Can Foreigners Buy Property in Turkey? Legal Limits, Process and Risks

Foreign nationals can buy real estate in Turkey (Türkiye) if they are citizens of a country designated by the President, and subject to two statutory ceilings: a foreign individual may own no more than 30 hectares in the whole country, and foreign individuals together may own no more than 10 per cent of the privately owned land in any district. Purchases in military forbidden zones and security zones are not possible, and undeveloped land must be the subject of a project submitted to the relevant ministry within two years. The rules are in Article 35 of the Land Registry Law (No. 2644). Ownership passes only on registration at the land registry.

This guide sets out who may buy, the limits, how a purchase is carried out, the checks to make beforehand, what ownership means for residence and citizenship, and what happens to the property on resale or death.

• Who may buy: nationals of countries determined by the President; the list is not published and can be confirmed with the land registry (Art. 35(1)).
• Limits: 30 hectares per person nationwide; 10% of the privately owned area of the district (Art. 35(1)).
• Undeveloped land: project to be submitted to the relevant ministry within two years (Art. 35(4)).
• No purchase in military forbidden zones, military security zones and special security zones.
• Foreign companies established abroad: only under special laws. Turkish companies with foreign capital: under Article 36.
• Breach: the property is liquidated and the proceeds paid to the owner (Art. 35(6)).
• Title passes by registration at the land registry, not by contract alone.

Legal status of this guide. It reflects the Land Registry Law (No. 2644) as currently in force. Valuation, foreign-exchange and fee requirements, and the thresholds for residence permits and citizenship by investment, are set by secondary legislation and change frequently; verify the current figures before committing to a purchase. Last updated: October 2026.

In this guide

• Who may buy
• The statutory limits
• Where foreigners cannot buy
• Undeveloped land: the two-year project rule
• Buying through a company
• The purchase process
• Checks before you pay
• Costs and taxes
• Residence permit and citizenship
• If the rules are breached
• Selling and inheritance
• Frequently asked questions

Who may buy

Article 35(1) provides that, subject to legal restrictions, foreign individuals who are nationals of countries determined by the President, in view of international bilateral relations and where the country's interests so require, may acquire immovable property and limited rights in rem in Turkey. Until 2012 the test was reciprocity — whether the buyer's country allowed Turkish citizens to buy; that condition was removed and replaced by designation.

The practical consequences:

• Most nationalities can buy. The great majority of countries are designated.
• Some cannot, and some face conditions. Nationals of a small number of countries are not permitted to acquire property, and for certain others acquisition is restricted to particular types of property or locations.
• The list is not published. Whether, and on what conditions, a given nationality may buy is confirmed through the land registry directorates and the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre. Check this before paying a deposit.
• Dual nationals. A person who also holds Turkish citizenship buys as a Turkish citizen. Blue Card holders — former Turkish citizens by birth and their descendants — are treated as citizens and are outside these restrictions; see the Blue Card in Turkey.

The President may also, where the country's interests require, determine, restrict, partly or wholly suspend or prohibit acquisitions by foreign individuals and foreign commercial companies by reference to country, person, geographical region, duration, number, proportion, type, nature, area and quantity (Art. 35(3)). The regime can therefore be tightened without a change in the statute.

The statutory limits

Limit	Rule	Basis
Per person, nationwide	The total area of immovables and of independent and permanent limited rights in rem acquired by a foreign individual may not exceed 30 hectares	Art. 35(1)
Increase	The President may increase the per-person amount up to twofold	Art. 35(1)
Per district	The total area acquired by foreign individuals may not exceed 10% of the area of the district that is subject to private ownership	Art. 35(1)
Mortgages	The limits do not apply to the establishment of mortgages in favour of foreign individuals and foreign commercial companies	Art. 35(2)

For the buyer of an apartment or a villa, the 30-hectare ceiling is academic. The district quota is the one that can matter: in districts popular with foreign buyers the land registry checks the remaining quota before registering a transfer. The check is part of the registry's process and its result should be known before money changes hands.

Where foreigners cannot buy

The law requires the maps and coordinates of military forbidden zones, military security zones and strategic zones to be supplied by the Ministry of National Defence, and those of special security zones by the Ministry of Interior, to the land registry administration, and directs that title transactions be carried out according to that information (Art. 35(5)). Property lying within these zones cannot be acquired by foreign individuals.

Because the registry holds the zone data, the check is made within the registry's own system rather than through a separate clearance application to the military in each case, as was the practice in earlier years. Where a parcel falls within or near a zone, the transfer will be refused or referred. Coastal and border locations and sites near military installations are the usual trouble spots.

Undeveloped land: the two-year project rule

Foreign individuals and foreign commercial companies who buy land without a building on it must submit the project they will develop on that land to the relevant ministry for approval within two years (Art. 35(4)). The ministry approves the project with start and completion dates and sends it to the land registry to be entered in the declarations section of the register; it then monitors whether the project is carried out within the period.

This rule is routinely overlooked by buyers of plots and agricultural land. Failing to apply within two years, or failing to complete an approved project in time, is a ground for compulsory liquidation of the property (Art. 35(6)). Before buying land, also check its zoning status: what can be built on a parcel — if anything — is determined by the zoning plan, and agricultural land is subject to its own restrictions on use and subdivision.

Buying through a company

• Foreign commercial companies. Companies with legal personality established abroad under the laws of their own countries may acquire immovables and limited rights in rem only within the framework of special laws — for example legislation on tourism, industrial zones and petroleum. Foreign entities other than such commercial companies — foundations, associations — cannot acquire real estate or have limited rights in rem established in their favour (Art. 35(2)).
• Turkish companies with foreign capital. A company established in Turkey in which foreign individuals, foreign legal entities or international organisations hold 50 per cent or more of the shares, or have the power to appoint or remove the majority of those with management rights, may acquire and use real estate in order to carry out the activities stated in its articles (Art. 36(1)). The same applies where foreign ownership reaches that level later through share transfers.
• Security clearance for such companies. Acquisition of property in military forbidden and security zones requires the permission of the General Staff or the commands it authorises; in special security zones, of the governorate. The assessment is of compatibility with national security (Art. 36(3)).
• Other foreign-capital companies — below those thresholds — acquire property on the same terms as domestically owned companies (Art. 36(4)).
• Monitoring and liquidation. Use of property acquired under Article 36 is monitored by the governorates; property acquired or used in breach is liquidated if the owner does not dispose of it within the period given (Art. 36(6)–(7)).

Setting up a Turkish company to hold property that the individual could not buy directly is not a loophole: the company must genuinely carry on the activities in its articles, and its acquisitions are monitored. Company ownership also has tax and work-permit consequences; see do foreign company owners need a work permit in Turkey?

The purchase process

1. Tax number and bank account. A Turkish tax identification number is obtained from the tax office with a passport; a Turkish bank account is needed for the payment and the currency procedures.
2. Preliminary agreement. A private "reservation" or sale contract between buyer and seller does not transfer ownership and, for real estate, is not enforceable as a sale unless made in official form. A promise to sell drawn up by a notary is binding and can be annotated on the title register; this is the instrument to use where the transfer cannot take place immediately, as with property under construction.
3. Valuation report. For sales to foreign nationals, a valuation report by a licensed appraisal company is required for the registry transaction.
4. Foreign-exchange documentation. Under the rules in force for purchases by foreign individuals, the purchase price is brought in foreign currency and converted through a Turkish bank, which issues a currency-purchase certificate presented at the registry. Confirm the current requirement with your bank before transferring funds.
5. Compulsory earthquake insurance (DASK) for buildings.
6. Application to the land registry directorate of the district where the property is located, by the parties or their attorneys, with the title deed information, identity documents and translations, photographs, the valuation report and the other documents. A sworn interpreter attends if a party does not speak Turkish.
7. Registry checks — eligibility of the nationality, the district quota, the zone data — and payment of the title deed fee.
8. Official deed and registration. The parties sign the official sale deed before the registry officer, and the buyer is entered in the register. Ownership passes at that moment, and the title deed (tapu) is issued. Since 2023, notaries have also been authorised to draw up real estate sale contracts, with registration completed through the registry system.
9. After registration: municipal property tax declaration, utility subscriptions, and — where relevant — the residence permit or citizenship application.

A buyer who is not in Turkey can complete every step through a power of attorney issued by a Turkish consulate, or by a foreign notary with apostille and sworn translation. Make the power specific to the property, and do not give a general power of sale to an agent or developer.

Checks before you pay

Most losses suffered by foreign buyers do not arise from the foreign-ownership rules. They arise from ordinary defects that a search would have revealed.

• Who owns it. Obtain a current title register extract. Buy only from the registered owner or a verified attorney.
• Encumbrances. Mortgages, attachments, precautionary injunctions, annotations of sale promises or leases, usufruct rights, and declarations such as "risky building" or expropriation notices.
• Type of title. Full condominium title (kat mülkiyeti) means the building has an occupancy permit; construction servitude (kat irtifakı) means it may not. A shared title (hisseli tapu) gives a share in a parcel, not a defined unit.
• Occupancy permit and building licence. Check at the municipality that the building matches its approved plans and has its occupancy permit (iskan).
• Zoning. For land: what the plan allows.
• Debts attached to the property. Unpaid property tax, building management fees and utility bills.
• Off-plan projects. The developer's title to the land, the building licence, the statutory guarantees for pre-sale contracts, the delivery date and the penalties for delay.
• Price declared. The price in the official deed should be the real price. Under-declaration exposes both parties to tax penalties and weakens the buyer's claim if the sale is later undone.
• Payment. Through the banking system, to the registered owner, with the property identified in the transfer description.

Costs and taxes

Item	Notes
Title deed fee	A percentage of the declared sale value, charged by law to both buyer and seller; in practice the buyer is often asked to bear both shares
Registry service charge and valuation report fee	Fixed or tariff-based amounts
Value added tax	May apply to sales by developers and companies, at a rate depending on the property; exemptions exist for certain first sales to non-residents paying in foreign currency, subject to conditions
Compulsory earthquake insurance	Annual premium
Annual property tax	Paid to the municipality; a separate valuable-housing tax applies above a threshold
Translation, interpreter, notary and legal fees	As incurred
On resale: capital gains	Gains on disposal are taxable as income subject to the holding-period and exemption rules in force
Rental income	Taxable in Turkey above the annual exemption

Rates and thresholds are revised annually. Obtain a written cost estimate before signing.

Residence permit and citizenship

• Short-term residence permit. Owning immovable property in Turkey is one of the purposes for which a short-term residence permit may be granted (Law No. 6458, Art. 31(1)(b)). Since November 2024 the law provides that the nature and value of the property that can support such a permit are determined by the Ministry of Interior (Art. 31(6)). Ownership therefore no longer suffices in itself: the property must meet the minimum value and type criteria in force, and the general conditions — and the rules on neighbourhoods closed to foreigner registration — still apply. See Residence Permit Rejected in Turkey.
• Family members. Co-owning spouses, and the owner's spouse and minor children, are treated under the same heading in practice; the family residence permit is the alternative.
• Citizenship by investment. The Citizenship Law allows exceptional acquisition of citizenship by foreigners who hold a residence permit as investors under Article 31(1)(j) of Law No. 6458, together with their spouse and minor or dependent children (Law No. 5901, Art. 12(1)(b)). The implementing regulation sets the qualifying investment: for real estate, a minimum purchase value in foreign currency, with an annotation on the title that the property will not be sold for three years, a valuation report and a certificate of conformity. The threshold has been raised more than once.
• Neither is automatic. A security check applies to both; citizenship is discretionary (Law No. 5901, Art. 10 and 12(2)); and a residence permit obtained on the basis of property is cancelled if the conditions cease to be met (Law No. 6458, Art. 33).
• No right to work. A property-based residence permit gives no right to work.

Planning to buy, or already paid a deposit? Send the title deed details or the contract you have been asked to sign, and your nationality. Message Yayla Law on WhatsApp or use the contact form. A title search and a review of the contract cost far less than undoing a bad purchase.

If the rules are breached

Under Article 35(6), immovables and limited rights in rem that:

• were acquired contrary to Article 35;
• are found by the relevant ministries and administrations to be used contrary to the purpose of acquisition;
• were land for which no application was made to the relevant ministry in time, or on which the project was not completed in time; or
• were acquired by inheritance in excess of the limits in Article 35(1),

must be disposed of by the owner within a period, not exceeding one year, given by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. If the owner does not do so, the property is liquidated and converted into money, and the proceeds are paid to the person entitled.

The sanction is forced sale, not confiscation: the owner receives the value. But a forced sale rarely achieves a good price, and it may undo a residence permit or citizenship application built on the property.

Selling and inheritance

• Selling. A foreign owner may sell freely, to a Turkish or foreign buyer, subject to any annotation on the title — in particular the three-year no-sale undertaking attached to property used for a citizenship application. Proceeds may be transferred abroad through the banking system.
• Which law governs succession. Under the Act on Private International and Procedural Law, succession is governed by the national law of the deceased, but Turkish law applies to immovable property located in Turkey (Law No. 5718, Art. 20(1)). The heirs to a house in Turkey, and their shares — including the reserved shares that cannot be overridden by a will — are therefore determined by Turkish inheritance law, whatever a foreign will provides for the rest of the estate.
• Transfer to heirs. Registration in the heirs' names is carried out on the basis of a certificate of inheritance issued by a Turkish court, or issued by the competent authority of the deceased's own country and confirmed by a Turkish court as conforming to Turkish law on succession (Land Registry Law, Art. 37).
• Heirs who cannot own. Property acquired by inheritance beyond the Article 35 limits — or by heirs whose nationality is not permitted to acquire — is subject to the liquidation procedure, with the value paid to the heirs.
• Wills. A will dealing with Turkish property should be drawn up with Turkish law in mind; a will valid in form under the deceased's national law is recognised as to form, but its content is tested against Turkish rules for immovables in Turkey.
• Inheritance tax is payable in Turkey on property located there.

Frequently asked questions

Can foreigners buy property in Turkey?

Yes, if they are nationals of a country designated by the President, and within the statutory limits: no more than 30 hectares per person nationwide and no more than 10 per cent of the privately owned area of a district held by foreign individuals in total. Property in military and security zones cannot be bought.

Which nationalities cannot buy property in Turkey?

The list of designated countries is not published. Nationals of a small number of countries are not permitted to buy, and some others may buy only under restrictions. Eligibility for a particular nationality is confirmed through the land registry before the transaction.

How much land can a foreigner own in Turkey?

Up to 30 hectares in total across the country per person, which the President may increase up to twofold. In addition, foreign individuals together may not hold more than 10 per cent of the privately owned area of any district.

Can a foreigner buy agricultural land or a building plot?

Yes, within the limits, but land without a building is subject to a special obligation: a project for the land must be submitted to the relevant ministry for approval within two years. If this is not done, or the project is not completed in time, the land is liquidated.

Is a sale contract enough to become the owner?

No. Ownership of real estate passes only when the official deed is signed and the buyer is registered at the land registry. A private contract does not transfer title; a notarised promise to sell is binding and can be annotated on the register.

Does buying property in Turkey give a residence permit?

Property ownership is a ground for a short-term residence permit, but since November 2024 the Ministry of Interior determines the nature and value of property that qualifies, and the general conditions still apply. It gives no right to work.

Can I get Turkish citizenship by buying property?

Citizenship may be acquired exceptionally by investors, including through a real estate purchase at or above the value set by regulation, with an undertaking not to sell for three years. The decision is discretionary and subject to a security check.

Can a foreign company buy property in Turkey?

A company established abroad may acquire property only under special laws. A Turkish company with 50 per cent or more foreign ownership or control may acquire property to carry out the activities in its articles, subject to security-zone permissions and monitoring.

What happens to my Turkish property when I die?

Turkish inheritance law applies to immovable property located in Turkey, regardless of the owner's nationality. Heirs register their title on the basis of a certificate of inheritance issued or confirmed by a Turkish court.

Legal basis and sources

• Land Registry Law No. 2644, Articles 35–37 — official consolidated text at mevzuat.gov.tr.
• Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection, Articles 31 and 33; Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901, Articles 10 and 12.
• Act on Private International and Procedural Law No. 5718, Articles 20 and 21.
• General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre — tkgm.gov.tr.

This article provides general legal information on Turkish law as of October 2026. It is not legal or tax advice. Fees, tax rates, currency rules and investment thresholds change; confirm the current requirements before any purchase.