Do the USD 400,000 and 500,000 citizenship thresholds cover a digital company?
The citizenship-by-investment threshold was mentioned as roughly USD 500,000 in the reform package announcement of 27 April 2026 (Diken, 27 April 2026). For real estate, the threshold is USD 400,000. The condition that capital be held for at least three years was in the same announcement. Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek also counted investors who set up a manufacturing plant as eligible for citizenship. A service company employing 50 people was on the list too. The digital company (dijital şirket) regime was announced in the same speech; there is no written legal link between the two headings.
What this means for you: setting up a digital company does not by itself open a path to citizenship for a foreign founder. Citizenship depends on the scale of capital and employment; the digital company depends on the form of incorporation. The realistic path for a foreign founder who is thinking about both is in this article; all headings are gathered on our digital company page.
How high is the citizenship-by-investment threshold, and what was announced on 27 April 2026?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Roughly USD 500,000: the general threshold
- USD 400,000 for real estate
- Capital is held for at least three years
Three numbers came up in the announcement: USD 500,000, USD 400,000 and three years. The numbers were reported from Şimşek’s speech; the current amount in citizenship legislation needs to be verified in the Official Gazette.
Roughly USD 500,000: the general threshold
According to Diken, the citizenship-by-investment threshold is roughly USD 500,000. The amount was mentioned as the general frame covering capital investment routes other than real estate. The binding amount is in the current text of the citizenship legislation.
USD 400,000 for real estate
For property purchases, the threshold was given as USD 400,000. This route has nothing to do with the digital company; it works by buying property, without setting up a company. For a foreign founder, setting up a company and buying property are two separate decisions and two separate budgets.
Capital is held for at least three years
The announcement included the condition that capital be held for at least three years. For a founder who sets up a company, three years is the shortest period the company has to survive. That period also requires the company’s digital side to be working for three years.
Which investment types were counted for citizenship, and what does employing 50 people mean?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- A manufacturing plant
- A service company employing 50 people
- The link to “bring it home”
Next to the capital amount, Şimşek placed two more routes: setting up a manufacturing plant and running a service company that employs 50 people.
A manufacturing plant
An investor who sets up a manufacturing plant was counted as eligible for citizenship. The minimum scale of the plant is not in the announcement. This route requires physical investment; it does not intersect with the online incorporation logic of a digital company.
A service company employing 50 people
A service company was counted as eligible if it employs 50 people. Software, consulting and information service companies can fall under this description. But 50 employees is a goal that takes a newly founded company years.
The link to “bring it home”
In the same speech, drawing cash, gold and securities held abroad into the country came under the heading “bring it home”. The citizenship threshold and this heading look at the same capital base. All headings of the package are listed in our article on the reform package and stock options.
Is there a legal link between the digital company and citizenship by investment?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Same meeting, separate lines
- There is still no digital company definition
- The lawyers’ open questions concern the foreign founder
No. The two headings were announced at the same meeting, but neither the law nor the announcement ties them together. There is no provision today that eases citizenship for a foreigner who sets up a digital company.
Same meeting, separate lines
Şimşek described the digital company regime as an incorporation convenience and citizenship as a tool for attracting capital. Between the two lines there is no sentence along the lines of “whoever sets up a digital company becomes a citizen”. If a link is created later, the Official Gazette will say so.
There is still no digital company definition
The Ministry of Industry and Technology’s digital company definition had not been published as of October 2026, when this article was updated. The only provision in force is the definition-dependent dues exemption in Law No. 7582. The concept as a whole is in our article what is a digital company; citizenship does not appear in that text either.
The lawyers’ open questions concern the foreign founder
On 18 June 2026, Vircon Legal listed the open questions: the legal basis for remote identity verification, remote bank account opening and the beneficial owner declaration. How the tax exemption threshold will be defined is on the list too. The answers will come from secondary legislation, and that legislation has not been published.
What is the realistic path from a digital company to citizenship for a foreign founder?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Tech Visa: a work permit in about two weeks
- Turquoise Card and residence permit: the existing tools
- Citizenship is a question of scale, not of incorporation form
The realistic path has three steps: first a work and residence tool, then the company, then scale. Citizenship comes at the end of that order and depends on the scale of capital or employment. The digital company aims only to make the second step easier.
Tech Visa: a work permit in about two weeks
According to Vircon Legal, the Tech Visa grants a work permit in about two weeks. According to the same account, more than 5,000 digital professionals came through this route in the first year. The detail is in our article on the Tech Visa work permit.
Turquoise Card and residence permit: the existing tools
Şimşek mentioned the Turquoise Card (Turkuaz Kart) and residence permits as existing tools. A foreign founder stays in the country and runs the company with these tools today.
Citizenship is a question of scale, not of incorporation form
Even if digital company status arrives, the citizenship threshold does not change. USD 500,000 in capital or 50 employees does not look at whether the company was set up online or physically. For a foreign founder, the right question is this: what scale will the company reach in three years?
How is a foreign founder’s company set up today, and what is remote incorporation waiting for?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Today’s route: potential tax number and apostille
- Remote incorporation: an announcement, no legal basis
- 50 employees are not reached without a digital side
Today, incorporation with foreign shareholders runs through MERSİS, Türkiye’s Central Registry System, with a potential tax number and apostilled documents. Remote incorporation was announced but has no legislation.
Today’s route: potential tax number and apostille
Companies with foreign shareholders are set up today as well; the steps are described in our article on whether foreign founders can set up a company remotely. What matters is this: incorporation is possible today, and citizenship does not come with incorporation.
Remote incorporation: an announcement, no legal basis
On 27 April 2026, Minister Kacır announced remote incorporation through passport-based identity verification. Which legislation will apply, and when, was not said. A founder planning to incorporate without coming to Türkiye cannot use that route today; the existing route applies.
50 employees are not reached without a digital side
A service company aiming for citizenship through employment cannot reach 50 people without finding its customers. And customers search on websites, in search results and in AI answers. A domain name, a website and content are the first step on the road to that scale; they are the company’s need, not the citizenship file’s.
What should a foreign founder do today, and which numbers should they watch?
BU BÖLÜMÜN ÖZETİ
- Verify the thresholds in the Official Gazette
- Watch two dates: the definition and remote incorporation
- Plan the company’s digital side together with incorporation
Three jobs are enough: verify the thresholds in the official text, watch two legislation dates, and build the company’s digital side together with incorporation. The citizenship decision comes after these three.
Verify the thresholds in the Official Gazette
The current amount, the investment type and the holding period in citizenship legislation are written in the Official Gazette. Before deciding, read that text and the announcements of the Presidency of Migration Management and the relevant ministry.
Watch two dates: the definition and remote incorporation
The digital company definition will appear on the Ministry’s website, the legal basis for remote incorporation in the Official Gazette. Both can change a foreign founder’s incorporation plan; neither changes the citizenship plan. A weekly check is enough.
Plan the company’s digital side together with incorporation
The domain name, website, content and measurement are planned together with incorporation. We run a foreign founder’s entry into the Turkish market and their digital set-up together in our digital consulting service.
Quick Summary
- In the 27 April 2026 announcement, the citizenship-by-investment threshold was mentioned as roughly USD 500,000, and USD 400,000 for real estate.
- The condition that capital be held for at least three years was in the same announcement.
- A manufacturing plant or a service company employing 50 people was also counted as eligible for citizenship.
- The Tech Visa grants a work permit in about two weeks; more than 5,000 digital professionals came in the first year (Vircon Legal, 18 June 2026).
- The digital company definition had not been published as of October 2026; it has no legal link to citizenship.
Short Glossary
- Citizenship by investment
- Citizenship by investment is the exceptional route used to grant citizenship to a foreigner who makes an investment of a set amount.
- Turquoise Card
- Turquoise Card is the document used to grant a qualified foreigner an indefinite right to work and reside, known in Turkish as Turkuaz Kart.
- Beneficial owner
- Beneficial owner is the term used to identify the natural person who ultimately controls a company.
Frequently Asked Questions
Next Step
If you want to plan your company’s digital side together with incorporation, book a discovery call on our digital company page and ask for the My Digital Company (Dijital Şirketim Olsun) delivery list; we stay your friendly adviser throughout your digitalisation.
The definition and conditions of the digital company scheme are not final yet; support amounts and conditions may change. Check the latest information with the Ministry of Industry and Technology, KOSGEB and the Official Gazette before deciding. This is not legal or financial advice.
Sources: Diken, Mehmet Şimşek: we are introducing a digital company regime (27 April 2026) · Dünya/AA, Minister Kacır’s announcement (27 April 2026) · Vircon Legal, Is the digital company coming to Türkiye? (18 June 2026) · Official Gazette, Issue No. 33270 (4 June 2026)
Updated: October 2026
Sık Sorulan Sorular
In a foreign founder’s company, having the domain name, the server and the accounts registered in the company’s name matters at the moment of a partnership or a transfer. The ownership set-up is in our article on opening accounts in the company’s name.
No. There is no written legal link between the digital company and citizenship. Citizenship depends on the capital amount or the employment scale named in the announcement; it does not look at the form of incorporation.
The 27 April 2026 announcement mentioned roughly USD 500,000, and USD 400,000 for real estate. The current and binding amount is in citizenship legislation and should be verified in the Official Gazette.
No. Remote incorporation was announced on 27 April 2026, but its legislation has not been published. Today, incorporation with foreign shareholders runs through MERSİS with a potential tax number and apostilled documents.