DAB for Foreign Buyers in Turkey::Thinking about purchasing real estate in Turkey—either as an investment or to qualify for Turkish citizenship by real estate? This guide explains what you can buy, how payments must be handled, and how the citizenship track works in plain English.

1) Who can buy—and for what purpose?

• Foreign individuals may buy residential and commercial property that is zoned and eligible (subject to security-sensitive areas).

• What does not qualify for citizenship: agricultural land or bare plots with no eligible building/use.

• What often qualifies: completed units with condominium ownership/easement or land with a completed building and proper use status.

• Minimum for citizenship: investments totaling USD 400,000 (or FX equivalent), documented consistently across deed/contract, bank transfers + FX sale, and independent valuation.

• 3-year hold: a no-sale/no-transfer annotation is recorded at the Land Registry for three years.

2) The FX rule: DAB (Foreign Exchange Purchase Document)

Payments by foreigners for property (and prepaid notarized sale-promise agreements) must be sold to the Central Bank via a Turkish bank before title or promise-to-sell procedures. The bank issues a Döviz Alım Belgesi – DAB, and the TL amount shown on that DAB becomes the official sale price in the title deed.

Key points:

• The DAB must be presented to the Land Registry before the transaction.

• The DAB’s “explanation” line should include: buyer’s name/passport or YKN, parcel/independent unit number, USD equivalent, and that the sale is under the relevant rules.

• For sale-promise deals, only the fully prepaid portion qualifies and must be covered by a DAB; the 3-year undertaking is recorded in the registry.

• Payments cannot be secured by legal mortgage to meet this obligation; if financing is used, it must be a foreign-currency loan whose proceeds are sold to the Central Bank and documented with a DAB before title formalities.

• Enforcement/public-authority sales and financial leasing also require DAB documentation.

• Transitional relief: where funds reached the seller before the circular took effect and a DAB cannot be produced, documented bank receipts may be considered; otherwise, any shortfall versus the declared price should be covered by selling FX to the Central Bank and obtaining a DAB for the difference.

3) The step-by-step path (property only)

1. KYC & planning – choose city, budget, property type, timeline.

2. Banking – open a Turkish bank account; plan the FX sale for DAB issuance.

3. Title & seller pre-check – confirm zoning/ownership, ensure the seller profile is eligible (not yourself/close relatives/your companies), and ensure the property wasn’t previously used in another citizenship application.

4. Contract & payment – execute deed transfer or fully prepaid sale-promise; obtain DAB that references the correct parcel/independent unit.

5. Valuation report – independent appraisal confirming value/encumbrances; make sure numbers align with DAB and deed/contract.

6. Registry annotation – record the 3-year no-sale undertaking.

7. Certificate of Conformity – Ministry confirmation that the investment meets program rules.

8. Residence permit → Citizenship filing – submit investor residence first, followed by citizenship applications for the main applicant and eligible family.

4) What documents should you expect?

Passports, biometric photos, marital & birth records (apostilled/legalized), proof of address, bank payment receipts + DAB, valuation report, deed/sale-promise, and the Certificate of Conformity. Your file must read coherently—same value across DAB, valuation and deed/contract.

5) Frequent pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

• Mismatched values between DAB, valuation and the deed → map the transaction amounts in advance.

• Wrong property type (e.g., agricultural or bare land) → confirm zoning and status before paying.

• Sale-promise errors (not fully prepaid, wrong unit type, stacking multiple promises) → use a single compliant promise or proceed to deed transfer.

• Missing identifiers on the DAB (no parcel/unit number) → have the bank include the correct Taşınmaz Numarası (or island/parcel if applicable).

6) How we help (Tenha Law Firm)

• Single-point coordination with bank, valuation firm, Land Registry and ministries.

• Pre-deal checks on title, seller, zoning and security-area status.

• Precise paperwork (DAB wording, valuation scope, 3-year annotation, conformity certificate).

• End-to-end filings for you and eligible family members, with multilingual support.

Start with a 20-minute assessment. Tell us your city, budget and family scope—we’ll share a same-day roadmap and short-listed properties.