Turkish Citizenship Terms and Features

The Turkish passport is ranked 39th in the world according to the 2018 classification, and its holder is entitled to travel to 69 countries without a visa, and to 33 countries by obtaining a visa upon arrival automatically, and both Mexico and Sri Lanka grant visas to Turks online directly and routinely.

Among the countries that completely exempt Turkish citizens from obtaining a visa, there are 8 Arab countries: Iraq, Libya, Morocco, the Sultanate of Oman, Palestine, Jordan, Qatar, Tunisia.

In addition to the mentioned Arab countries, other countries also grant visa-free entry to Turkish passport holders, namely Albania, Antigora and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Chile, Colombia , Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Macau, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Micronesia, Moldova, Montenegro, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Louis, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Saint Vincent and Grenada, Swaziland, Trinada, Ukraine, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela .

As for the countries that routinely grant visas to holders of Turkish passports upon arrival, they are Comoros, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Sudan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Dominica, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Maldives, and the islands. Marshals, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nepal, Palau, Samoa, Seychelles, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, East Timor, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

As for the countries that impose visas on Turkish citizens, they are 94 countries, and a large number of them grant Turkish passport holders visas on easy terms and without obstacles.

Among those countries are the European Union countries, which are still in negotiations between Ankara and the Union to lift the entry visa for Turkish citizens, and it is possible that these negotiations will result in granting the right to enter Europe without a visa for the holder of the Turkish passport in the future.

It is worth noting that investors can obtain Turkish citizenship in return for a real estate investment of at least 250 thousand US dollars, provided that it is not sold for three years, and under the real estate ownership, the owner has the right to apply for Turkish citizenship.

How to obtain Turkish citizenship:

Purchasing a property with a value exceeding $250,000, instead of the previous value of $1 million, provided that the property is not sold within a period of 3 years.
Amending the condition of depositing a sum of money in Turkish banks in exchange for citizenship, as the condition now stipulates the deposit of $500,000 instead of $3 million.
Reducing the value of the fixed investment in exchange for citizenship from two million dollars to 500 thousand dollars.
Establishing a project that provides job opportunities for 50 Turkish citizens, after it was previously required to employ 100 citizens.

Operational procedures:

According to the new amendments, which entered into force and were published in the Official Gazette, every foreigner who meets the required conditions can apply for Turkish citizenship.
Forming a committee consisting of representatives from the Ministries of Interior, Treasury, Finance, Environment, Urban Development, Labor, Social and Family Services, Industry and Technology, to monitor and follow up the affairs of applicants for Turkish citizenship.
Opening special offices to receive applications for Turkish citizenship and run their affairs, and these offices will be subject to the supervision of the committee composed of the mentioned ministries.

Meaning and reason for the decision

The exchange rate of the Turkish lira has changed from a decline this year, reaching 40% of its value, especially after the recent crisis in relations with the United States, amid Turkish efforts to attract foreign investments to restore the balance of the currency.
Turkish officials have spoken more than once about the government’s intention to reduce the amount required to obtain citizenship after numerous claims, that the government is considering reducing the amount of real estate purchase to 300 thousand dollars.
The Turkish government aimed to attract investments and achieve preference over other emerging markets, and the Turkish Central Bank had raised the interest rate by a large percentage a few days ago to reach 24%, which is much higher than its counterpart in Egypt, and the amount required to purchase Turkish real estate to obtain citizenship (250 thousand dollars) is less than the amount required to obtain Egyptian citizenship (300 thousand dollars), which is expected to attract investors and businessmen wishing to obtain another nationality, especially since the Turkish passport is stronger than its Egyptian counterpart, as the Egyptian passport ranks 72 , while the Turkish passport is ranked No. 39 in the list of the most powerful passports around the world for the year
2018.