The Legal Istanbul

• Informaition

If you are planning to use property ownership as the basis for a Turkish residence permit, the rules have changed significantly — and getting them wrong now results in rejection, wasted legal fees, and months of delays.
Since 15 January 2025, the minimum purchase price to base a residence permit on property ownership is $200,000 USD, applied uniformly across the entire country. There are no longer cheaper provinces or regional exceptions. This is a fundamental shift from the previous system, and many foreign buyers and their agents are still operating under outdated assumptions.

This article explains exactly what changed, what it means for your application, and what documents you must have in place before you apply.

• What the old rules look like?

Until October 2023, the property threshold for a residence permit varied by location. Properties worth $75,000 USD in major metropolitan cities and $50,000 USD in smaller provinces qualified. The value was confirmed through an SPK-licensed valuation report rather than the title deed price itself.
That system has now been replaced entirely.

The neighbourhood restriction issue
Before you purchase any property in Istanbul, one check is non-negotiable. In over 1,169 neighbourhoods across Turkey, the percentage of foreign residents exceeds 20% of the local population. In these areas, registration of new residence permits is prohibited entirely.
Popular affected areas include Mahmutlar, Kestel, Avsallar, and numerous districts in İzmir. In Istanbul, the closed neighbourhood list changes regularly and must be verified against the current DGMM database before any purchase commitment is made.
Buying a property in a closed neighbourhood — even one worth well above $200,000 — means you cannot use it for a residence permit application.

• What changed — and when?

The changes came in two stages.
Stage 1 — October 16, 2023: The nationwide minimum threshold was set at $200,000 USD, eliminating the distinction between large and small cities. An SPK-licensed appraisal report confirming the property value became mandatory at this stage.
Stage 2 — January 15, 2025: For properties purchased on or after 16 October 2023, valuation reports are no longer accepted. The deed price controls — meaning the sale price written directly on your title deed must equal at least $200,000 USD, converted to Turkish Lira at the Central Bank’s selling rate on the title-transfer date.
This is a critical distinction. If you purchased your property before October 16, 2023, the older thresholds and the valuation report system still apply to your application. If you purchased after that date, only the deed price counts.

• The Döviz Alım Belgesi (DAB) — the document most buyers miss

A foreign-exchange purchase certificate (Döviz Alım Belgesi, DAB) from a Turkish commercial bank is now mandatory. Cash transactions and informal transfers are not accepted.
This means your payment must flow through a Turkish commercial bank, and that bank must issue a DAB confirming the currency conversion. If your funds arrived via a third party, in cash, or through an informal transfer — your application will fail at this stage regardless of the property value.

Only residential properties qualify
The property must be for residential use. Commercial, office, or land properties are not eligible. Additionally, the program’s purpose is for the owner to reside in the property — renting out the property that is the basis of your residence application can lead to rejection of your renewal application.
This catches many foreign investors off guard. Purchasing a property with the intention of renting it out while using it as your permit basis is not permitted and will cause problems at renewal stage.