Erdal Nuhbasa – Law and Consulting Firm – Legal Services
ERDAL NUHBASA
LAW AND CONSULTING FIRM
Erdal Nuhbasa – Law and Consulting Firm – Legal Services
ERDAL NUHBASA
LAW AND CONSULTING FIRM
If you want to buy a property in Turkey to get a short-term residency permit, you must meet certain conditions. The most important of these is that the value of the property to be purchased is greater than a certain amount. As this amount is updated at various times, you need to follow it constantly.
The Directorate General of Migration Management has changed the lower limit for short-term residence permits for foreigners. As of October 16, 2023, the lower limit of $75.000 dollars was increased to $200.000 dollars for the immovable properties that foreigners will buy in order to obtain a residence permit.
In short, as of October 16, 2023, the value of the real estate you have purchased in Turkey must be at least $200,000, so that you can apply for a short-term residence permit based on the purchase of real estate. The type of residence you apply for does not matter for this application. In other words, this rule will apply whether:
However, it should be noted that applications to be made on immovable properties whose acquisition date is before 16.10.2023 are not covered by this application. Therefore, the requirement of $75.000 for metropolitan cities and $50.000 for other cities will continue to be sought for previously acquired immovable properties, and the real estate valuation report will continue to be requested for these applications.
One of the most frequently asked questions by foreigners who want to reside in Turkey for a short period of time is, “Is it possible to get a residence by buying an apartment?” The very short answer to this question is: “Yes, it is possible.” You can obtain short-term residency by buying a property in Turkey, but it must meet the necessary requirements. 
Short-term residence permits are issued for a maximum of two years, but in practice the property owner is usually granted a one-year residence permit with the possibility of renewal if the property is not sold. The process of applying for a short-term residence permit by purchasing real estate is usually finalized within 2-3 weeks, except for the purchase process. However, different reasons, such as high volume of applications, requests for additional documents, or a lack of documents, may prolong this process. In such cases, it may take up to 90 days for the residence permit to be approved.
Pursuant to International Protection Law No. 6458, foreigners who have property in Turkey can apply for a short-term residence permit and obtain a residence permit in Turkey. The most important issue in this application is that the value of the property must be more than 200.000 dollars. This value should be determined by a “Valuation Report” or “Expertise Report” prepared by a CMB-licensed appraiser before the purchase is made. In other words, you must first have a Valuation Report for the property that you are going to buy and this value must be higher than the value stated above.
The price you paid when buying the property which will be written in the title deed, also must be more than 200,000 USD. The value to be shown on the title deed may be different from the value appraised in the Appraisal Report.
And here are other requirements;
Foreigners who want to apply for a short-term residency permit based on buying a property have to submit the following documents to the Provincial Migration Management (İl Göç İdaresi);
In Turkey, real estate appraisal is a special expert report that reflects the estimated value of the object based on certain characteristics. As the difference between the market value and the appraisal value became too high, the government introduced a number of regulations. From January 1, 2023, amendments came into force, which obliged the Land Registry and Cadastre Department to indicate the cadastral value of objects in the title deed. Even though it seems that there will be one more step for the buyers, this procedure has become good for the protection of investments of foreign investors from fraudulent schemes. Of course, it also became a big plus for the state to have the ability to correct and control taxation on real estate.
Having an appraisal value is necessarry:
1. For registration of citizenship under the state investment program,
2. For acquiring short-term residency by buying an apartment in Türkiye
Mandatory real estate appraisal in Turkey is required when making transactions for any type of property, such as apartments in modern residential complexes with infrastructure, detached villas, commercial real estate, construction or agricultural land. Expert appraisal is carried out only by approved organizations of the Banking Regulatory Authority (BRSA) controlled by the Capital Markets Board of the Republic of Turkey (CMB).
The validity period of the certificate of expertise is 3 months from the date of its issuance. After this period, the assessment will be considered invalid and the procedure will have to be ordered again. So, you will need to have an updated expert appraisal. Therefore, before buying an apartment, if you are going to apply for a residence permit, I recommend that you get an appraisal report for the apartment, taking into account the date of this application.
Only residential properties (houses, apartments, villas) are eligible. Commercial properties, land, or agricultural fields do not qualify.
No, there are no restrictions on the square footage of the property.
Yes, you can sell the property at any time. There are no restrictions on the title deed.
Your permit remains valid until its expiration date, but you cannot renew it afterward.
You will get 1 year residence permit and then it will be possible to extend every year as long as you retain ownership of the property.
No, you must personally reside in the property. Renting it out may invalidate your permit.
Only the property owner listed on the title deed qualifies. Spouses and minor children (under 18) can apply for family residence permits.
No, only spouses and minor children are eligible for dependent permits. Other relatives must apply under different permit types.
Only one owner can obtain a residence permit. Other co-owners must apply for different types (e.g., short-term tourist permits). Even if family members jointly purchase a property, only one person can receive a residence permit.
Yes, this is possible, but since you need to be present in person to issue the fingerprint and submit the documents at the residence permit stage, it is important that you come to Turkey for the purchase of real estate in order to speed up the process.
If you want to get detailed information about how this process proceeds in Turkey, which is one of the countries that gives residence permits by buying a property, you can contact me through the main page.
Although I have listed the information and documents required for a short-term residence permit in this article, these documents or information are constantly renewed and updated. Therefore, If you want to learn which documents you need to submit for obtaining a residence permit by purchasing real estate, check the official website of the Presidency of Migration Management before getting the appointment. It is possible to learn the current documents from here.
