The stages of naturalization in Turkey go through seven steps, beginning with submitting the application and ending with a congratulation letter announcing that you have obtained the citizenship successfully.

While the stages are identical for applicants, the time it takes to complete the paperwork varies from one person to another depending on his situation and nature of his work. What are these stages? How long do they take?

The Stages of Turkish citizenship

Below are the stages of obtaining Turkish citizenship in detail:

• First: Submitting an application for naturalization at the Civil Status Directorate

Upon completion of the required documents, you can officially apply for Turkish citizenship at the Civil Status Directorate in the state where you reside, by filling out the form at the Immigration Department, according to the method that provides you residency, whether through marriage or ownership of a property.

Then attaching the legal papers required with the form, including identity documents, birth certificate, passport, civil status, etc. Your name will be registered on the Turkish Naturalization Service website at the end of this stage, which is the easiest of the seven steps.

• Second: Sending the application to the General Directorate of Citizenship Affairs

In the second stage of naturalization in Turkey, your papers are sent to the General Directorate of Citizenship Affairs in the capital, Ankara, this stage requires some time until naturalization applications from all states are collected

• Third: Examination of the application documents at the directorate

In the third stage, your documents are subject to a preliminary examination at the Directorate of Citizenship Affairs

• Fourth: Security check on the applicant

The fourth stage is considered to be one of the most difficult stages of naturalization in Turkey, and some call it the “fourth complex.” It includes conducting research and a security check on the applicant, to ensure that his record is free of violations and transgressions, and when the record is proven clean, the application is registered in the archive to follow up on the naturalization file. 

The duration of the process depends on the privileges the person has, Buying a property worth $400,000 will quickly pave the way to Turkish citizenship, thanks to the privileges granted by the Turkish Investment Law to foreign investors.

In case  the conclusion of the security check is taking a long time,  a massage will be sent stating that your file is still being verified.

• Fifth: Submitting the request to the Council of Ministers

Once you pass the fourth stage, you have safely gone through the bottleneck. You are almost a Turkish citizen, and you just have to wait for the routine procedures. In the fifth stage, you will receive a message stating that your file is added to the list that will be approved by the Council of Ministers

• Sixth: Approval of the Council of Ministers

It is the penultimate stage, your request is approved by the Council of Ministers and is submitted for signature by the President of the Republic

• Seventh: Receiving a Turkish citizenship letter

In the seventh and final stage, you receive a congratulatory letter for Turkish citizenship, which is called the Turkish citizenship letter. You can go to the Civil 

The duration of each stage of naturalization in Turkey:

The time taken by each stage of naturalization in Turkey varies depending on the citizenship applicant’s status and job. Below is the approximate duration of each stage:

• The first stage: It takes between a week and 25 days.
• The second stage: It requires a period of no more than a month, until naturalization applications from all states are collected. The waiting period for Syrians in particular may reach several months, due to the large number of citizenship applicants.
• The third stage: The verification of documents in this stage takes one to four days, if the citizenship applicant is an investor, whereas others have to wait up to approximately two weeks.
• The fourth stage: This stage may take between one month and six months, depending on the pressure of work, while real estate investors have a period not exceeding two weeks.
• The fifth stage: This step takes between a month or two.
• The sixth stage: It takes between two weeks to two months.
• The seventh stage: This stage requires only one to two weeks

Affairs Administration to receive your approval decision and submit another application to obtain your identity as a Turkish citizen. This stage only requires one to two weeks.

Official link to the stages of naturalization in Turkey

Through the link below, you can track the stages of your naturalization, and know what stage your file has reached. When you click on the link, a form will appear to fill out with the required information, such as the file number you want to inquire about and your date of birth.

https://vatan.nvi.gov.tr/moduller/basvuru/basvurudurumbilgi.aspx

What is exceptional Turkish citizenship?

• Turkish citizenship is an aspiration for many, as the Turkish passport ranks 38th in the world, and allows its holder to travel to more than 120 countries.
  Recently, there have been a surge in number of inquiries about the conditions for obtaining “exceptional Turkish citizenship,” which the authorities grant to influential foreigners who are particularly present on Turkish soil, a privilege that does not require the same amount of time as the previous steps.
• There are types of exceptional Turkish citizenship, one of which is acquired thanks to your real estate investment in Turkey, and another by depositing an amount worth 500 thousand dollars in one of the official banks in the country.
  You can also secure exceptional Turkish citizenship by founding a company, which is considered an investment in fixed assets, or by other means like getting a work permit, marrying a Turk, or by having Turkish origins. In all previous cases, there are conditions that you must fulfill and documents to be completed.
  One of these conditions for example is that the value of the real estate you own in Turkey must not be less than 400 thousand dollars, with a pledge not to sell it within 3 years, and it must also be proven that the marriage to a Turkish person was not done with the motive of obtaining Citizenship, so a married person cannot apply for citizenship until three years after marriage.
• The period for achieving exceptional Turkish citizenship for real estate owners, bank deposit holders, and company founders takes between 90 and 120 days. As for people of Turkish origins, those who have a work permit, and those married to Turks, it takes between 6 months to two years.

After 2010, the scope of exceptional Turkish citizenship witnessed a noticeable expansion, now includes refugees from war zones, foreign industrial and economic leaders, and distinguished people in general, to whom the authorities consider granting citizenship an added value.

In these cases, the stages of naturalization in Turkey are significantly smoother.

Edit by: Binaa Team