Practice areas · Turkish immigration
Not every move points toward America. Foreign nationals settle, work, and invest in Turkey; Turkish citizens abroad manage status questions back home. As an attorney admitted to the Istanbul Bar since 2001, I handle the Turkish side directly — no referral chain, no translation loss.
This page explains the law in general terms. It is legal information, not legal advice about your case.
Turkey requires foreign nationals to hold a residence permit for stays beyond their visa period, and a separate, generally employer-sponsored work permit to be employed. Applications turn on correct categorization and complete documentation — and small errors have a way of surfacing months later as denials or gaps in lawful stay.
Get advice before your current permission expires — a gap in lawful stay is far easier to prevent than to repair.
Citizenship can follow from descent, marriage, long-term residence, or exceptional acquisition — including Turkey's citizenship-by-investment program, which runs through qualifying real-estate or capital investments. Each route has its own documentary standards, and the investment route in particular rewards careful structuring before the purchase, not after.
If citizenship is the goal, choose the route before the first application — switching tracks midway costs time and sometimes eligibility.
Turkish citizens living in the United States carry Turkish-law questions with them: renouncing or reacquiring citizenship, Blue Card status for former citizens, civil-registry corrections, and filings that Turkish authorities expect to be handled precisely — in person, or by someone holding your power of attorney in Turkey.
If a Turkish consulate or registry office is asking for something you cannot produce from abroad, this is the situation power of attorney was made for.
Bring the Turkish side of your situation to the same one-hour consultation — it is often half of the whole picture.
1 hour · $120 · English or Turkish · virtual