A line-by-line cost breakdown of Turkish citizenship by investment in 2026: property price, title deed fee, the 55,000 TL valuation fee, translation, government fees and advisory fees.
Beyond the $400,000 minimum property value, plan for a 4 percent title deed fee, a 55,000 TL valuation report for units up to 150 square metres, sworn translations, government application fees and an advisory fee. Our written cost sheet lists every line before you pay anything, so the total is known on day one.
Most cost pages for Turkish citizenship quote the investment threshold and stop. The threshold is only part of the budget. A family that plans for $400,000 and ignores the rest meets unpleasant surprises at the title deed office. This guide lists every line, explains how each is calculated and shows where a careful buyer can save without risking the file.
| Line | Basis | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Property price | At least $400,000 in official valuation | Market, tested by the appraiser |
| Title deed fee | 4 percent of declared value | Law |
| Valuation report | 55,000 TL up to 150 square metres | Appraisal rules |
| Notary and sworn translation | Per page and per document | Notaries and translators |
| Government application fees | Annual fee schedule | Fees Law, revalued each year |
| Advisory fee | Fixed, written before engagement | Your adviser |
The minimum is a property whose official valuation reaches $400,000, converted at the central bank rate on the transfer day. That is the figure that counts, not the price on the contract. A buyer who pays $430,000 for a flat valued at $385,000 does not qualify and has also overpaid.
The real budget line is therefore the price of a property that passes valuation with a margin. We shortlist units where the expected valuation is $412,000 to $420,000, which keeps the file safe against an appraiser who values a few percent lower or a lira move between offer and deed. The margin costs you 3 to 5 percent more capital, but you own the asset, and a failed valuation costs far more.
The title deed fee is 4 percent of the declared value in total, with the law setting 2 percent on each side. In practice we budget the whole 4 percent on the buyer, unless the sales contract allocates it differently. On a property valued at $412,000, the fee is $16,480.
This is the single largest line after the price, and it is also the line where families ask whether declaring a lower value would help. It would not. The declared value must support the valuation report, because the deed with the three-year annotation is the evidence of the investment. A low declaration defeats the purpose and risks the file.
The licensed appraiser's report costs 55,000 TL for units up to 150 square metres. Units above that size are priced higher, so a very large flat has a modest extra cost. The fee is paid at the title deed process and cannot be negotiated, because the appraiser is assigned through the system and not chosen by you.
When two or three properties are combined to reach $400,000, each requires its own report. Three smaller apartments carry three fees of 55,000 TL each, three transfers and three deed fees computed on their own declared values. This is one of the quiet reasons we steer most families toward a single property.
Before the deed office processes a transfer, the property must carry compulsory earthquake insurance. The premium is small compared with the other lines and is paid annually. There are also minor charges for the tax number, bank account opening and power of attorney if you grant one. We include these in the cost sheet as a single line so they do not get forgotten.
Three civil documents are required, all three together: the birth certificate, the marriage certificate and the criminal record certificate. Each applicant and each child needs the relevant ones. Every document is apostilled or attested in the home country, then translated by a sworn translator in Türkiye and notarised. Translators price per page and notaries per document.
The cost scales with family size and with how many pages each certificate runs. Multi-page records, such as full family registration extracts, cost the most. Ordering the shortest valid extract that Turkish authorities accept is a legitimate way to reduce this line, and we advise which extract to request in each country.
Citizenship applications and the related residence permit, identity card and passport steps carry state fees. The schedule is revalued annually under the Fees Law, so the number you read in a two-year-old article is out of date. We calculate this line from the current schedule at the time of your engagement and write it into the cost sheet.
The family is covered in one application: the applicant, the spouse and every child under 18. That means the government fees scale with the number of people, not with the number of properties, and a larger family does not require a larger investment.
Our advisory fee is a fixed amount stated in the written cost sheet before engagement. It covers the assessment, source-of-funds and document planning, the property shortlist and title review, coordination with the bank, the valuation, the deed office, the lawyer and the filing, and follow-up until the passports. No percentage of the property price, no success bonus on a particular project.
Be wary of advisers whose income depends on which property you buy. The question to ask any adviser is who pays them, and whether the answer changes with your choice of project. A fee that does not vary with the property is the simplest way to keep the advice independent.
A family buys one apartment priced and valued at $412,000.
The total that leaves your account is the price plus about 4 percent plus the smaller lines. Only the lines after the first are costs in the sense of money you do not recover. The property itself is capital, and the choice of district and layout decides how much of it comes back in year four. See our real estate route guide for how to choose.
Watch the VAT line on new builds: if you buy from a developer, ask in writing whether the quoted price includes VAT. A price quoted without VAT can raise the total by more than any other item on this list.
The alternative route requires the equivalent of $500,000 held in Turkish lira for three years, in a bank deposit, an investment fund or a government bond. It has no title deed fee and no valuation fee. The cost is of a different kind: the amount is tied up for three years, and the lira exchange rate decides what it is worth in your home currency when you take it back. Bank charges, translations, government fees and the advisory fee apply as before. Read the lira route guide before comparing.
A property is not a cost in the way a fee is. It can generate rent while you hold it, and it can be sold after the three-year clock runs out without affecting your citizenship. The honest comparison is the net position at year four: price paid plus fees and holding costs, against the resale price plus the rent collected. Families who buy at a fair per-square-metre price in a liquid district generally recover most of the capital. Families who buy citizenship-marketed stock at a premium often do not.
The minimum investment is a property with an official valuation of at least $400,000, or the equivalent of $500,000 held in Turkish lira for three years. The property price itself is not a cost in the same sense, since you keep the asset. The costs around it are the deed fee, valuation fee, translations, government fees and advisory fee.
The title deed fee is 4 percent in total, calculated on the declared value, with the law setting 2 percent for each side. We budget the full 4 percent on the buyer unless the contract states otherwise. On a $410,000 property this is about $16,400, which makes it the largest single cost after the price.
The valuation fee is 55,000 TL for properties up to 150 square metres. Larger properties are priced higher by the appraiser. The report is mandatory because the valuation, not the sale price, decides whether the property meets the $400,000 minimum, so it is one of the few costs that cannot be avoided or negotiated.
There are ongoing costs of owning property, such as building management fees and annual property tax, and costs of passport and identity documents. The three-year holding period also carries an opportunity cost if you cannot sell. None are hidden if you list them in advance, which is why we give a written cost sheet before engagement.
Yes. The deposit route has no title deed fee and no valuation fee, but you commit the equivalent of $500,000 in lira for three years and carry the exchange rate risk. Bank charges, translations, government fees and the advisory fee still apply. The right comparison is total cost plus risk, not the fee list alone.
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