Are you looking to purchase a Turkish property and take the plunge to move to Turkey? The good news is that moving to Turkey is pretty straightforward as long as you prepare and study beforehand. If you’re still looking for a property, many villas for sale in Turkey are available in all the popular resorts.
Before you leave your homeland
Ensure your legal and financial affairs are first in order in your country of origin. This means telling the bank that you are coming to Turkey so that your cards are not frozen due to security issues. It can be paid into your Turkish bank account if you are surviving on a pension.
Otherwise, packing your suitcases is the only other thing you need to do. Some people want to carry their furniture to Turkey from the UK, but this is an expensive affair, and for several months you can see your furniture trapped in customs. Purchasing all your furniture in Turkey is much simpler and cheaper.
Learning the Turkish language
Most ex-pats intend to learn Turkish and then beat themselves up further down the road because they are not as advanced as they wished they would be. The fact is that the locals speak English in many of the ex-pat resorts, and you can get by without understanding any of the languages. Attempting to learn one word a day lets you connect with non-English-speaking neighbours and colleagues and make future friends.
Health insurance and residency permit
A normal tourist visa allows you to stay for 90 days in the country out of 180. You must apply for a residency permit if you want to stay for longer. The official website for the government helps you to complete the whole process online. The system will refer you to which documents you need to have and how much you will pay, depending on your situation. You would still have to have health insurance or opt into the SGK programme of the government. It may seem overwhelming, but some organisations may assist with applications.
Turkish citizenship by investment
In 2016, Turkey declared its citizenship via an investment scheme. It grants applicants investing in real estate or a bank deposit a residency, citizenship, and a second passport. For buyers, the real estate route is particularly appealing. This includes a minimum purchase of $250,000 + fees for property, making Turkey one of the lowest cost citizenship programmes on the investment market. The investment sum for real estate was initially set at $1 million, but in September 2018, it was significantly reduced.
Advantages of a Turkish Passport
A Turkish passport requires visa-free travel to 125 countries worldwide (or a visa upon arrival). Turkey also holds out the prospect of free entry to the EU for a future visa. Negotiations are underway at present, but Turkey has some way to satisfy the terms of the EU. Turkey holds some strong global ties. Via the E-2 Visa scheme, they have an E-2 Visa Treaty with the USA, which ensures that Turkish citizens can apply for US citizenship. It is also possible for Turkish citizens to apply for a UK business visa via the Turkish Businessperson Visa scheme, thanks to Turkey’s Ankara agreement with the UK.
Taking your car into Turkey
For six months at a time, foreign cars can remain in Turkey. The cars must be taken out of the country after that for another six months. Ex-pats tend to purchase cheap cars in Turkey because of the hassle. Similarly, you can drive for up to 6 months on a foreign driving license until you apply for a Turkish driving license. At the beginning of 2016, these rules and systems were put in place, and authorities and ex-pats are still trying to settle into using the system. Many ex-pats, however, use public transport because it is cheap and frequent.
