Before 2002, foreigners buy property Turkey was not allowed, but after 2002, after the Justice and Development (Al- Adala and Al- tanmeia) Party took over the reins of government in Turkey, laws were amended and the property market was opened to foreign investors in Turkey.
After which the property laws related to property ownership were then amended for foreigners more than once to allow flexibility for foreigners buy property Turkey; due to the urgent need for foreign exchange in the Turkish economy, so that it was recently in 2018 that it was allowed to apply for Turkish citizenship for investors in property inside Turkey for a minimum amount For $250,000 US dollars after it was previously a million US dollars.
DEVELOPMENTS OF FOREIGNERS BUY PROPERTY TURKEY
Although foreign property ownership was permitted in the country of Turkey after 2002, the purchase operations were restricted with several restrictions, including:
- Restriction of the limited availability of places offered for sale to foreigners in Turkey.
- The restriction of “reciprocity”, which requires permitting the ownership of property in countries that allow Turks to own property in them.
After 2005, the property laws for foreigners in Turkey were amended, and the restrictions on the area’s nominally restricted areas were canceled but the application was still being reciprocated.
In the same year, the door for the ownership of land was opened for foreigners with an area of more than 2.5 hectares to 60 hectares, without the need for special permission from the Turkish government.
The real estate market started to revive after this date, and the participation of foreigners in the real estate exhibitions that were held in Istanbul increased, Which was attended by members of the royal families from the Gulf countries.
The most famous of these exhibitions was the “Real Estate Developers Exhibition” held in 2013, real estate purchases by foreign countries amounted to about 500 million US dollars in 3 days.
And since that date, the share of foreigners in real estate purchases in Turkey has been continuously doubling.
Now, there is a big revival and non-Turks are taking over most of the real estate purchases in Turkey, especially in the Bosphorus region in Istanbul and other high-end regions of Istanbul, which are newly established.
Kyashehir region is a high-end residence region and the most promising investments in Istanbul when it comes to real estate investiments, especially, for foriegeners.
Gulf Cooperation Council countries get the biggest real estate purchase segment in Turkey (Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE), this includes both individuals and Gulf institutions alike.
It became easy now to check the property for sale through various websites such as Sahibinden.
RESTRICTIONS ON FOREIGNERS BUY PROPERTY TURKEY:
Although Turkey has canceled the most important restrictions that have impeded foreign property ownership in Turkey, the application of some other restrictions is still going on, These are restrictions related to Turkish security, and Turkey is still committed to applying them until now for foreigners buy property Turkey, and they are as follows:
- The property should not be located within a military zone and prohibited to foreigners, and this will require getting a security approval that usually takes approximately 45 days, which is a routine procedure for foreigners buy property Turkey country.
- In the case of foreign ownership, a maximum limit is 30 hectares which is approximately equal to 300,000 meters. If the foreigner wants to own more than this area, he must find the reason for the ownership. He also needs the presentation of his project that needs this space to the competent authorities for approval.
- The direct ownership of some nationalities considered by Turkish law is prohibited because of its geographical borders close to Turkey, and because of the turbulent events currently taking place in it; It does not have the right to own property directly in Turkey, such as the Syrian nationality.
In case you faced any issue in owning a flat in Turkey or Istanbul, in specific, then you need to check this article to help you rent a flat in easy steps.
