Turkish Citizenship by Investment 250K USD

I am waiting for the special offices to be established by the government to start the process.

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I looked at it and passed. 

My reasons were simple.  I have no desire to live in Turkey and the passport is pretty much useless for visa free travel as it doesn't get you into UK or Schengen.  The only Tier A countries that it actually does get you into is Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong.  And the argument that there will be future EU integration is weak - macedonia/montenegro have a lot more chance to get that within next 10 years than Turkey and their programs are similarly priced.  Lastly, the political and economic instability worried me and of course, the battering of the lira vs. the USD was also a factor.

Read this about the property market in Turkey - sums it up well:

The exceptional political instability seen in Turkey since General Kenan Evren's military dictatorship in the 1980s means its middle class prefers investing in homes and gold rather than traditional financial assets such as stocks and bonds. Yet this has also meant that 50 per cent of new houses built in Istanbul have been designated for investment, not for owners to live in. I avoid investing in any property market that is dependent on foreign money, not local demand, as it is invariably prone to speculative boom-bust cycles.

As long as Turkey's current account deficit, the largest in Europe, is financed by offshore hot money, the lira will remain one of the most volatile currencies in the world. The rift between President Erdogan and the Ankara central bank does not exactly reinforce investor confidence. I also worried about the political (and financial) cost of 3 million Syrian refugees, Kurdish secessionist violence in eastern Anatolia and the inflation's rise to 12 per cent its highest pre-Lehman levels. The AKP's draconian response to the failed coup has seen 150,000 Turks either arrested or losing their jobs. Wealthy Turks are major investors in Portugal's golden visa programme. None of this is positive for the long term outlook of Istanbul property prices.

There are cheaper, quicker and more stable options in the Carribean which get you into more countries and also into UK & the schengen zone visa free (as well as the Singapores and so on).  But yes, those are more expensive re: property and cheaper only as a one-shot donation.

Unless you plan to live in Turkey, I wouldn't recommend it over the other options.  In $250K, you can get any of the Caribbean donation options as well as the newer CIP programs in EU.

XTang wrote:

I looked at it and passed. 

My reasons were simple.  I have no desire to live in Turkey and the passport is pretty much useless for visa free travel as it doesn't get you into UK or Schengen.  The only Tier A countries that it actually does get you into is Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong.  And the argument that there will be future EU integration is weak - macedonia/montenegro have a lot more chance to get that within next 10 years than Turkey and their programs are similarly priced.  Lastly, the political and economic instability worried me and of course, the battering of the lira vs. the USD was also a factor.
......
Unless you plan to live in Turkey, I wouldn't recommend it over the other options.  In $250K, you can get any of the Caribbean donation options as well as the newer CIP programs in EU.

Looks as if your interested in an another passport. There are the 2nd passport options Suriname, Guyana both having a Shengen entrance visa. A second passport runs around 10 to 15k according to the internet.

Wealthy people look for second passports and off shore opportunities just in case. Some super wealthy even go haywire and over extend their monthly costs to several 100000 per month.

I already have a second passport.  I was just comparing passports.  The cost for a good quality passport which allows entry visa free to schengen and UK is bare minimum $250K.  At the upper end, you can go for an EU passport like Malta or Cyprus but you are looking at $2 mn Euros.  These are passports WITHOUT residency requirements i.e. you don't have to live in the country for extended periods of time to get them.

Suriname / Guyana require visas for schengen and are pretty useless passports allowing entry to only 75 & 84 countries visa free.  And you have to live there as they are essentially residency programs.

Check here:

https://www.passportindex.org/compareby … &s=yes

I have done extensive research on these things when I was getting my second passport.

XTang wrote:

I already have a second passport.  I was just comparing passports.  The cost for a good quality passport which allows entry visa free to schengen and UK is bare minimum $250K.  At the upper end, you can go for an EU passport like Malta or Cyprus but you are looking at $2 mn Euros.  These are passports WITHOUT residency requirements i.e. you don't have to live in the country for extended periods of time to get them.

Suriname / Guyana require visas for schengen and are pretty useless passports allowing entry to only 75 & 84 countries visa free.  And you have to live there as they are essentially residency programs.

Check here:

https://www.passportindex.org/compareby … &s=yes

I have done extensive research on these things when I was getting my second passport.

Highly recommended to do extensive research, unfortunately there are some points when comparing to wiki. I have seen the passport index page and compared it to Wiki:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Guyana there you see visa free access for Guyana Passports.

Suriname Passport holder on the other hand require a tourist card:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Suriname

That is absolutely wrong. Wikipedia is not the right source. And I hope you know it is based on edits from individuals so that's why it is outdated at times and has inaccurate information at others. So in legal matters like this, the best advice I can give is "NEVER TRUST WIKIPEDIA".

First look at this list DIRECTLY from the European Comission official site (this is the EU telling you who needs a visa and who doesn't): https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites … sts_en.pdf

You will see Guyana and Suriname in the list of countries that require a visa.

Secondly, I have access to IATA database which is the same as used by the airlines when they do checks on your passport at check-in time to decide whether you should be allowed to board or not (their portal is called timatic).  This is the most definitive source for checking visa and passports - used by governments / airlines. So I have just logged in and rechecked; and yes, both Guyana/Suriname need a visa as already listed on the EC website.   There is absolutely no such thing as a tourist card for the schengen.   I told you my research was extensive and not ON the passport index   that is a link only to a good site which I can share with others who don't have access to IATA database.

As an example, see the paste below:

Information as of  02NOV18 / 1540 UTC
National Guyana (GY)            /Embarkation Bahrain (BH)
Destination Austria (AT)
Austria (AT)

Passport required.
- Passports and other documents accepted for entry must be
valid for at a minimum of 3 months beyond the period of
intended stay.

Visa required.

As I said before, these are useless passports for travel and require you to live there to get them.

XTang wrote:

As I said before, these are useless passports for travel and require you to live there to get them.

I wouldn't call them useless if your home country won't give you a passport or you need to travel and your country has not concluded to deliver yours. Some agencies deliver over embassies so that should be the issue.

Don't understand your point.  And don't see how that is relevant considering the topic that is being discussed i.e. choices for second passports.  Any second passport would give you that safety - I am highlighting why it should not be a Guyanese or Suriname passport.

Considering all of the options that are out there in the world of visa free travel; there are much better options than these two passports because:

1) No UK or schengen
2) You have to live there to get passports

Why would you bother with wasting years of your life to get these passports when you have options that get you passports with all the travel perks within 6 months.   Yes, you have to pay a lot, which is what I did.  Even if you don't want to spend a lot of money, there are still MUCH better options than these two.

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Hi,

it is better for you if you are really interested in turksih citizenship to come to Turkey and meet a lawyer who will give you all information about it.

here none will give you % 100 right answer.

It aint rocket science. Procedures are clear no need to waste money on lawyers

Exactly.

Not knowing turkish language and no clear english website from govt and the fact that you had already bought the property before you even apply for he citizenship. makes one feel comfortable to have a lawyer who is reourceful and save your time.
I have been given a quote between 2500 to 3500 USD as the lawyer fee for the complete process.
I rather do all myslf but i want to save time hence the question
cheers

That's fair.  My comment was more around the discussion that we have been having i.e. the debate above about the passports and then the response which implied that people here are totally unaware about Turkish citizenship dynamics and need a lawyer

Yes I got your point.
I have had too many discussions with different people on the subject since i started the thread. I have a fair understanding so any one wanna know more welcome to ask any questions.
Cheers

That's good.

What I suggest, and what will help other forum members, is if you give an overview of the process, timelines and costs so that there is a reference on the subject.  I can then request the mods to make this thread into a sticky.  That way, we won't have people asking the same questions on different threads and / or we can have one thread for sharing information.

XTang wrote:

That's good.

What I suggest, and what will help other forum members, is if you give an overview of the process, timelines and costs so that there is a reference on the subject.  I can then request the mods to make this thread into a sticky.  That way, we won't have people asking the same questions on different threads and / or we can have one thread for sharing information.

Yeap that certainly would help.
Nice to know that you have a line into upper echelons hehehe

Ha ha no line into upper echelons.  I am an expert on the forums which means more rights than normal users but that is it

It's fairly easy as long as you follow the guidelines according to what type of investment you want to get it to pass citizenship by investment. I don't think you will need lawyers as long as you follow the requirements.

My wife & I will soon gain the Age Pension in Australia.  At that point we would greatly like to retire to Turkey.   Who can I chat with to gain an understanding of what's involved.

Can someone post a link to a thread here or another website where I can start to learn.

Lately, many people have been acquiring Turkish citizenship by purchasing real estate in Turkey. Obtaining citizenship through property investment makes real estate investment even more appealing. However, according to the recent blog I read from Tepe Law Office ([link moderated]), the required investment amount has been set at 500,000 USD.

You misunderstood I guess. Contact me and I will explain in depth

@jimyy_but_inspace Getting a citizenship might sound nice and easily possible. Howevere we NEVER considered this as you might loose some things from your home country. Again it might be nice but ...We have enough cash, but no thank you..

@cdw057 Your welcome

As a retiree, there isn't anything to gain by citizenship.  As long as I have no interruptions in being granted my ikamet, then Turkiye and my family can have a synergistic relationship.