.

The valuation of real estate for citizenship purposes must exceed the minimum entry threshold under the terms of the program, which is $400,000. Thus, it is not only the amount paid to the seller that matters, but also the value determined by the appraisal commission. For example, if an investor purchases an apartment for a market value of $550,000 and the appraisal establishes its value at $350,000, it means that the investor does not have sufficient grounds for citizenship.

We recommend that you consult our experts when selecting real estate. We understand the legal aspects of the law, keep abreast of trends and changes in the rules, so we will close your case turnkey.

As part of our citizenship assistance, we will carry out the following steps:

1. we will study your situation and check for possible risks of rejection;
2. we will prepare all the necessary documents and submit applications to the relevant authorities;
3. through our partner brokers we will help you to find a suitable property and check its legal cleanliness;
4. we will formalize the transaction and register the title;
5. we will apply with an application and a package of documents to the authorized state authorities;
6. if necessary, we will help with opening a bank account in Turkey, select a suitable bank, prepare documents and pass internal compliance checks.