Turkish Citizenship by Investment for Families: Who Is Included and Who Is Not

November 2, 202610 min read

One qualifying property purchase of USD 400,000 covers the whole core family. Your foreign spouse, and your and your spouse's children who are under 18 or dependent, get Turkish citizenship with you, in the same file and at no extra investment. They receive the same investor residence permit, and the family's application takes about 180 days.

Parents, children aged 18 or over and other relatives are not included. Each of them needs a route of their own. This guide goes through every family member, with the rule from the law and what it takes in practice.

Who is included

Family member	Included?	What it takes
Your foreign spouse	Yes, one spouse	A legalised and translated marriage certificate
Your children under 18	Yes	A birth certificate, and the other parent's consent if they are not applying with you
Your spouse's children under 18	Yes	The same, with the consent of the child's other parent
Dependent adult children	Yes	Evidence that the child depends on you, usually medical reports
Children aged 18 or over	No	Their own investment, or the ordinary route after five years' residence
A child under 18 who is married	Usually no	Under Turkish law, marriage makes a person an adult
Parents and parents-in-law	No	Their own investment or their own residence permit
Brothers and sisters	No	Their own route
Children born after you become a citizen	Turkish by birth	Register the birth with a Turkish consulate or population office
A spouse you marry after you become a citizen	Not through your file	They can apply after three years of marriage

The legal basis is Article 12(1)(b) of the Turkish Citizenship Law. It extends exceptional citizenship to the investor's "foreign spouse" and to the "minor or dependent" children of the investor and of the spouse. Under the Turkish Civil Code, minor means under 18.

Your spouse

Your spouse is included whatever their nationality, provided you are married when you apply. They join your file, receive the same investor residence permit and do not need a property of their own. Turkey allows dual citizenship and does not ask your spouse to give up their present nationality; check what your spouse's home country allows.

You and your spouse apply for the residence permit and for citizenship in person, not by power of attorney. A lawyer can follow the file once it has been submitted.

Only one spouse. Turkish law recognises one spouse, and the citizenship law speaks of "the foreign spouse". The Foreigners Law spells out the same rule for residence: where a foreigner is married to more than one spouse under their own country's law, only one spouse can be given a family residence permit, while the children from the other marriages can. Plan the file around one spouse. Your children from another marriage are still your children and can be included, with their other parent's consent (and the custody decision, after a divorce).

Children under 18

Your children, and your spouse's children from an earlier marriage, are included until they turn 18. "Minor" follows the Turkish Civil Code, under which a person becomes an adult at 18 or by marrying. If a child's 18th birthday falls close to your application date, apply early and ask a lawyer how it will be counted.

The regulation's starting point is that children are processed together with their parents. What the file needs depends on the child's situation:

Child's situation	Documents for the child
Born to married parents	Birth certificate, the parents' marriage certificate and the other parent's consent if they are not applying
Parents divorced	Birth certificate, the custody decision and the other parent's consent
One parent has died	Birth certificate, the parents' marriage certificate and the death certificate
Born outside marriage, applying with the mother	Birth certificate and proof that the mother was single at the birth
Born outside marriage, applying with the father	Birth certificate, proof of paternity, the mother's consent and the custody decision

The consent is given before a notary, or in front of the official who takes the application. If the other parent refuses, the regulation follows a court decision from the country where the parent normally lives.

Documents issued abroad must be legalised, with an apostille in countries that are party to the Apostille Convention and by the Turkish consulate elsewhere, and translated into Turkish with notary approval.

Do not leave a child out. If a child is not processed with you, the regulation sends them later, once they are adults, to the ordinary route, which needs five years of residence in Turkey. Include every child who qualifies now.

Dependent adult children

An adult child can be included if they depend on you. The law does not define "dependent" in detail. It is generally read as an adult child who cannot live independently, typically because of a serious illness or disability, so expect to show medical reports and proof that the child lives with you and is supported by you. Discuss the evidence with a lawyer before you apply.

Children aged 18 or over

An adult child who is not dependent cannot join your file. There are two ways for them to become Turkish citizens:

Their own investment. An adult child can buy a qualifying property of at least USD 400,000 in their own name and apply as an investor. Payment by a parent is usually accepted if the family link is documented and every transfer goes through a bank, but the property must be in the child's name.
The ordinary route. After five years of legal residence in Turkey, an adult can apply under the general rules, which include Turkish language and income conditions.

A property bought in your own name counts only for your file. Buying in a child's or spouse's name does not make you the investor.

Parents

Parents and parents-in-law are not included, and they cannot be added once you are a citizen. The family residence permit in the Foreigners Law covers a spouse and children only. A parent who wants to live in Turkey has three main options:

a residence permit on the basis of a home they own, worth at least USD 200,000 (see residence permits through property)
their own citizenship investment of USD 400,000
another type of residence permit, if they qualify

After you become a citizen

New children born to a Turkish mother or father are Turkish citizens from birth, wherever they are born (for a child born outside marriage to a Turkish father, once paternity is established). Register the birth with a Turkish consulate or a population office.
A new spouse does not become Turkish through marriage alone. After at least three years of marriage, while living together as a family, they can apply for citizenship.
Your other nationality. Turkey does not ask you to give it up, but some countries end it when a citizen takes another nationality, so check your home country's law for yourself and your children.

Military service for sons

Military service is compulsory for Turkish men. The Military Service Law treats those who become citizens later according to their age on the date they become citizens:

A man who is 22 or older in the year he becomes a citizen counts as having done his military service.
So does a man who documents that he served, or was treated as having served, in his previous country.
Others, including sons who join your file as children, serve like other men of their age. Military age starts on 1 January of the year a man turns 20, and service can be deferred for two years from the date of citizenship on request.

Turkish law also has paid alternatives for some men, such as paid military service and, for citizens living abroad, a foreign-currency option. Their conditions and amounts change, so check them before a son reaches military age.

One file, one fate

The family's citizenship rests on your investment file. Under Articles 31 and 32 of the Citizenship Law, if citizenship was obtained through false statements or by hiding important facts, the cancellation applies to the spouse and children who became citizens through the investor as well. In 2026 the Interior Ministry cancelled the citizenship of 5,391 people in this way, after 1,150 investors lost their certificates over irregular transactions. Our guide to property scams and risks in Turkey explains what to avoid.

Keep the file clean: a real price in the deed, every payment through a bank, a valuation report and amount determination certificate (TTB) that confirm USD 400,000, and a property that has not been registered to a foreign owner since 12 January 2017, which in practice means buying from a Turkish citizen or Turkish company. The citizenship guide and the step-by-step procedure cover the rest.

Frequently asked questions

Does my wife get Turkish citizenship too?

Yes. Your foreign spouse is included in your file at no extra investment, receives the same residence permit and becomes a citizen with you. Your spouse must apply in person.

Can I include my parents?

No. Parents are not included in an investment file. They can get a residence permit through a home of their own worth at least USD 200,000, or make their own USD 400,000 investment.

My son is 19. Can he be included?

Not in your file, unless he is dependent on you. He can make his own investment, which you can usually fund if the payment is documented, or apply after five years of residence.

Do I need a bigger property for a large family?

No. One qualifying purchase of USD 400,000 covers your spouse and all your and your spouse's children under 18 or dependent.

Will my children keep their other nationality?

Turkey allows dual citizenship, so Turkish law does not require them to give up their nationality. Whether they keep it depends on their home country's law.

Do my children have to come to Turkey?

You and your spouse must apply in person. Each family member needs a residence permit of their own, so ask your lawyer which steps need the children present.

For a family plan around a specific property, contact us.

This guide gives general information and is not legal advice. Rules change; check the current position with a lawyer before you apply.