Deadline Readiness Review — Foreign Buyer Eligibility
Time is part of foreign-buyer eligibility. A buyer may be eligible in principle and still miss a contractual or land-registry milestone because identity translation, DAB, representation, a location restriction check or a citizenship-specific document was not ready. Eligibility should therefore be converted into a dated readiness plan rather than treated as a folder of documents to assemble on the final day.
Before a non-refundable deposit
Identify the buyer nationality and whether the buyer is a natural person or another legal form. Confirm that the exact property is one that the buyer can acquire, and tie the conclusion to the parcel or independent-unit identifier rather than only to a project marketing name. If a location or restricted-zone issue requires official confirmation, that work belongs before an irreversible deposit. A contract should not quietly shift the entire risk to the buyer by saying that eligibility will be discovered later.
Before contract signature
Reconcile passport spelling with the contract and use a consistent identity format in banking and land-registry documents. Prepare any required translation and arrange a sworn interpreter where the party does not know Turkish. If a representative will sign, review the power of attorney and any formalities applicable to a foreign-issued document before the signing date. A formally valid power that does not cover the acquisition or the specific commitment is not operational readiness.
Before payment and DAB processing
Choose the banking route early and confirm what buyer, transaction and amount information must appear in the Döviz Alım Belgesi. Do not discover after funds move that the beneficiary, description or bank channel does not fit the required procedure. For citizenship-related acquisitions, maintain a separate evidence plan for the buyer-to-seller bank transfer in addition to DAB. The documents serve different evidentiary purposes and both must be connected to the same transaction.
Before the land-registry application
Refresh the TKGM checklist on the actual application date. Current guidance lists title information, passport or national identity evidence, municipal property value, DASK for buildings, identity information and photograph, applicable foreign identity or tax number, DAB, interpreter arrangements and representation documents. The responsible person for the file should have an actual received date for each requirement. A line saying requested from client is not the same as a document being available and verified.
Additional gate for citizenship by investment
Where citizenship is the purpose, add a distinct gate. Under the current TKGM 2024/4 framework, citizenship-linked real-estate transactions use the Tutar Tespit Belgesi, or TTB, to confirm the investment amount. TKGM states that the interval between a TTB in this system and the application should not exceed six months; after that the valuation basis must be renewed. The property type, declared value, DAB, bank transfers and required commitment should all be checked against the citizenship route. A property that can be purchased normally is not automatically ready for a citizenship file.
Deadline decision matrix
- Green: current sources support buyer, property, documents and required payment route.
- Amber: a defined missing item can be closed before commitment and has an owner and due date.
- Red: buyer or property eligibility is unresolved, a governing document is missing, or money would move before the required evidence exists.
Commercial pressure does not turn amber into green. Readiness is achieved when requirements become verified evidence, not when someone promises that they will be supplied later.
FAQ
Can the parties sign first and solve property eligibility later?
That can create serious contractual exposure. At minimum the eligibility issue should be an explicit condition and irreversible value should not be released before the decisive point is resolved.
When should DAB preparation begin?
Early enough to correct names, amounts and the banking route before the land-registry deadline, following current bank and TKGM instructions.
Is it enough that a TTB was valid when the file was opened?
No. In a citizenship transaction it must still satisfy the applicable timing at the application and match the current transaction.
Official sources
- TKGM — Foreign buyer purchase documents: https://www.tkgm.gov.tr/yabancii-db/basvuru-icin-gereken-belgeler-nelerdir
- TKGM — DAB: https://www.tkgm.gov.tr/yabancii-db/yabanci-gercek-kisi-edinimlerinde-doviz-alim-belgesi-genelgesi-hakkinda-duyuru
- TKGM — Circular 2024/4: https://www.tkgm.gov.tr/yabancii-db/turk-vatandasligi-kanunu-uygulama-yonetmeligi-hk-20244-sayili-genelge
- TKGM — Foreigners FAQ: https://www.tkgm.gov.tr/en/yabancii-db-sikca-sorulan-sorular