Yes. Turkey allows dual citizenship, and it does so broadly. Under Citizenship Law No. 5901, acquiring Turkish nationality does not require you to renounce another one, and Turkish citizens who take a second passport abroad do not automatically lose their Turkish status.1U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Türkiye. Dual Nationality The permission runs both directions and applies to every route into citizenship: birth, marriage, residency, and investment.
What Turkey does expect is that you keep its civil registry informed, use the right passport at its border, and meet the obligations that come with being a citizen anywhere else in the world: military service for men, and taxes if you live there long enough in a year.
If You Are Turkish and Acquire Another Nationality
Becoming a citizen of another country does not end your Turkish citizenship. You are not asked to choose. You are asked to notify.
Notification goes through the nearest Turkish consulate if you are abroad, or the Directorate General of Population and Citizenship Affairs if you are in Turkey. Skipping it does not cost you your citizenship, but outdated civil records tend to surface at the worst moments: renewing a passport, closing on property, sorting out an inheritance. Treat it as administrative housekeeping rather than a request for permission.
If You Are a Foreigner Acquiring Turkish Citizenship
None of the four pathways require you to give up your existing nationality.
Birth. Turkey follows descent, not place of birth. A child with at least one Turkish parent is Turkish, wherever the birth occurs, and any other citizenship acquired at the same time is irrelevant on the Turkish side.1U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Türkiye. Dual Nationality Parents of a child born abroad should register the birth at a Turkish consulate so the citizenship shows up in the records.
Marriage. Under Article 16 of Law No. 5901, a foreign spouse can apply after three continuous years of marriage, provided the marriage is still valid, the applicant holds a residence permit and registered Turkish address, and there is no disqualifying criminal record. An in-person interview at the local Population Directorate tests whether the marriage is genuine. Final approval sits with the Ministry of Interior after a security review.
Residency. Article 11 allows naturalization after five continuous years of legal residence, with no more than 180 total days spent outside Turkey during that period. Exceeding the cap resets the count. Applicants must show basic Turkish language proficiency, financial stability, and pass screening by both local police and the National Intelligence Organisation.
Investment. The Citizenship by Investment program, in place since 2017, has no residency requirement, no language test, and typically produces a decision in roughly eight to nine months. Qualifying routes include real estate purchase of at least $400,000 held for three years, a $500,000 fixed capital investment, a $500,000 bank deposit or government bond purchase held for three years, $500,000 in real estate or venture capital fund shares, a $500,000 private pension contribution, or the creation of jobs for at least 50 people.2Invest in Türkiye. Acquiring Property and Citizenship Spouses and children under 18 are usually included.
Which Passport to Use at the Border
Turkish authorities expect Turkish citizens to enter and leave Turkey on their Turkish passport. Countries like the United States apply the mirror rule for their own citizens.1U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Türkiye. Dual Nationality Using each passport in its own country does not put either citizenship at risk. Entering Turkey on a foreign passport when you are actually a Turkish citizen can create knock-on problems: denied entry, apparent visa overstays, and tax records that no longer match reality.
Military Service for Dual-Citizen Men
Compulsory military service applies to all Turkish men between the ages of 20 and 41, dual citizens included. Living abroad does not erase the obligation, but it does open two routes around active service. Dual citizens who have lived and worked outside Turkey for at least three years can defer until age 35 if they continue to reside abroad permanently, or pay an exemption fee in place of serving. The fee is adjusted periodically and has been set at around €5,600 (or the Turkish lira equivalent) in recent years.
This connects directly to any future plan to renounce citizenship: you cannot renounce while a military service obligation is outstanding. Service, a deferment, or the exemption fee has to come first.3Government of the Netherlands. Can I Renounce My Turkish Citizenship if I Haven’t Completed My Compulsory Military Service Female citizens have no compulsory service.
Tax Residency Depends on Days, Not Citizenship
Turkey taxes based on physical presence. Spend 183 days or more in Turkey during a calendar year, and Turkey treats you as a tax resident and taxes your worldwide income. Spend fewer, and Turkey taxes only income earned inside the country. Your passport is not part of the calculation, so a dual citizen living full-time abroad generally owes no Turkish income tax on outside earnings as long as visits stay under the threshold.
Turkey has tax treaties with many countries to prevent double taxation, including the United States.4Internal Revenue Service. Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Turkey for the Avoidance of Double Taxation The U.S. treaty carries a saving clause that preserves the U.S. right to tax its own citizens regardless of the treaty’s other provisions, which matters for American dual citizens planning around Turkish tax residency.
When Turkish Citizenship Can Still End
Turkey’s tolerance for dual nationality is broad, but citizenship can still end in three narrow situations.
Voluntary Renunciation
Article 25 of Law No. 5901 lets you apply to renounce if you are a legal adult with full mental capacity, already hold or are about to acquire another citizenship, are not wanted for any crime, and have no outstanding financial or criminal restrictions. The Ministry of Interior issues either a renunciation permit (valid two years, for those still acquiring the new citizenship) or a renunciation certificate. Turkish citizenship formally ends when the certificate is delivered and signed.
Revocation by Presidential Decree
Article 29 permits stripping citizenship in specific circumstances: serving a foreign state in ways that conflict with Turkey’s interests and refusing to stop after warning, continuing to work for a country at war with Turkey, or performing unauthorized military service for a foreign state. A 2017 amendment added a route to revoke the citizenship of individuals abroad who are under investigation for terrorism-related offenses and who fail to return to Turkey within three months of formal notification in the Official Gazette.
Annulment for Fraud
Article 31 covers citizenship obtained through false statements or hidden material facts. If the original basis is later shown to be fraudulent, the granting authority can annul the decision, regardless of how much time has passed.
Outside those three, automatic loss is rare. Acquiring another nationality, spending years abroad, or letting a Turkish passport expire will not, on its own, end your Turkish citizenship.
The Blue Card if You Do Give Up Citizenship
Renunciation is not a clean break. Article 28 creates the Blue Card (Mavi Kart), which former citizens and their descendants down to the third generation can use to preserve most day-to-day rights of Turkish citizens.
Blue Card holders can enter Turkey without a visa and stay indefinitely with no residence permit. They can work in any profession without a work permit, including regulated fields like law and medicine. They can buy, sell, and inherit real estate on the same terms as citizens, outside restricted military zones. Previously earned social security rights are preserved.
What they cannot do: vote, run for office, hold permanent civil service positions, import vehicles or household goods duty-free, or carry a Turkish passport. They also have no military service obligation. For someone who renounced citizenship to satisfy another country’s rules or to shed the military obligation, the Blue Card keeps the practical parts of Turkish life intact.