Turkey Golden Visa 2026: $200,000 Residence Permit vs $400,000 Passport

Two different products under one name

Turkey does not run a programme officially called a golden visa. The phrase is used online for two separate routes, and confusing them is the most common and most expensive mistake buyers make. The first is a short-term residence permit, known locally as an ikamet, for foreigners who own a home in Turkey; for homes bought since 16 October 2023, the property must be worth at least US$200,000. The second is citizenship by investment, which grants a Turkish passport for at least US$400,000 in property held for three years, or US$500,000 through one of several financial routes. One is a renewable residence card; the other is full nationality. They carry different costs, obligations and risks, so it is worth deciding which one you actually want before viewing a single flat.

• Residence permit: a home worth at least US$200,000, registered in your name and used as your address; renewable; no passport attached.
• Citizenship: property worth at least US$400,000 with a three-year ban on resale, or US$500,000 in a bank deposit, government bonds, investment funds or a business; a passport for the applicant, spouse and children under 18.
• Both routes: money must move through Turkish banks, cash is not accepted, and the qualifying value is checked against official records rather than the seller’s price.

How the $200,000 residence permit works

Turkey’s foreigners law allows a short-term residence permit for people who own residential property in the country. For years the bar was low — US$75,000 in the large metropolitan provinces and US$50,000 elsewhere — and the permit was widely used as an inexpensive residence route. From 16 October 2023 the minimum became US$200,000 everywhere for properties bought from that date, while homes bought earlier are still assessed under the old thresholds. Only residential property counts. The value is judged on the price recorded on the title deed, converted at the central bank’s exchange rate on the purchase date, and foreign buyers also need a valuation report from a licensed appraiser to complete the transfer. Permits are issued for up to two years at a time — often for one year in practice — and can be renewed for as long as you keep the property and meet the other conditions, including valid health insurance.

Where you can live, and what the permit does not give you

The property has to be the address you register, and that brings a rule many buyers discover too late. Since 2022 Turkey has capped the share of foreign residents in each neighbourhood at 20%, and around 1,169 neighbourhoods were closed to new foreign address registrations. During 2026 some of them reopened — confirmed officially in a few places and reported more widely in the registration system — but parts of Istanbul were still reported closed, the cap still applies and a neighbourhood can close again. Check the exact address on the official e-ikamet system before signing anything. The permit is also narrower than the marketing suggests. It does not allow you to work, which needs a separate work permit; it gives no right to live or travel in the European Union; and it never turns into a passport by itself. What it can do is count towards a long-term residence permit after eight years of uninterrupted legal residence, and towards ordinary naturalisation after five years of uninterrupted residence plus Turkish language and other conditions. Both require genuinely living in Turkey: long absences break the continuity that the clock depends on.

How the $400,000 citizenship route differs

Citizenship by investment works through Turkey’s exceptional naturalisation rules, and a successful applicant receives full nationality with no minimum stay, no language test and no need to give up an existing passport. Practitioners’ estimates for a decision now range from about three months to a year, depending on the file and the applicant’s nationality. The property route dominates, and its mechanics are strict: the US$400,000 threshold is tested against the declared deed price, the amount actually transferred through the banking system and an official valuation, and the lowest figure governs. A three-year restriction on resale is recorded on the title deed. The procedure has also tightened: practitioners report that spouses now need residence permits during the process, that in 2026 both the main applicant and the spouse must travel to Turkey for biometrics, and that certified criminal record certificates are required. Our separate guide to Turkey’s citizenship programme covers the valuation risk in detail.

The $200,000 route sells a residence card you have to live up to; the $400,000 route sells a passport. They are different products that happen to share a nickname.

What it really costs, beyond the property

The headline threshold is only the start. Turkey’s title deed fee is 4% of the declared value, legally split between buyer and seller, although contracts often move the whole charge onto the buyer. Add the valuation report, sworn translations and notary fees, the residence card and permit fees, health insurance for every family member, and annual property tax. The larger costs are less visible. Homes marketed to foreign buyers are frequently priced in dollars at levels local buyers would not pay, which matters when you come to sell. The lira has lost a great deal of value against the dollar over the past decade, so a rise in the lira price of a flat can still be a loss in the currency you started with. None of these risks disappear if the permit or passport is granted: the property is an investment in its own right and can fall in value independently of the immigration outcome.

Which one, if either, makes sense

The residence permit suits someone who actually wants to spend long periods in Turkey — a retiree, a remote worker with a separate work arrangement, a family with ties to the country — and who is comfortable owning property in a high-inflation economy. Bought purely as a document, it is a poor fit: it needs an address you really use, it can be lost if conditions change, and it gives nothing outside Turkey. The citizenship route suits someone who values a second passport for its own sake and accepts that Turkish citizens still need visas for most of Europe, while carrying the valuation and currency risk on a large sum for at least three years. For anyone whose real goal is residence in the European Union, neither route delivers it. Rules, thresholds and closed neighbourhoods change at short notice, and this reflects the position as we understand it in early October 2026. It is general information, not legal, immigration or tax advice; confirm current requirements with the Turkish authorities and a licensed lawyer before committing money.

This article is educational and general in nature. It isn’t personalized investment, tax, or legal advice — always weigh your own circumstances, or talk to a licensed professional, before making financial decisions.

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