People that bring industrial facilities to Turkey or provide/produce extraordinary services in economic, social, cultural, artistic, scientific and technological areas and for whom the relevant ministries have submitted reasonable offers. Foreigners and those that have a residence permit in accordance with International Protection Law and Turquoise Cardholders and their foreign spouses, underage or dependent children of them or their spouses, Foreign people who are deemed necessary to be granted Turkish Citizenship. Foreigners who are considered as immigrants can acquire Turkish citizenship exceptionally with the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers provided that such individuals do not constitute a drawback in terms of National Security and public order. On the other hand, foreigners who meet the following criteria shall be evaluated in that scope and they can apply for Turkish Citizenship exceptionally with the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers:

• Proven by the Ministry of Economy to make the fixed capital investment in the amount of minimum 500.000,00-USD;
• Proven by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanism to purchase real estate in the amount of minimum 250.000,00-USD provided that it is registered in the Title Deed Registry not to be sold for three years;
• Proven by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to provide employment for at least 50 people;
• Proven by the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency to deposit minimum 500.000,00-USD in banks operating in Turkey provided that such amount shall be kept in the banks for three years;
• Proven by the Undersecreteriat of Treasury to purchase State debt instruments in the amount of minimum 500.000,00-USD provided that such instruments are kept for three years;
• A regulation concerning the Turkish Citizenship Law was added to Article Twenty (20), that regulates the conditions for the exceptional acquisition of Turkish citizenship. It was also decided that citizenship rights should be provided for foreigners investing in capital market instruments and alternative investments. Consistent with this, a share of assets investment fund participation of a minimum of 1.5 million dollars or foreign investors that hold a venture capital investment fund share and keep it for 3 years is going to be entitled to Turkish citizenship.

As explained on top of, the Amendment extends the scope of the acquisition of Turkish citizenship, a step is taken for foreign within the context of investment in Turkey and consequently acquiring citizenship. Hereby, the foreigners that invests into fixed capital a minimum of 500.000,00-USD who purchase the immovable property a minimum of 250.000,00-USD provided that an annotation stating that it is not to be sold for three years, who provide employment chance for a minimum of 50 employees, who deposit cash money a minimum of within the quantity of 500.000,00-USD to the banks in operation in Turkey providing keeping for 3 years are able to obtain the Turkish citizenship exceptionally by the proposal of the Capital Markets Board and the decision of the Council of Ministers just in case of applying with the documents expressed within the Code.

Our brief memorandum Which has been reformulated by the latest regulations on the eligibility to obtain Turkish citizenship exceptionally ends here. Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information or any questions you may have.

AV. ALPER ÇETİN (alper@cetinavukatlik.com)

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