Turkey Citizenship-by-Investment 2026: Buy a G20 Passport with Positively Yielding Real-Estate
Turkey's citizenship-by-investment program grants full citizenship through a $400,000 real estate purchase. With Istanbul gross rental yields above 7% and strong capital appreciation, savvy investors can effectively acquire a G20 passport at near-zero net cost.
Policy Summary
Since launching its citizenship-by-investment program in 2017, Turkey has become one of the world's most active direct passport programs. In 2026, the minimum qualifying threshold stands at $400,000 — investors purchase qualifying real estate and hold it for three years to obtain full Turkish citizenship for the main applicant and eligible dependents.
Unlike Caribbean donation-based programs, Turkey's CBI is anchored in a G20 economy's actual real estate market — investors aren't “buying a passport”; they're allocating assets in one of the world's most actively traded property markets, with the passport as a by-product.
Located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Istanbul is the program's economic engine. In 2024, the city welcomed over 17 million tourists against a population of roughly 17 million. New supply has struggled in core districts where developable land is scarce. Following the removal of rent caps in 2024, landlords have reset leases closer to market levels, with gross rental yields widely exceeding 7%.
This article provides a comprehensive operational guide to Turkey's CBI program for overseas Chinese investors, covering policy mechanics, return modeling, district selection, and risk management.