Q: Hello, I am an American citizen looking to invest in commercial real estate in Istanbul. I was curious about how the citizenship by investment process works. Do I need to speak to anyone before buying the property? Or should I buy the property and begin the process of getting my citizenship afterwards? In addition, if I were to choose to establish a company in Turkey and employ 50 or more people, how long would I have to maintain that company in order to get my citizenship?

Q: Dear ATA Consultancy, I bought 2 apartments in Istanbul, the first one in 10/2018 (TL 450,000) through payments and finished last payment in 1/2020 (but still didn't receive the title deed - Tabu - yet), and the second apartment in 03/2019 (TL 425,000) through payments and received the tabu on 30 December 2019. Payments were made by transferring from my Jordan bank to my Turkish bank and paying to the real estate developer from my Turkish bank. What I transferred so far is USD 160,000, but I am not sure how they will calculate the USD/TRY exchange rate and on what date since I did instalments. I plan to buy my last apartment and apply to Turkish citizenship, but before I do buy my last apartment, I want to make sure I am on the right track and can apply without problems. What is the cost of your services? Do you have a real estate agent also?

Q: Hello, I am from Lebanon. A friend of mine told me that, buying property in Turkey grants anyone the right to reside in the country legally because he owns a property, where he renews his residence annually or every two years. That allows him after about five years to apply for citizenship. is this true? Is there any way to cut the "five years" residency and apply directly to Turkish citizenship or after one year or two at max? Please advise as I am thinking of taking such steps.

Q: Dear Sirs, I signed a contract with a developer in the UAE to purchase a property off-plan, with expected completion in late 2024. Construction on the property has not started yet. I have also provided them with cheques for the downpayment as well as the installments. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, I informed them that I will not be able to go ahead with any of the payments. So far, I had only paid an initial "show of interest" fee of AED 10.000 by credit card. I have asked for the contract to be canceled, and for the cheques to be returned. They have refused to do so and stated that as a penalty for defaulting, I will have to pay 10% of the total amount. The first cheque for the down payment is due in one week and it will be returned by the bank due to insufficient funds. Kindly advise on my options.