Foreign investors choose Turkish real estate more frequently than earlier. This trend affects directly on sales growth. Turkish properties are in demand among buyers not only as an investment real estate, but also as buy-to-move property which lets its owners reside in a country with a warm comfortable climate. To move here for permanent residence, a Residence Permit or Turkish Citizenship is required. In 2022, Turkish legislation was amended regarding the right to obtain a Residence Permit and Citizenship for foreign homebuyers.
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Visa Requirements in Turkey
The country remains visa free for Russian residents. It is required only to have a passport for travelling abroad valid for at least 4 months. Cov-19-related restrictions on visiting the country have been completely turned off since June 1st, 2022. Russian residents are permitted to stay in the country for 60 successive days during half a year, or 90 intermittent days during 6 months. Thus, the total duration of a stay in the country can’t exceed 180 days per year. You can’t live in Turkey permanently with such visa, this is why a Residence Permit is required.
How to Get a Residence Permit in Turkey
There are 3 most common and easy types of Turkish Residence Permits: Tourist, Marriage, and Real Estate. In the summer of 2022, changes were made to the legislation that made it more difficult to obtain a tourist visa and a residence permit when purchasing a property. These changes are made due to visa issuing restrictions in several areas. The reason is the excessive numbers of foreign citizens coming to Turkey because of the difficult political setting in their own countries. Restrictions on tourist Residence Permits have affected a number of popular resorts, including several districts of Istanbul. In total, these restrictions affected about 1700 areas. A complete list of such areas is available on the official Government of Turkey website.
However, the easiest way to legalize in Turkey for foreigners is purchasing real estate still.
Residence Permit via TAPU
Currently, a minimum cost of purchased real estate has been introduced in the major cities of the country. If you buy a property paying not less than the amount set, you can apply for a Residence Permit. The minimum property cost is $75,000. The new rules apply to 30 areas and districts. It is likely that in the future this list may both expand or shrink. For another 51 provinces, the price threshold for the Turkish real estate letting obtain a Residence Permit is $50,000.
It is mandatory that you use your property as a place where you live. Properties purchased as an investment and for subsequent renting out don’t allow the owners to apply for a Residence Permit.
If the property’s price is lower, you can apply for a tourist visa. Usually, homeowners do not receive a refusal in such cases. The usual tourist Residence Permit is issued for a period of 2 years with the right to extend it. However, if you apply for citizenship, the period of residence on such a Residence Permit is not taken into account when calculating the number of years spent in the country. According to the general rules, foreigners can apply for it after 5 years of living in Turkey and passing the language exam.
What Costs Should Be Paid for Residence Permit
The main expenses are the service payment, the purchase of an insurance policy, and notary services fee. Insurance can cost from $50 per year, and its amount depends on the services it covers. Typically, insurance is more expensive for children and the elderly persons. The service payment is calculated online when you submit documents for a specific type of Residence Permit.
What you need to consider when going to apply for Turkish citizenship
The investment citizenship program was also amended. Now you’re required to invest at least $500,000 in Turkish economy or become the owner of an expensive property. The requirements for obtaining citizenship if you purchase real estate are quite simple:
- You should purchase real estate worth more than $400,000. Previously, $250,000 was enough.
- Sign the purchase contract with a Turkish resident or a Turkish law firm.
- Remain the property’s owner for the next 3 years.
The latter measure is invented to stimulate the welfare of local citizens, not expats. Together with the apartment’s owner, The passport of a Turkish citizen can be obtained by the property’s owner and his or her dependents: spouse or children.
Important Highlights
The requirement for those wishing to obtain citizenship when purchasing a residential property seem quite simple, there is a problem.
The issue is the assessment of real estate. For the immigration department, it is important that a property really costs at least $400,000. It is not enough to set this figure it in the purchase contract. There is no cadastral valuation of real estate in Turkey. The assessment of a property is carried out by a panel of experts. In fact, the buyer can find out the estimated (i.e., ‘real’ from the point of view of Turkish law) cost of a property after the transaction and after submitting papers for obtaining citizenship. It is wiser to evaluate a property before the transaction is completed, although this will require additional costs.
Summary
Real estate experts believe that an increase in the minimum price threshold for obtaining citizenship will not have any negative impact on the market. The amount of $400,000 is not critical for the majority of those planning to become Turkish citizens. Besides, not everyone is interested in citizenship, for which you need to pass a challenging local language exam. You can live in the country with a repeatedly renewed residence permit. In several regions of the country, the minimum purchase threshold is $75,000, which is not a very large amount against with the increasing Turkish real estate prices in the background. A Turkish residence permit remains a relatively cheap, easy, and reliable way to legally move to a warm seaside country. Highly qualified real estate agency experts will assist you in choosing the best property option according to your budget and wishes. They will also help you to obtain a residence permit.
