**Почему 400,000$ - это ДЁШЕВО за гражданство ТУРЦИИ? — Transcript & Summary | SozAI** Source: https://sozai.app/transcript/why-400000-dollars-cheap-turkish-citizenship/ A detailed personal account of obtaining Turkish citizenship by investment, highlighting costs, benefits, and comparisons with other programs. ## Key Takeaways - Turkish citizenship by investment is a strategic, secure option for Russians despite higher upfront costs. - Most costs besides the property price are recoverable, making the investment economically sensible. - Caribbean citizenship programs are less accessible to Russians and face future visa-free travel risks. - Having a second passport offers important geopolitical and financial diversification benefits. - Early action is advised as investment requirements and program availability may tighten in the future. ## What the video covers - The creator documents their year-long journey of acquiring Turkish citizenship through real estate investment. - Official investment required was $400,000, but total costs including fees and travel reached about $450,000. - Turkish citizenship offers a valuable second passport option for Russians, despite higher costs compared to Caribbean programs. - Many Caribbean citizenship-by-investment programs are unavailable to Russians and face potential Schengen visa restrictions by 2028. - Most of the invested amount in Turkish real estate is recoverable through resale after the minimum holding period. - Obtaining Turkish citizenship provides diversification, security, and a backup residence option outside Russia. - The investment threshold in Turkey increased from $250,000 to $400,000 due to demand, with potential for further increases. - The video offers consultation services and contacts for Turkish and Vanuatu citizenship by investment. - The creator emphasizes preparing in advance for geopolitical uncertainties rather than reacting later. - Turkish citizenship covers the whole family and has lower non-recoverable costs compared to Caribbean passports. ## Chapters 1. 00:00 Introduction and Receiving Turkish Passport 2. 01:38 Comparison with Caribbean Citizenship Programs 3. 02:54 Costs and Recoverability of Turkish Citizenship Investment 4. 04:41 Benefits Beyond Visa-Free Travel and Security Considerations 5. 06:08 Current Alternatives and Consultation Offers 6. 07:25 Using Turkish Citizenship as a Backup Plan 7. 08:55 Long-Term Perspective on Turkish Real Estate and Citizenship 8. 12:59 Viewer Questions and Final Thoughts Answers ## Questions about this video How much does it cost to obtain Turkish citizenship by investment? Officially, the minimum real estate investment required is $400,000, but total costs including legal fees, taxes, repairs, and travel typically reach around $450,000. Why is Turkish citizenship considered more advantageous than Caribbean options for Russians? Many Caribbean citizenship programs do not accept Russian applicants and face potential loss of Schengen visa-free access by 2028, while Turkish citizenship offers a stable, recoverable investment and broader benefits. What are the main benefits of having a Turkish passport besides visa-free travel? Besides visa-free access to some countries, a Turkish passport provides diversification, security, the ability to register assets, obtain residence permits in third countries, and tax advantages on foreign income. ## Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown 00:00 Speaker A Hello everyone. For an entire year on this channel, I’ve been telling you about my decision to get a second citizenship by investment, how I chose Turkey for it, bought property while you watched, and rented it out. And now, about a year later, I have finally received my long-awaited Turkish passport. Moreover, I even used it to cross the border just out of curiosity. 00:11 Speaker A , about a year later, I have finally received my long-awaited Turkish passport. Moreover, I even used it to cross the border just out of curiosity. 00:21 Speaker A I didn't have any problems at all. It’s a very beautiful document, by the way, with drawings of landmarks inside. They made it very quickly, in just 3 weeks. Even though I submitted my application at a Turkish consulate outside of the country. It’s surprising, but those were the timelines. In the future, I will register my assets under it, re-register my bank and brokerage accounts, and get any necessary residence permits or visas using it as well. Officially, to obtain citizenship, it was necessary to purchase real estate for at least 400,000 dollars. However, my total investment came to about 450,000 dollars, including legal fees, property purchase taxes, investments in some minor repairs, and all other costs, even including flight tickets and a short stay in the country for me and my wife, who has, of course, also received all her documents. Oh, and the property itself, of course, cost a bit more than 400,000, because hitting that number perfectly in practice is impossible. Of all the passports available to Russians by investment, the Turkish one might seem the most expensive. And yet, I personally believe that for many people, including myself, of course, it is the most advantageous option for getting a second citizenship. I have repeatedly been told in the comments that, you know, for half the price, you can get a passport from neutral Caribbean islands like St. Kitts and Nevis. Implicitly suggesting, perhaps, that such a passport provides visa-free access to the entire Schengen zone and costs half as much. There are two significant problems with such comments. Firstly, there are very few citizenship-by-investment options available to Russians. Some countries don't even work with people who were born in Russia, not to mention citizens, including, of course, St. Kitts and Nevis, which also don't work with Russians. Furthermore, getting a passport just for Schengen access seems like a strange decision to me, because Europe is demanding that Caribbean countries shut down all such programs by 2028 under the threat of canceling their visa-free access to Schengen. So it is quite likely that the visa-free status, unfortunately, will be closed. Secondly, the Turkish passport does indeed require large investments, and in that regard, it is very expensive. 00:34 Speaker A surprising, but those were the timelines. In the future, I will register my assets under it, re-register my bank and brokerage accounts, and get any necessary residence permits or visas using it as well. Officially, to obtain citizenship , it was necessary to purchase real 00:50 Speaker A However, I believe it is more important to consider the non-recoverable costs. And here, Turkey is beyond competition. Almost the entire invested amount will return, because I will be able to sell all the apartments in just 3 years. Actually, even less, because time is moving on. Of course, real estate can drop in price during this time, but it could also go up. However, it makes sense to count the specific expenses you incur when paying for the citizenship process itself, legal fees, real estate agents, taxes, and so on. These costs are many times lower than the price of any Caribbean passport, especially if you divide the expenses among all family members, since the husband, wife, and all their minor children receive citizenship. By the way, I know that many viewers already have a second citizenship, for example, through ancestry or some other virtually free method. And for such people, I would like to specifically point out how valuable having a second passport really is. It usually costs hundreds of thousands of dollars for people who do not have, say, a Jewish grandmother. You are very lucky. And if you personally have the right to such an easy way to get a second passport, but still haven't used it, be sure to do so. Gradually, it is becoming more and more difficult to obtain second citizenships. Therefore, if you don't act now, you might miss this opportunity altogether. Some ask: "Why pay for Turkish citizenship if the visa-free countries are about the same as Russia's?" Of course, it is usually not done to get visa-free access to Japan or Singapore, which are just a small bonus, but for diversification and security. Citizens of Ukraine and Belarus have already faced the impossibility of replacing their passports outside their countries. And if Russians ever face a similar situation in the future, it will likely only happen if, for one reason or another, it is no longer safe in Russia. Therefore, a great advantage is having a backup airfield, in the sense of being able to come to Turkey and live there whenever you want. Moreover, you can now also get an exemption from paying taxes on all your foreign income. Or, at the very least, you can use a Turkish passport to obtain residence permits for any third countries, even in the absence of Russian documents. Of course, someone might object that Russians don't face such a situation right now. Why then protect yourself against something that does not exist? Isn't it better to solve problems as they arise? But I decided that no, it is better to prepare in advance for what hasn't happened yet, even if it may never happen at all. Before 2022, Turkish citizenship could be obtained for an investment of just $250,000, after which, due to the influx of Russians and Ukrainians, the threshold was significantly raised. Now imagine that in a couple of months or a couple of years, for example, a new wave of mobilization begins in Russia. I am not saying that it will happen, but it is theoretically possible. Imagine a ban on renewing foreign passports for men. A gradual closing of the country's borders. I wouldn't be surprised if the minimum investment in real estate for Turkish citizenship then reaches, say, 800,000 instead of 400. And there will still be demand, believe me. Many people who buy my consultations on Turkish citizenship by investment openly say that they would definitely participate in this program even for 600 or 700 thousand. Besides, all such programs always face a negative reaction among many local residents. They say the country is being sold off to foreigners, that passports shouldn't be issued just for money, and so on. If the negative sentiment continues to grow, the program might eventually be closed altogether. And by and large, there are currently no alternatives for Russians. Among those that are stable, predictable, and fast, there is perhaps only Vanuatu, with non-refundable costs of 130,000 dollars for the main applicant. Yes, by the way, if you are also interested in obtaining Turkish citizenship through real estate investment or even Vanuatu, feel free to contact me. I can provide you with all the necessary contacts of people who will help you go through the process as quickly, safely, and, importantly, profitably as possible. Without a hidden 30-40 percent overpayment for buying new property in Turkey. This isn't some large agency where you overpay for a fancy office, marketing, and a bunch of employees. But this allows you to save well, to save a lot of money, actually. And for Vanuatu and St. Kitts as well, I basically work with an agency that charges less for the same services than most other agencies. I can also provide a paid consultation on Turkish citizenship by investment, during which I will explain the entire process in detail over an hour and a half, step by step, about some pitfalls and what you need to pay the most attention to. I have not only gone through the entire path myself but am also now constantly in touch with a real estate agent and a Turkish lawyer. So feel free to reach out. We work with citizens of any country. And I also conduct consultations on the topic of investments in general. The global stock market and the Russian stock market. The link to my Telegram is in the description of this video. I answer personally there myself. Fe 01:09 Speaker A for me and my wife, who has, of course, also received all her documents. Oh, and the property itself, of course, cost a bit more than 400,000, because hitting that number perfectly in practice is impossible. Of all the passports available to Russians by 01:24 Speaker A investment, the Turkish one might seem the most expensive. And yet, I personally believe that for many people , including myself, of course, it is the most advantageous option for getting a second citizenship. I have repeatedly been told in the comments 01:38 Speaker A that, you know, for half the price, you can get a passport from neutral Caribbean islands like St. Kitts and Nevis. Implicitly suggesting, perhaps, that such a passport provides visa-free access to the entire Schengen zone and costs half as much. There are two 01:53 Speaker A significant problems with such comments . Firstly, there are very few citizenship-by-investment options available to Russians. Some countries don't even work with people who were born in Russia, not to mention citizens , including, of course, St. Kitts and Nevis, which also don't work with 02:08 Speaker A Russians. Furthermore, getting a passport just for Schengen access seems like a strange decision to me, because Europe is demanding that Caribbean countries shut down all such programs by 2028 under the threat of canceling their visa-free access to Schengen. So 02:22 Speaker A it is quite likely that the visa-free status, unfortunately, will be closed. Secondly, the Turkish passport does indeed require large investments, and in that regard, it is very expensive. 02:30 Speaker A However, I believe it is more important to consider the non-recoverable costs. And here, Turkey is beyond competition. 02:37 Speaker A Almost the entire invested amount will return, because I will be able to sell all the apartments in just 3 years. 02:43 Speaker A Actually, even less, because time is moving on. Of course, real estate can drop in price during this time, but it could also go up. However, it makes sense to count the specific expenses you incur when paying for the 02:54 Speaker A citizenship process itself, legal fees, real estate agents, taxes, and so on. These costs are many times lower than the price of any Caribbean passport, especially if you divide the expenses among all family members, since the husband, wife, and all their minor 03:09 Speaker A children receive citizenship. By the way, I know that many viewers already have a second citizenship, for example, through ancestry or some other virtually free method. And for such people, I would like to specifically point out how valuable having a second 03:23 Speaker A passport really is. It usually costs hundreds of thousands of dollars for people who do not have, say, a Jewish grandmother. You are very lucky. And if you personally have the right to such an easy way to get a second passport, 03:36 Speaker A but still haven't used it, be sure to do so. Gradually, it is becoming more and more difficult to obtain second citizenships. Therefore, if you don't act now, you might miss this opportunity altogether. Some ask: "Why pay for Turkish citizenship if the 03:50 Speaker A visa-free countries are about the same as Russia's?" Of course, it is usually not done to get visa-free access to Japan or Singapore, which are just a small bonus, but for diversification and security. Citizens of Ukraine and Belarus have already faced the 04:09 Speaker A impossibility of replacing their passports outside their countries. And if Russians ever face a similar situation in the future, it will likely only happen if, for one reason or another, it is no longer safe in Russia . Therefore, a great advantage is 04:26 Speaker A having a backup airfield, in the sense of being able to come to Turkey and live there whenever you want. Moreover, you can now also get an exemption from paying taxes on all your foreign income . Or, at the very least, you can use a 04:41 Speaker A Turkish passport to obtain residence permits for any third countries, even in the absence of Russian documents. Of course, someone might object that Russians don't face such a situation right now. Why then protect yourself against something that does not exist? 04:54 Speaker A Isn't it better to solve problems as they arise? But I decided that no, it is better to prepare in advance for what hasn't happened yet, even if it may never happen at all. Before 2022, Turkish citizenship could be obtained 05:08 Speaker A for an investment of just $ 250,000, after which, due to the influx of Russians and Ukrainians, the threshold was significantly raised. Now imagine that in a couple of months or a couple of years, for example, a new wave of 05:21 Speaker A mobilization begins in Russia. I am not saying that it will happen, but it is theoretically possible. Imagine a ban on renewing foreign passports for men. 05:28 Speaker A A gradual closing of the country's borders. I wouldn't be surprised if the minimum investment in real estate for Turkish citizenship then reaches, say, 800,000 instead of 400. And there will still be demand, believe me. Many people who buy my consultations on 05:43 Speaker A Turkish citizenship by investment openly say that they would definitely participate in this program even for 600 or 700 thousand. Besides, all such programs always face a negative reaction among many local residents. 05:56 Speaker A They say the country is being sold off to foreigners, that passports shouldn't be issued just for money, and so on. If the negative sentiment continues to grow, the program might eventually be closed altogether. And by and large, there are currently no alternatives for 06:08 Speaker A Russians. Among those that are stable, predictable, and fast, there is perhaps only Vanuatu, with non-refundable costs of 130,000 dollars for the main applicant. Yes, by the way, if you are also interested in obtaining Turkish citizenship through real estate 06:21 Speaker A investment or even Vanuatu, feel free to contact me. I can provide you with all the necessary contacts of people who will help you go through the process as quickly, safely, and, importantly, profitably as possible. 06:30 Speaker A Without a hidden 30-40 percent overpayment for buying new property in Turkey. This isn't some large agency where you overpay for a fancy office, marketing, and a bunch of employees. 06:40 Speaker A But this allows you to save well, to save a lot of money, actually. And for Vanuatu and St. Kitts as well, I basically work with an agency that charges less for the same services than most other agencies. I can also provide 06:52 Speaker A a paid consultation on Turkish citizenship by investment, during which I will explain the entire process in detail over an hour and a half, step by step, about some pitfalls and what you need to pay the most attention to. I 07:04 Speaker A have not only gone through the entire path myself but am also now constantly in touch with a real estate agent and a Turkish lawyer. So feel free to reach out. We work with citizens of any country. And I also conduct 07:14 Speaker A consultations on the topic of investments in general. The global stock market and the Russian stock market. The link to my Telegram is in the description of this video. I answer personally there myself. Feel free to contact me. And let's continue. Besides 07:25 Speaker A a backup plan, there is another goal for obtaining a second citizenship. You can live using it. If you are in Russia , of course, you are required to cross the border only with your Russian passport, but you can, for example, 07:39 Speaker A open foreign accounts primarily using your Turkish passport. Specify it with brokers during registration, and provide it at banks. This somewhat reduces the likelihood of such an account being closed, because Turkey, unlike Russia, is not under large-scale international sanctions and is 07:56 Speaker A perceived as just another passport. And by the way, I have already uploaded my new documents to brokers, including the well-known American firm Interactive Brokers, and they accepted them without any issues, making Turkey my primary citizenship. If you live outside of 08:11 Speaker A Russia, you might also want to register your other assets under your Turkish passport, for instance, real estate. 08:18 Speaker A You can cross borders using this document, so that in case of any issues , you would be deported to the country of the passport you used for entry— that is, Turkey, rather than Russia. 08:28 Speaker A Again, while you may be able to visit your homeland freely right now, just look at many male citizens of Ukraine who likely never imagined they would end up in such a sad situation, where their strong passport with visa-free 08:40 Speaker A access to the EU would become less attractive to them than the passport of more neutral Turkey, with which they can live in peace. And this insurance stays with the investor for the rest of their life and is passed on to their 08:55 Speaker A children, not to mention that even after selling the property, having such citizenship is practically a free bet on a country for you or your children. 09:04 Speaker A If you are about 30 now, in another 30 years you might find that Turkey has become a highly developed nation over these decades, gained even more visa-free destinations, and perhaps even obtained easy access to the Schengen Area. Of course, this might 09:19 Speaker A not happen, but the probability is far from zero, so you get an extra chance to have a much stronger passport by retirement than the one you initially counted on. Naturally, the comments section will surely be swarmed by some 09:33 Speaker A fortune-tellers who, well, definitely, absolutely know that this will not happen. But I believe that predicting the future of any state 30 years in advance is practically impossible. 09:44 Speaker A Anything can happen. Therefore, betting on any additional country, except for truly absurd examples like, I don't know, North Korea, is an advantage. 09:54 Speaker A Many people also get passports for their children. And they, too, may find themselves in the future, as adults, with an extremely strong citizenship in a few decades. Who knows? An interesting fact. Even Venezuela has visa-free access to European countries. 10:07 Speaker A I was born with Russian citizenship, like most of my viewers. And in doing so, I made a bet on that country. So far, you can see the results of that bet for yourselves in recent years. 10:17 Speaker A Although, perhaps in many years Russia will actually become a highly attractive country to live in, and its passport won't cause shock to any bank employee in a developed country. 10:30 Speaker A However, I now prefer to make at least two bets, and ideally, even more in the future. Life situations vary, and future scenarios are equally diverse and unpredictable. Therefore, having a relatively neutral citizenship is, in my personal opinion, a major advantage. 10:47 Speaker A And instead of focusing on the lack of visa-free access to Schengen, I would rather pay attention to the fact that a Turkish passport can completely replace your Russian one in terms of visa-free travel. If this citizenship-by-investment program didn't exist, the only option left, as 11:01 Speaker A I said, would be Vanuatu, with which you can't really travel much, even around Asia or Latin America. That’s why I decided that I needed to take Turkey while it's still being offered. 11:09 Speaker A And I consider it a phenomenally good deal for me personally. All three apartments are currently rented out. 11:14 Speaker A Sometimes there are minor repairs, there have been payment delays of a couple of days, but overall, after deducting all expenses and adjusting for the lira's depreciation, my rental yield is about 4-5%per annum, something like that. In general, that’s the 11:30 Speaker A typical real return for a risky asset class, whether it’s real estate or stocks. It’s roughly the same. 11:36 Speaker A Initially, I planned to sell all the real estate after 3 years of ownership, that is, to hold it for the minimum period that allows keeping the citizenship. But now, having assessed how little of my effort and time actually goes into management— 11:49 Speaker A practically zero, to be honest—I think I will keep one or two apartments for at least 5 years, which will allow me to avoid paying capital gains tax. 11:58 Speaker A Of course, I’ll look at the circumstances and the situation, but the first year has already almost passed, and I can't say that I am in any particular rush to get rid of everything as soon as possible in two 12:07 Speaker A years. There are downsides, there is the risk of earthquakes, and there are geopolitical risks in general. There are arguments for not keeping such substantial sums in Turkey for too long . But so far, they aren't enough to make me want to withdraw all my money 12:20 Speaker A as quickly as possible. Every time I receive the rent and transfer the Turkish liras to the American broker Interactive Brokers, they usually arrive in a couple of hours. I remember that once it was possible to transfer rubles in exactly the same way; I 12:35 Speaker A remember sending them there from Tinkoff Bank without a commission. Those were the days. Fortunately, Turkey allows me, in a sense, to bring that time back. Also, it was interesting for me to read the comments of people who are overly skeptical and 12:48 Speaker A negative toward me personally, my channel, or even Turkey as a whole. After each stage of the process, I received dozens, if not hundreds, of messages saying that I wouldn't be able to move any further. I bought the first 12:59 Speaker A property, and they write that I won't be able to buy the rest to qualify for citizenship, because they supposedly won't pass the expert appraisal. I buy all the properties, and they tell me they won't qualify for citizenship because all the purchases had to be 13:12 Speaker A registered in advance. supposedly in one transaction and buying only in one city. Well, basically, they're spreading nonsense that some developers and their agents tell to sell new properties more actively at crazy overprices, at astronomical rates. I apply for citizenship, and I'm told 13:30 Speaker A I’ll definitely be rejected because once a taxi driver in Istanbul scammed a commenter. And, of course, that means the state will cheat me too. That’s roughly the logic. Oh, and here is my favorite comment, which aged perfectly. 13:42 Speaker A Six months ago, a viewer wrote that I should have moved to Portugal long ago, because immigrants living there could get a passport in just 5 years, instead of the 10 under the new rules. Because the court ruled so. A state governed by 13:53 Speaker A the rule of law will never screw over its residents. It’s not like it's some kind of Turkey, right? In Portugal , the laws work. Well, is it worth mentioning that the law was eventually changed and getting a passport now 14:01 Speaker A takes 12-13 years in total for everyone ? An excellent state. Too bad I didn’t move there sooner. Honestly, at times it was even a bit psychologically difficult for me to take further steps while people were exclaiming about how I was doing 14:14 Speaker A everything wrong and how nothing would work out for me. But, fortunately, I’m used to blogging and, as a result , to constant hate. So, fortunately, it didn't stop me from completing the process without any problems. And finally, some in the comments also 14:28 Speaker A wrote that I just needed to fly and have a child in Argentina to get that country's stronger passport with visa-free access to the EU. To this, I want to answer. Go for it. No joke. If you are planning to have a child anyway 14:41 Speaker A , then, of course, it’s better to give them both an excellent second passport and a place of birth in a neutral jurisdiction right away. As I have already said, the value of this is measured in hundreds of thousands of 14:52 Speaker A dollars. But I will note that a passport is not guaranteed for you. According to official statistics, over the last 10 years or so, only a couple of thousand Russians have been able to obtain Argentine citizenship. It’s a cool story. You surely also keep 15:04 Speaker A hearing that some pregnant Russian women are storming Buenos Aires airports just to give birth in Argentina. But as you can see, few make it to the end of the process. Learning the language, living in the country— now possibly without leaving—and the 15:17 Speaker A bureaucracy put many off. I am not saying it’s impossible. Of course, it is possible. I’m saying that it’s more complicated than it might seem. If my wife and I were suddenly planning to have a child, then, of course, we would 15:28 Speaker A almost certainly have them in Latin America. But bringing a new human into the world primarily for the purpose of getting a passport for yourself is, of course, just madness. Not only is it immoral, in my opinion, but it is also 15:40 Speaker A extremely expensive. Ask anyone who has raised a child. Turkish citizenship, in terms of non-refundable costs, luckily cost me much less. If you want one for yourself, then write to me. My contact details are in the description of this 15:53 Speaker A video. And thank you for watching. Topics: Turkish citizenship citizenship by investment second passport real estate investment Turkish passport Russian investors Caribbean citizenship visa-free travel investment immigration dual citizenship Study this video - [Flashcards from this video](https://sozai.app/tools/ai-flashcard-generator/?from=transcript&id=74781) - [Quiz on this video](https://sozai.app/tools/quiz-generator/?from=transcript&id=74781) Free, made by AI from this transcript. No signup. --- This is the markdown twin of https://sozai.app/transcript/why-400000-dollars-cheap-turkish-citizenship/ — the same content, without the markup. 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