The legal basis: Article 31 of Law No. 6458
Article 31(1)(b) of Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection names owners of real estate among the foreigners eligible for a short-term permit (kısa dönem ikamet izni). Each grant runs for two years at most (Art. 31(2)). Applications go to the Presidency of Migration Management (Göç İdaresi) of the Ministry of the Interior. Article 31(6), added in November 2024, hands the ministry the choice of which property qualifies and at what value.
The current figure appears in the ministry’s e-İkamet document list (the version online in November 2026, a file from March 2025). The property must be a dwelling worth at least the lira equivalent of $200,000 on the date it was acquired. It must serve as the owner’s home and must not be let or used for any other income. A plot, a shop or an office does not qualify. The document list states no transition rule: for a home bought under an earlier threshold, the rule history below shows each version, and Göç İdaresi confirms which one applies. The homes for a residence permit in Turkey collection gathers listings priced at that level.
Getting a residence permit by buying property: conditions and documents
The home is one condition among several. Article 32 also requires housing that meets general health and safety standards and a declared address. If asked, the applicant adds a criminal record certificate from the country of citizenship or legal residence. The document list adds the papers that every short-term applicant files:
- the application form, a copy of the passport and two biometric photos taken within six months;
- health insurance for the whole period requested, either a private policy or cover through Turkish social security;
- a statement of sufficient and regular means for the stay;
- a copy of the title deed and, with a first application, a numbering certificate (numarataj belgesi) from the municipality;
- receipts for the fee and the card charge, although nationals of fee-exempt countries pay only for the card.
The card is set to expire 60 days before the passport (Art. 23(1)), so an old passport shortens the stay.
The address matters as much as the papers. A home in a closed area cannot support a first application. Göç İdaresi’s statement of 16 July 2023 counted 1,169 neighbourhoods in 63 provinces closed as of 1 July 2022: those where the foreign population passed a fifth of the Turkish citizen population. According to the same statement, ten districts of Istanbul were shut to new applications altogether. Our catalogue still flags Mahmutlar, Avsallar, Kestel and Kargıcak in Alanya as closed under the 2022 decision. Local reports in June 2026 said applications there had resumed in practice, but Göç İdaresi has issued no notice or new list, so its provincial directorate is the place to confirm an address before signing.
How to apply and renew
- Register the purchase. The deed must be in your name. A share held with family members is accepted together with documents that prove the family tie.
- Get the numbering certificate. The municipality issues it with the home’s official address.
- Fill in the e-İkamet form and book an appointment at Göç İdaresi’s provincial directorate.
- Attend the appointment with the original passport and the documents above.
A buyer who entered Turkey visa-free applies within that legal stay, and with a first application pays a single-entry visa fee unless their nationality is exempt.
The owner files a renewal from 60 days before expiry, and always before that date. The applicant receives a document that allows them to stay until the decision, and the extension starts when the current period ends (Art. 24). The renewal file adds a tapu devam belgesi, the land registry’s proof that the home is still yours, plus a current certificate of address (yerleşim yeri belgesi) and an electronic notification (UETS) address.
Spouse and children
Each foreigner holds a separate card (Art. 23(1)), so a spouse and children cannot rely on the owner’s. They have two routes. If family members share the title, the document list accepts the shared deed with proof of the family tie. It does not say how the $200,000 is divided between owners. Otherwise the owner sponsors a family residence permit for a foreign spouse and minor or dependent children. It lasts up to three years at a time and never runs beyond the sponsor’s own expiry date (Art. 34).
Sponsorship has conditions of its own (Art. 35). The sponsor needs a monthly income of at least one-third of the minimum wage for each family member, and no less than the minimum wage in total. Health insurance must cover the whole family, the address must be registered, and there must be no conviction for an offence against the family order in the past five years. The sponsor must also have lived in the country on a residence permit for at least one year, which matters for a family planning to move together in the first year. A child’s birth or custody papers issued abroad need an apostille or consular legalisation and a notarised Turkish translation.
What can end the right to stay
- A let home. Article 33(1)(b) lets the authority cancel or refuse to renew a permit that serves another purpose, and the document list excludes rent or similar income.
- A sale. Without ownership, the ground in Article 31(1)(b) disappears and Article 33(1)(a) applies.
- Long absences. Article 33(2) leaves the rules on time abroad to secondary legislation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states them this way: more than 120 days outside Turkey in total during the last year leads to cancellation.
From this permit to long-term residence or citizenship
Status through property is renewable rather than permanent. Articles 42 and 43 open a long-term residence permit to a foreigner with eight years on permits without a break. The applicant must also show sufficient and regular income and valid health insurance, must not have taken social assistance in the last three years and must pose no threat to public order or security.
Ordinary naturalisation needs five years of uninterrupted residence before the application (Law No. 5901, Art. 11). Under the counting rules, time abroad may not exceed six months in total within those five years (Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law, Art. 71). Time spent on tourist, student or treatment grounds does not count. Citizenship by investment needs no period of residence: Turkish citizenship by investment starts at $400,000 in property kept for three years. For lower property thresholds abroad, see residence programmes in other countries.
Who should look at other routes
- A home for a relative. The document list requires the foreign owner to use the dwelling as their own home, so a flat bought for a relative to live in does not support the owner’s application.
- Short visits. Owners whose trips fit their visa or visa-free allowance may not need to apply at all; the Turkey visa-free days calculator counts the days under the 90/180 rule.
- A job in Turkey. Work needs a work permit, which Article 27(1) treats as a residence permit in its own right.
How we check this page
Methodology
The threshold, its start date and the legal basis in the key facts box come from our record of programme changes. We check them against the Göç İdaresi document list and Law No. 6458 on mevzuat.gov.tr. The start date of the current figure and one earlier threshold rest on secondary reports only; the rule history marks them.
Further sources
Opened on 9 November 2026, in addition to the acts listed under Sources:
- Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection, Articles 21–24, 27, 31–35, 42 and 43
- Göç İdaresi: documents for a short-term residence permit (PDF file from March 2025, online in November 2026)
- DHA report of the Göç İdaresi statement on closed areas, 16 July 2023
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs: general information about Turkish visas
- Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law, Article 71
- Income Tax Law No. 193, Articles 4 and 5
Limitations
This is a summary of the rules, not legal advice. Göç İdaresi decides each application, and the ministry can change the qualifying value without amending the law. More than six months a year in the home can make an owner a tax resident, unless the stay counts as travel or rest (Income Tax Law No. 193, Arts. 4 and 5); a tax adviser should check. Before you buy, have a lawyer licensed in Turkey confirm the requirements for the address you have in mind.
