Is your Turkish passport in danger? Ankara announced the revocation of thousands of citizenships
Turkey has revoked the citizenship of 6,134 foreigners following fictitious real estate deals, forged valuation reports, and security suspicions. 72 suspects were arrested in raids conducted in 16 provinces.
The Turkish Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday the revocation of the citizenship of no less than 6,134 foreign citizens, most of whom were involved in fictitious real estate transactions and the forgery of property valuation reports.
According to the "Turkey Today" website, this announcement follows coordinated raids conducted across 16 provinces in the country, which led to the arrest of 72 suspects earlier that day.
Those arrested are suspected of operating an extensive network that helped foreign citizens fraudulently obtain Turkish citizenship through the country's "Citizenship for Investment" program. The suspects bypassed the required legal investment threshold by submitting forged documents that inflated the value of the assets.
Investigation data shows that 1,150 citizenship applicants obtained their eligibility certificates through fictitious transactions. The authorities canceled these certificates, which automatically led to the revocation of the citizenship of 5,391 people, including the investors' family members.
Separately, the police and intelligence agencies identified 263 applicants and their relatives as posing a risk to public order or national security, which led to the revocation of the citizenship of an additional 743 people. In total, the citizenship of 6,134 people was revoked in accordance with the Turkish Citizenship Law.
At the Ministry of Interior in Ankara, officials were quick to disclaim internal responsibility for the failure, emphasizing in the report that "the issues investigated in the operation concern solely attempts to forge documents submitted prior to the application process. There was no weakness or negligence on the part of our staff." It was further reported that since mid-February, the citizenship of an additional 1,358 people has been revoked for similar reasons.
Turkey's "Citizenship for Investment" program was launched in 2017 with the goal of attracting foreign capital, and initially required a minimum real estate investment of one million dollars. After a low response, the amount was reduced to 250,000 dollars in 2018, which led to a sharp jump in demand. In June 2022, the threshold was raised to 400,000 dollars—the amount that is still valid today.
While purchasing real estate is the most common route, foreign investors can also obtain citizenship by depositing 500,000 dollars in a Turkish bank, purchasing government bonds, or creating 50 jobs. All routes require maintaining the investment for at least three years and passing strict security background checks.
