The advantage of the Turkish passport is twofold. You not only invest on the passport, but you invest on the real estate and your passport will be free.

Most citizenship programs require that you pay some non-refundable fee to the government in the order of some hundred thousand dollars. In the Turkish citizenship program by Real Estate Investment, you do not pay a large application fee to the government.

All you have to do is to invest in real estate whose value is 400,000 USD or more. Your money is still yours as a real estate investment. The only catch is, you should sign an affidavit that you will not sell the property for three years.

You can rent the property and have a good rental income and sell the property at the end of the third year with a good profit. In the end, this means that you will get paid for getting your Turkish passport.

What is the appreciation of real estate in Turkey?

The Global Residential Cities Index by Night and Frank, tracks the movement in average residential prices across 150 cities worldwide. Three Turkish cities are in the index with good appreciation rates. According to the Global Residential Cities Index by Knight and Frank, Izmir has always been on the top. This report is published quarterly. Here are the links to the last five years reports, and respective positions of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir in the indices:

The Global Residential Cities Index By Knight and Frank:

• 2022 Q3: 

1- ISTANBUL 212 .1%
2- ANKARA 196.0%
3- IZMIR 185.8%

• 2022 Q2:
• 2022 Q1:
• 2021 Q4:
• 2021 Q3:
• 2021 Q2:
• 2021 Q1:
• 2020 Q4:
• 2020 Q3:
• 2020 Q2:
• 2020 Q1:
• 2019 Q4:
• 2019 Q3:
• 2019 Q2:
• 2019 Q1:
• 2019 Q4:
• 2019 Q3:
• 2019 Q2:
• 2019 Q1:

Considering the last five years’ results; Izmir, Turkey is definitely one of the best places to invest real estate.

What is the return on investment in real estate in Turkey?

Return on investment (ROI) on real estate is defined by the ratio of the sale price to the monthly rate. The smaller the ratio is, the more profitable the property is said to be.

The average return on investment in real estate is 240 months (20 years) in Turkey. However, it is possible to find better deals.

According to Turkish law, the owner has to pay income tax on rental incomes from residential properties, starting from 20%. However, for commercial properties, the tax is withheld from the tenant.

Let’s try to explain this with an example:

Assume you rented your residential property and your commercial property and received 1000 TL/month from both tenants.

For your residential property, you need to file an income tax return next year and pay tax after you deduct acceptable expenses. For your commercial property, although you received 1000 TL/month, the gross rent is 1250 TL and 250 TL is withheld from the tenant.

This 250 TL is paid in your name and deductible from the tax you pay.

Why is Izmir, the best location for real estate investment?

Izmir is one of the best places to live with good infrastructure and friendly social life. There are many good schools and hospitals. Even if you do not plan to live in Izmir, it is definitely a good place for real estate investment. The appreciation rate was 16.5% in Izmir, where the average of global cities was 4% in the Knight and Frank Global Residential Cities Index, which makes Izmir second after the Indian city of Surat.

According to the 2018 Q1 index the Top Ten cities with the highest appreciation were:

1 Surat, IN 22.3%
2 Izmir, TR 16.5%
3 Hong Kong, HK** 15.6%
4 Vancouver, CA 15.4%
5 Berlin, DE 14.9%
6 Rotterdam, NL 14.8%
7 Budapest, HU 14.4%
8 Hobart, AU 14.1%
9 Ahmedabad, IN 13.0%
10 Seattle, US 12.9%

Bottom Ten Cities with depreciation were:

141 Chennai, IN -4.5%
142 Dubai, AE -4.8%
143 Delhi, IN -4.8%
144 Oslo, NO -4.9%
145 Rio de Janeiro, BR -4.9%
146 Moscow, RU -6.1%
147 Darwin, AU -6.5%
148 Genoa, IT* -6.6%
149 Turin, IT* -7.1%
150 Abu Dhabi, AE -7.2%

Moreover, it is possible to have a good rental income from the properties in Izmir. Although the average ROI is 20 years, it is possible to find properties with a return on investment of 18 years or less.

We have expertise in finding real estate with an ROI of less than 18 years and help you find them.

We can prepare expert reports on the value of the property and possible rental income. Our team also manages the properties and collects rent for you.

We also provide legal services for your Turkish citizenship application by Real Estate investment.

In order to apply for the Turkish Citizenship Program, the total value of the real estate you purchase in Turkey should be 250,000 USD or more.  

To get more information please contact us at +90(544)288-5280 or yusuf@ateskanlaw.com

* You can see the list of visa-free countries with Turkish passports here. (Comparison with Grenada and Malta)  Please note that you need to pay some amount to the government to get Grenada or Malta citizenship. But in the Turkish citizenship program, you only pay for your real estate investment.