Turkish Citizenship by Investment Revoked 2026: Grounds, Family, Assets, Appeal

What happened with revocations of Turkish citizenship by investment in 2026?

Under the Turkish Citizenship Law (5901 sayılı Türk Vatandaşlığı Kanunu), the citizenship decisions of 1,413 investors who became citizens by investment had been revoked or withdrawn by August 2026. The Ministry of Interior announced this figure in a written statement dated 4 August 2026; together with their families, the decisions covered 6,134 people. The Ministry also stated that the irregularities came from forged documents submitted before the application and that the criminal elements had been reported to the judicial authorities.

According to the Ministry, the citizenship of 1,150 investors whose certificate of conformity (uygunluk belgesi) was cancelled, 5,391 people including their families, was ended by revocation or withdrawal. In addition, the citizenship of 263 investors, 743 people including their families, was withdrawn on grounds of public order or national security. Revocation decisions issued from 11 February 2026 until the date of the statement covered 443 investors, 1,358 people including their families.

The table below summarises which stage the figures announced in 2026 show (statements of the Ministry of Interior and the Minister of Justice, August and September 2026; checked in November 2026).

The figures 687 and 1,070 show administrative processes that have started, not revocation decisions that have been issued.

These statements did not report a Presidential decision issued for the people whose processes had started; whether a decision has been issued must be checked separately in each file. The time limit for filing a lawsuit also starts only when the decision is notified to the person in writing.

What is the difference between revocation, withdrawal and deprivation of citizenship acquired by investment?

The two acts that end citizenship acquired by investment are revocation and withdrawal; deprivation (kaybettirme) is a separate sanction unrelated to investment. Revocation is ordered because of a person's false statement or concealment of a material fact. Withdrawal applies when it later emerges that the citizenship decision was issued without the legal requirements being met (Law No. 5901, Art. 40).

The table below compares the reason for and effect of the three acts (Law No. 5901 and the Implementing Regulation; checked in November 2026).

The retroactive effect of withdrawal is written expressly in the Implementing Regulation (Türk Vatandaşlığı Kanununun Uygulanmasına İlişkin Yönetmelik): a withdrawn decision becomes null from the date of the original decision. According to the 10th Chamber of the Council of State (Danıştay 10. Dairesi), for withdrawal the obstacle must have existed on or before the date of the citizenship decision. A fact that arises after citizenship and has no link with the past is not a ground for withdrawal.

The difference between revocation and withdrawal also has consequences for the family and property. The Law expressly regulates the extension to the spouse and children and the liquidation of assets for revocation. In withdrawal, the consequences for the family and property are determined by looking at the scope of the withdrawal decision itself; in files that reached the Council of State, the children's records were also deleted on the basis of the decision concerning the parents.

In practice, all these acts are sometimes called "loss of citizenship". The refusal of a citizenship application and renunciation of citizenship with permission are not the subject of this article.

Which facts decide the revocation of Turkish citizenship acquired by investment?

What decides the revocation of citizenship acquired by investment is whether the investment was actually made, at the declared value, on the date of acquisition. The Law defines the ground for revocation as follows: "If the decision to acquire Turkish citizenship was made as a result of the person's false statement or concealment of material facts on which the acquisition of citizenship was based, it is revoked by the authority that made the decision." (translated from the official Turkish text)

The facts that stand out in the 2026 statements of the Ministry of Interior and the Minister of Justice and in Council of State decisions are:

• a property valuation report showing a value above the market value,
• a foreign exchange purchase certificate (DAB; döviz alım belgesi) issued contrary to the facts,
• a sham sale (muvazaa) in which the price was not actually paid,
• a difference between the price in the official deed of sale (resmî senet) and the actual payment,
• a public order obstacle that existed at the time of the application and was concealed.

What these facts have in common is that all of them existed before the citizenship decision. According to the Minister of Justice's statement of 21 September 2026, 274 of the 734 sales to foreigners that were examined were found to be sham sales.

Is citizenship by investment revoked if the property loses value?

No, a later fall in the market value of the property is not listed in the Law as a ground for revocation or withdrawal. What matters is whether the value declared and the payment made on the date of acquisition were true. The Council of State also, as a rule, assesses the legal requirements as of the date of the citizenship decision. "The value of my home has fallen below 400,000 dollars" is therefore not, on its own, a ground for revocation; what matters is the reason for the fall.

The situation is different if the valuation on the date of acquisition was inflated. In that case, today's low value may be examined as one of the pieces of evidence of the inflation. According to the Ministry of Interior, since 2024 valuation reports for citizenship purposes have been prepared by firms authorised by the Capital Markets Board (Sermaye Piyasası Kurulu), and the process runs under the coordination of the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre.

What happens if a home bought for citizenship is sold before 3 years?

Selling a home bought for citizenship before 3 years have passed does not end citizenship automatically; citizenship is revoked or withdrawn only by a Presidential decision. For the property route, the Implementing Regulation requires a 3-year no-sale annotation (satılmama şerhi) to be entered in the land registry record (Regulation, Art. 20/2-b). This annotation is entered to prevent a sale or transfer within that period. In an acquisition made through a promise-to-sell agreement (satış vaadi sözleşmesi) before a notary, an undertaking not to transfer or cancel for 3 years is annotated in the land register.

Selling the home before 3 years have passed does not automatically revoke citizenship.

If the removal of the annotation is requested before the period ends, under the practice of the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre the matter is reported to the provincial directorates of Population and Citizenship and of Migration Management. This report may lead to a new review of the investment requirement.

A sale is a fact that occurs after the citizenship decision. Under the Council of State's criterion for withdrawal, such a fact, if not linked with the past, does not on its own show that the requirements were not met from the start. The result changes if the sale is part of a resale agreed from the start; it may then be concluded that the investment was not genuine and that a material fact was concealed. For a sale after the period ends, the sale of property in Turkey by a foreigner and capital gains tax are assessed separately.

What happens to the spouse and children if the investor's citizenship is revoked?

Revocation of the investor's citizenship also applies to the spouse and children who acquired Turkish citizenship through the investor (Law No. 5901, Art. 32). The Law does not require any separate fault on the part of the spouse and children. The provision covers only family members who became citizens through the investor; a person who acquired citizenship by another route is not within its scope.

In its decision of 24 September 2025 (E. 2025/384, K. 2025/4034), the 10th Chamber of the Council of State treated the decision concerning the investor as the "principal (primary)" act (esas işlem). It described the decisions concerning the spouse and children as "subsidiary (secondary)" acts (tali işlem). On this basis, the spouse and children can file a lawsuit against the decision concerning the investor. The investor, however, has no legal interest in separately challenging the subsidiary decisions concerning their family.

A family whose citizenship was withdrawn through the investor: what did the Council of State say in 2025?

What happens to the investor's property in Turkey if citizenship is revoked?

Revocation of citizenship does not automatically take the investor's property away; the liquidation of assets arises only if it is specified in the revocation decision. If liquidation is considered necessary, the person must liquidate their assets in Turkey within 1 year at the latest. Assets not liquidated within this period are sold by the Treasury (Hazine), and the proceeds are deposited in a public bank in the person's name (Law No. 5901, Art. 33).

If the person challenges the revocation decision in court, the liquidation of assets is postponed until the end of the lawsuit. This rule postponing liquidation prevents the property from being sold by the Treasury while the lawsuit is pending. The Law regulates this provision for revocation; how liquidation is handled in withdrawal decisions is assessed according to the content of the decision.

In a revocation without a liquidation decision, the property remains in the person's ownership. The main risk to the property may come from seizure (el koyma) orders issued in a criminal investigation. A seizure measure operates independently of the citizenship decision and is subject to its own legal remedies. If the property is sold later, the investor whose citizenship has ended makes the sale as a foreign owner.

In which court, and when, is a lawsuit filed against revocation of citizenship by investment?

Because the revocation or withdrawal of citizenship acquired by investment is made by Presidential decision, the lawsuit is filed at the Council of State as the court of first instance (Council of State Law (2575 sayılı Danıştay Kanunu), Art. 24). Council of State decisions include examples where an administrative court sent these cases to the Council of State with a decision of lack of jurisdiction (görevsizlik). A second lawsuit filed with the same claim, however, was dismissed without examination because of lis pendens (derdestlik).

When does the time limit for a citizenship revocation lawsuit start?

The time limit for filing a citizenship revocation lawsuit is 60 days under the Administrative Procedure Law (2577 sayılı İdari Yargılama Usulü Kanunu, İYUK). The period starts not on the day the decision is issued, but on the day after the written notification. Within the time limit, the withdrawal or amendment of the act can also be requested from the authority that made it. This application stops the time limit that has started to run; if no reply is given within 30 days, the request is deemed rejected. If the time limit is missed, the right to file an action for annulment against the same decision is, as a rule, lost.

The cancellation of the certificate of conformity is a separate act of the Land Registry and Cadastre administration. In a February 2026 decision of the Council of State, it was also noted that no lawsuit had been filed against this act. Which act is challenged, in which court and within which time limit is determined separately according to the notification of each act.

Does the Council of State grant a stay of execution in citizenship revocation cases?

The Council of State can grant a stay of execution (yürütmenin durdurulması) in citizenship revocation cases only if two conditions are met together. The act must be clearly unlawful, and its implementation must cause damage that is difficult or impossible to remedy. Filing a lawsuit does not automatically stop the implementation of the revocation decision.

An objection against the Council of State chamber's decision on the request for a stay of execution can be made once to the Plenary of Administrative Law Chambers of the Council of State within 7 days of notification. An appeal on points of law against the chamber's decision on the merits lies to the same Plenary within 30 days. A stay of execution is, as a rule, granted against security; depending on the circumstances, security may not be required. A stay of execution cannot be requested a second time on the same grounds. For this reason, the person's residence and travel situation should be planned separately while the lawsuit is pending.

What is the investor's position in an irregular citizenship investigation?

The investor's position in a criminal investigation depends on whether they knew of the irregularity; the investor may be heard as a suspect, a victim or a witness. According to the Minister of Justice's statements and information reported in the press, the charges in the 2026 investigations are a criminal organisation, migrant smuggling, fraud using public institutions as a tool, and forgery of documents. In the first wave in August 2026, 72 suspects were taken into police custody in 16 provinces and 32 suspects were placed in pre-trial detention. In the second wave in September 2026, trustees (kayyum) were appointed to 30 companies and 26 suspects were placed in pre-trial detention.

An investor who paid the price but bought a property at an inflated value may be a victim in relation to the seller. An investor who knew the value was inflated or took part in a forged document, however, may be investigated as a suspect. Because the administration may base the citizenship decision on the same facts, a statement in the criminal file also affects the citizenship lawsuit.

Having been deceived by the seller does not, on its own, protect citizenship based on an untrue investment.

In a February 2026 decision, the 10th Chamber of the Council of State dismissed the lawsuit of an investor who argued that he had left the procedures to a contractor. The reasoning was that the precondition for citizenship is "to invest in a manner that is true and lawful" (translated from the official Turkish text). For an investor who lives abroad and has a criminal investigation in Turkey, the risk of a summons to give a statement and of an arrest warrant (yakalama kararı) should be examined separately.

How can an investor whose citizenship is revoked stay in Turkey?

An investor whose citizenship is revoked or withdrawn returns to foreigner status and becomes subject to the general rules for foreigners in order to stay in Turkey. The Law states that Law No. 5683 applies to persons whose citizenship is revoked. That Law was repealed by the Law on Foreigners and International Protection (6458 sayılı Yabancılar ve Uluslararası Koruma Kanunu); a stay is now assessed under Law No. 6458.

After citizenship ends, the Turkish identity card and Turkish passport cannot be used as the person's proof of citizenship. The person stays in Turkey on the passport of their own country, and a residence permit or visa is needed for this. A risk of statelessness may also arise for an investor who has given up their previous citizenship; this should be dealt with separately both in the lawsuit and in residence planning.

The Law's provision on exceptional acquisition of citizenship does not list a previous revocation as an obstacle to an application. However, applications from persons with an obstacle in terms of national security and public order are rejected by the Ministry. The reason for a previous revocation may affect this assessment in an application based on a new investment. The same rules apply to the spouse and children; the residence situation of each family member is assessed individually.

Which documents matter in a citizenship by investment revocation file?

In a citizenship by investment revocation file, what matters is not the number of documents but the documents showing that the investment was genuine and when the decision was notified. In a file based on valuation, value documents stand out; in a file based on a sham sale, payment records.

• The decision: Presidential decision, notification document, civil registry printout, letter cancelling the certificate of conformity.
• The investment: title deed, official deed of sale, sales contract, valuation report, Amount Determination Certificate (Tutar Tespit Belgesi).
• The payment: bank transfer receipts, foreign exchange purchase certificate, account statements, correspondence with the seller.
• Family and stay: marriage and birth records, previous passports, residence permit records.
• The criminal file: statement records, seizure orders, complaints filed against the seller.

Not every file needs all of these documents; the same document can be decisive in one file and irrelevant in another. Which document matters against which ground is determined after the reasoning of the decision has been seen.

Conclusion: in revocation of citizenship by investment, the type of decision and the genuineness of the investment decide the outcome

When citizenship acquired by investment ends, the first question is whether the decision is a revocation or a withdrawal. Revocation takes effect from the date of the decision, and withdrawal from the date of the original citizenship. In both acts, the spouse and children, as a rule, share the same fate as the investor.

The second question is whether the ground is based on a fact that existed before citizenship. An inflated valuation, an untrue foreign exchange purchase certificate or a sham sale are of this kind. A later loss of value or a record that arose after citizenship does not lead to the same result.

The processes concerning 687 and 1,070 people announced in 2026 were not at the decision stage on the dates they were announced. When a decision is notified, the 60-day time limit for filing a lawsuit starts; liquidation and the consequences for the family also depend on the outcome of this lawsuit. Because the cancellation of the certificate of conformity and the citizenship decision are separate acts, the notification date of each should be tracked separately.