Do the Rights of Citizens of Different Countries Differ When Buying Property in Turkey?

Which countries are on the list that allows foreigners to buy property? (click to expand)

What the law says. Article 35 of Law No. 2644 contains no countries. It says that foreign citizens of the countries determined by the President of Turkey may acquire property, and that the President may restrict or prohibit acquisition by country, person, region, period, type and area. The list exists as a decision, not as a list in the text of the law.

What the official guides say. Guides of the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (TKGM) name about 183 countries whose citizens may acquire property (TKGM guide). The TKGM guide on citizenship through property says that citizens of Syria cannot acquire property in Turkey (TKGM guide, 2021 edition).

What we did not find. We did not find a complete official list of countries as a separate table in open access. Sources disagree: the numbers 183, 184 and 195 appear. So we do not publish our own list and do not retell lists from blogs. Check your citizenship directly.

How to check your country before a deposit:

1. Ask at any land registry office (tapu müdürlüğü): staff see the current list in their system.
2. Ask TKGM at tkgm.gov.tr or on the Your Key Türkiye portal.
3. Ask a lawyer who works in Turkey to confirm the answer in writing.
4. Keep the answer with its date: the President may change the list.

The short answer to the question “are the rights of citizens of different countries when buying property in Turkey the same?” is: no, not entirely. The difference arises at several levels: whether a country has the right to buy property at all, which additional rules apply after the purchase, and how taxes and courts work. Below, level by level, we explain what is the same for everyone and what depends on citizenship, and show how to check your country.

The material is for information and does not replace advice from a lawyer. The list of countries is determined by Presidential decisions that are not published as an open list, so it has to be checked directly.

Level 1: can a citizen of your country buy property

This is the main difference. Under Article 35 of Law No. 2644, property may be acquired by foreigners, citizens of countries determined by the President of Turkey. The principle of reciprocity was removed from the article in 2012, so the answer depends on the decision and not on how Turkish citizens are treated in your country. The President may also restrict or prohibit acquisition by country, person, region, period, type and area.

“Cumhurbaşkanı tarafından belirlenen ülkelerin vatandaşı olan yabancı uyruklu gerçek kişiler Türkiye’de taşınmaz ve sınırlı ayni hak edinebilirler” (Law No. 2644, Article 35). Foreign natural persons who are citizens of countries determined by the President may acquire property and limited real rights in Turkey.

According to the guidelines of the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (TKGM), citizens of about 183 countries have the right, and citizens of Syria cannot acquire property. We did not find a complete official list in open form, and sources give different numbers (183, 184, 195). So we do not publish our own list: check the citizenship at the land registry or with TKGM before a deposit. More, and the expandable block, are in the article “Which laws regulate the purchase of property by foreigners”.

Level 2: the same rules for everyone who may buy

If the citizenship is allowed, the restrictions are the same for everyone:

• no more than ten percent of the privately owned area of a district and no more than thirty hectares per person nationwide (the President may raise the second figure up to twofold);
• a ban on buying in military prohibited zones, security zones and strategic areas;
• for an undeveloped plot, a project must be submitted for approval within two years;
• the official deed is drawn up by land registry officials, and the tax number is entered in it (Article 26);
• the right of ownership arises on registration (Civil Code, Article 705).

If you breach the restrictions, the property may be liquidated and the money paid to the owner (Article 35).

Level 3: period of stay and residence permit

Buying a flat and living in Turkey are different things. The period of visa-free stay depends on citizenship: under Articles 12 and 18 of Law No. 6458 the visa is waived by treaties and Presidential decisions, and they set different periods for different countries. The residence permit for a property owner is described in point “b” of Article 31 and is the same in form for everyone, but the quality and value of the property it requires are determined by the ministry (paragraph 6 of the same article). For some groups the law makes special rules: for example, citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are named in point “k” of Article 31, with a permit of up to five years. More in the article on Law No. 6458.

Level 4: citizenship through property

Citizenship by investment is possible only for those who have the right to buy property. The TKGM guide on citizenship through property says that citizens of Syria cannot acquire property and therefore cannot apply for citizenship on this ground. The conditions and the amount are determined by Presidential decisions and not by Law No. 5901 itself (Article 12, point “b”). In detail in the article on Law No. 5901.

Level 5: personal status, family and inheritance

Law No. 5718 on private international law applies a citizen’s national law to their legal capacity (Article 9), to the conditions of marriage (Article 13) and to divorce (Article 14). For inheritance (Article 20), the national law of the deceased applies, but Turkish law applies to property in Turkey. So the inheritance of a flat is the same under Turkish rules for everyone, while the rest of the property depends on the country. More in the article on the Civil Code.

Level 6: taxes and courts

• Taxes. Treaties on the avoidance of double taxation have been concluded with different countries, and the conditions differ. This affects tax on rental income and on dividends (the article on taxes: No. 8).
• Enforcement of court judgments. Under Article 54 of Law No. 5718, a judgment of a foreign court is enforced if there is a treaty on the basis of reciprocity between Turkey and the country of the court, or there is a law or practice that allows enforcement of Turkish judgments. So the answer differs for different countries (more in the article No. 9 on international treaties).
• Legal costs. A foreign claimant provides security for costs, but the court exempts them from it on the principle of reciprocity (Article 48).

Refugees and persons with international protection

Article 88 of Law No. 6458 exempts persons with international protection status from the condition of reciprocity. This is a separate category, and the procedure for buying property for it is determined by other rules. If you have obtained such a status, clarify your rights with a lawyer.

How to check your country and your situation

1. Ask at the land registry office (tapu müdürlüğü), before a deposit, whether your citizenship is on the list.
2. Check the period of visa-free stay on the website of the Turkish Foreign Ministry or with the consulate.
3. Find your country in the list of tax agreements on the GİB website.
4. If you have two citizenships, clarify which passport you present at the deal, and check both countries.
5. Keep written answers with the date, because Presidential decisions change.

Look at property options in the catalogue, and before the deal read the step-by-step guide to buying.

Citizens of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Israel and EU countries

The separate questions about citizens of specific countries are combined here, because the laws contain no separate rules for each country: everywhere the single Article 35 of Law No. 2644 applies, with a list determined by the President. We did not find confirmation in official sources of whether each of the named countries is on the list or has special restrictions, and we do not publish guesses. What can be said from the texts of the laws.

• Ukraine. The right to buy is determined by the President’s list and not by a treaty. The travel agreement and the tax protocol are described in article No. 9, and they have to be checked on the websites of the Foreign Ministry and GİB.
• Russia. There are no special rules for citizens of Russia in the texts of the laws that we analyse. On the entry regime and periods we could not find reliable information in the sources we checked: check with the consulate and on the website of the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
• Belarus, Kazakhstan, Israel. As for other countries, the right depends on the President’s list: check the citizenship at the land registry before a deposit.
• EU countries. A country’s membership of the EU is not mentioned in the text of Article 35: the citizenship of each buyer has to be checked separately.

The restrictions that are the same for everyone (area limits, zones, the period for a project) are analysed above. How to check the right of your country is in article No. 2.

Conclusion

The rights of different citizens when buying property in Turkey differ first of all in whether the country is on the President’s list, and also in the period of stay, the tax treaty and court practice. The restrictions on area and zones are the same for everyone. Check the citizenship at the land registry before a deposit and record the answer in writing. Read the other questions of this section on the page “Laws of Turkey”.

The material does not replace advice from a lawyer. The information was checked against the texts of Laws No. 2644, No. 6458, No. 5901 and No. 5718 as of 21 October 2026; the list of countries has to be checked at the land registry.

Photo: Nedim Ardoğa (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikimedia Commons; photos of the complexes are used with the site owner’s consent.