Turkish Citizenship by Investment: The Buyer's Lawyer

Before you pay a deposit on property for sale in Turkey for citizenship, KL Law Firm examines whether the proposed purchase can support your application. We act as your Turkish citizenship by investment lawyer while you are still abroad and free to walk away.

We do not market property. We know which developers and sellers hold property that qualifies for Turkish citizenship, but we have no partnership, commission or financial interest with any of them, and we do not work with real estate agents or intermediaries. Our engagement agreement states that we act solely for the buyer. It also commits us to tell you to reject a property when our review finds a serious problem, regardless of who introduced it.

Why a sales agent's interests differ from yours

An agent's job is to bring a buyer and seller together. Agents often work repeatedly with sellers and developers, while a foreign investor may buy once. Their income depends on a completed sale. That business structure creates a conflict of interest when the same agent presents a property as suitable for Turkish citizenship and asks you to rely on that assessment.

The agent may know the neighbourhood, the project and the asking price. Those are useful commercial inputs. They do not answer whether the title, seller, declared price and transaction history will support your Turkish citizenship application. We assess those questions for the buyer alone. If the deal should stop, we can say so without losing a sales commission.

We examine the property before any deposit

Send us the property you are considering before paying a deposit, reservation fee or any other amount. We review its title records and encumbrances, the seller's position and whether the property has previously been used for Turkish citizenship. We also assess the proposed price and transaction against the citizenship rules. This is due diligence at the point where our advice can still change your purchase decision.

A low price can be attractive. A property advertised as a cheap route to Turkish citizenship is a red flag if its real value or proposed sale terms cannot support the legal threshold. A promise that the paperwork will somehow show a higher price is a reason for us to examine the transaction before you commit funds. We will tell you plainly when we advise against buying.

Our Turkish citizenship by investment service explains the wider application. For the role of the certificate of conformity in a property file, see our separate article.

A low title deed price can defeat the investment

One of the risks of buying property in Turkey for Turkish citizenship is a mismatch between the real price and the title deed. Some individual sellers and smaller developers want a sale price below the real agreed price recorded in the title deed to reduce their tax burden. That request creates a direct Turkish citizenship problem. Under TKGM's 2024/4 Circular, the price declared in the official deed and the total payments must each separately reach USD 400,000. The officially assessed investment amount must also confirm the threshold. A higher independent valuation does not repair a deed that declares too little, and a high deed figure does not replace genuine payment.

We address the real sale price before documents are signed. We plan each transfer with you before payment and preserve a verifiable banking trail that matches the actual transaction. We will not build an application around a figure that exists only on paper. Our broader article on Turkish citizenship investment risks covers other investment routes and legal issues.

Independent valuation and the recent cancellations

Recent investigations have focused on inflated appraisal reports and simulated sales. Some investors have had Turkish citizenship revoked after the underlying transactions were reviewed, as the Interior Ministry reported. Our article on the Istanbul Turkish citizenship by investment fraud investigations covers the official findings and cancellations in detail.

We have built property files around the genuine sale price, genuine payment and compliant documents from the outset. Our review was built for exactly the risks those investigations exposed, so it needed no new check after them.

The valuation rule has also changed. Under TKGM's updated 2024/2 Circular, a citizenship valuation report can come from a firm licensed by Turkey's Capital Markets Board (SPK). The firm must be an active member of the Turkish Valuation Experts Association (TDUB) and connected to TADEBİS. GEDAŞ is no longer the only authorised provider. We examine the independent valuation alongside the proposed sale and payment evidence; the report alone cannot turn an artificial price into a genuine investment.

Can a real estate agent or immigration consultant handle my application?

An agent can market property and help with commercial discussions. A business using an "investment consultancy," "visa consultancy" or "immigration consultancy" label cannot give you Turkish legal advice, prepare the legal documents of your file or act for you as a lawyer under a power of attorney. Article 35 of the Attorneys Act No. 1136 reserves legal opinions on legal matters, the documents prepared for that work and representation before courts and other judicial bodies to lawyers registered with a Turkish bar. Selling a property is one job. Protecting the buyer in law is another.

KL Law Firm provides that legal representation for the buyer. As your Turkish citizenship lawyer, we begin with the proposed property, before a deposit. We are based in Izmir and work with foreign clients across Turkey. We put our independence from sellers and intermediaries, and our duty to advise you against a seriously flawed purchase, in the engagement agreement.

Speak to us before choosing the property

If an agent or developer has sent you a listing, send it to KL Law Firm before you reserve it. We will examine whether the property and proposed transaction can support your Turkish citizenship investment, acting only for you as the buyer.

Frequently asked questions

Can a real estate agent or immigration consultant handle my application?

They can help with sales or administrative matters, but they cannot give you Turkish legal advice or prepare the legal documents of your file. Under Article 35 of the Attorneys Act, that work belongs to lawyers registered with a Turkish bar. KL Law Firm handles the buyer's legal review and Turkish citizenship application. We begin before you pay a deposit or reservation fee.

Should I pay a reservation fee before KL Law Firm reviews the property?

No. Send us the proposed property before any deposit, reservation fee or other payment. We examine its title records, encumbrances, seller and prior Turkish citizenship use, then assess the proposed transaction. If we find a serious problem, we advise you not to buy, whoever introduced the property.

Can a higher appraisal cure a low price in the title deed?

No. For a current real estate investment, the official deed price and the total payments must each separately meet USD 400,000, with the assessed investment amount confirming eligibility. We check the real agreed price before you sign or pay. An inflated appraisal cannot make an underdeclared sale suitable for Turkish citizenship.

Does KL Law Firm receive a commission from property sellers?

No. We do not market property or share commissions with agents, intermediaries or developers. Our engagement agreement says we act solely for you as the buyer. That lets us advise you against a property when the legal or valuation review reveals a serious problem, even if a seller is pressing for a quick reservation.