Residence permit and citizenship through Turkish property: what it does and does not give a UK national

First: buying and staying are two separate things

As a British citizen you may buy a home in Turkey. That right has nothing to do with whether you may also live there for longer. For tourism you can enter without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. Anything beyond that takes a residence permit, which you apply for at the Turkish migration authority, the Göç İdaresi. The land registry decides on ownership, the migration authority on residence.

That distinction sounds obvious, but it is regularly forgotten in sales conversations. An agent who says that the purchase also sorts out your residence is promising something they do not control. Since Brexit, UK nationals also no longer have an EU route to fall back on in Turkey; the rules that apply are the ones for third-country nationals, the same as before, but there is no longer any confusion about it.

The residence permit on the basis of a home

Foreigners who own a home in Turkey can apply for a short-term residence permit on that basis. The Turkish migration authority requires that the property is a residence and is actually used as one. Family members who co-own the home can apply on the same basis.

Since 16 October 2023 the working minimum has been a value of USD 200,000 for homes bought after that date, across the whole of Turkey. Before then the threshold was lower and depended on whether the home was in a large city. For homes bought earlier, legal sources say the old thresholds still apply. No official government page states the number, which is why we call it the working minimum; have the current figure confirmed by a Turkish lawyer before you base a purchase on it.

A home is a ground for the application, not a guarantee of the permit. The migration authority assesses every application individually, permits are issued for up to two years and must be renewed, and you apply from inside Turkey within your visa-free period. Once you hold a permit, the 90-day count no longer applies to you.

Closed neighbourhoods: the rule many buyers miss

Turkey sets a limit on the share of foreign residents per neighbourhood. Where that share is above 20 per cent, no new residence applications or address registrations from foreigners are accepted in that neighbourhood. You can buy a home there, but a residence permit at that address is off the table.

In June 2026 many of those closed neighbourhoods were reopened, including in Istanbul and in Alanya, where several districts popular with British buyers had been closed for years. That mainly shows how quickly the list changes. A neighbourhood that is open today can close again if the share of foreigners rises. Have the current status checked per address before you sign, especially if residence is the reason for your purchase.

Citizenship through property

Turkey has a route to citizenship through a property investment. We mention it for completeness, not as a recommendation: for most UK buyers it is not a realistic goal, and it is a large and inflexible investment. The conditions according to the Turkish land registry:

• property with a total value of at least USD 400,000;
• an annotation in the registry that you will not sell for three years;
• a compulsory valuation report, on the basis of which a document confirming the investment amount is drawn up;
• the price paid in foreign currency, exchanged at a Turkish bank, with proof of that exchange;
• since December 2023, agricultural land and unbuilt plots no longer count.

After the purchase a separate procedure follows at the migration authority and the civil registry. The decision on citizenship sits outside the property itself. The UK allows dual nationality, so a British citizen does not lose their British citizenship by acquiring Turkish citizenship; the Turkish side and the tax consequences of a second nationality still need advice from a specialist Turkish lawyer.

What this means for your plan

Decide first why you are buying. If it is a holiday home, the residence rules play a small part and the 90-day rule is your main constraint. If you want to live there, or spend most of the year there in retirement, then the value threshold, the use as a home and the status of the neighbourhood belong at the top of your list, ahead of the price. For retirees there is a second question: a UK state pension can be paid abroad, but what happens to it and to your tax position when you become resident in Turkey is a conversation for a UK adviser before you move, not after.

Keep the finance separate from the residence question. Buying a more expensive home to reach a value threshold, with money you cannot really spare, is a plan that only works on paper. Our finance guide explains what UK buyers can realistically raise.

Questions UK buyers ask

Further reading

• Buying a holiday home in Turkey as a UK resident
• Funding a Turkish property from UK equity
• Start a personal mortgage scan