Turkey's Record Breaking Citizenship by Investment Programme

It’s no secret that Turkey’s Citizenship by Investment programme has shown rapid growth over recent years and has fast become one of the most popular CBI programmes in the world.

Since Turkey reduced its minimum real estate investment threshold to $250,000, down from $500,000 in 2018, the programme has seen a surge of applicants. It is estimated by industry experts that the Turkish Government approved a staggering 35,000 + applicants during 2018 – 2020. In Q2 of 2020, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, these figures soared again, with an average of 1,300 main applicants being approved per month. It has been suggested that approvals of main applicants in 2020 sat somewhere in the region of 13,000 -14,000, which is substantially higher than any other CBI programme currently available.

Even though Turkish Citizens do not benefit from visa-free Schengen travel, the programme has still approved significantly more applicants than its Caribbean competitors who do enjoy visa-free access to the Schengen zone. The main assumption for Turkey’s immense uptake of applicants is the country’s close proximity to the Middle East, as well as its cultural and religious similarities. Turkey has also been particularly attractive for Iranians, Iraqi and Afghan investors, who unfortunately face various limitations and sanctions when applying for many other CBI programmes.

Whilst the Turkish passport may not come with the largest amount of visa-free agreements, it will enable holders to access 125 countries and territories, which equates to 55.1% of the world’s destinations and 24.4% of the world’s wealth, measured by GDP. This is a major step up for many, especially if you currently hold a Pakistani passport that only allows you to access 46 countries or an Iraqi passport that offers access to just 40 countries worldwide.

The other huge advantage of Turkey’s Citizenship by Investment programme is that Turkey holds an E-2 visa treaty with the USA. This means that once applicants become Turkish citizens, they can then apply for US residency through the E-2 visa programme, which is much quicker and more cost-effective than the main US immigration routes, such as the EB5 programme. The E-2 visa programme requires applicants to invest in a US business which they own at least a 50% share of. There is no official investment threshold, however, it is advisable to invest within the region of $100,000- $150,000 for your application to be successful.

To find out more about one of the most popular Citizenship by Investment programmes in the world, and how you can apply, please contact La Vida’s experts who will be delighted to assist you further.