Serka Law Firm takes Turkish citizenship by investment files introduced by immigration agencies, family offices and wealth managers on one footing: the applicant instructs the firm directly under a signed engagement agreement, no payment moves between the firm and the agency for the introduction, and the agency keeps its own client relationship and its own services. This page sets out why the file is structured that way, how an introduced file runs, and what the agency and the applicant each receive from the firm’s Turkish citizenship by investment practice.
Av. Serkan Kara · Serka Law Firm · Last updated: 24 September 2026
Why does the firm pay no commission on an introduced file?
A commission for bringing a file to a Turkish lawyer is a criminal offense for both sides. Article 48 of Attorneyship Law no. 1136 punishes anyone who brokers work to a lawyer against a fee or any benefit promised or given by the lawyer or by the client, and the lawyer who uses such a broker, with six months to one year of imprisonment. A law firm that offers an agency a referral fee has broken the rules of its own bar before the file begins, and the family’s money, residence and passport then depend on that firm. The introduction is therefore an introduction and nothing more: the firm pays nothing for it, the applicant pays the firm’s fee to the firm alone, and what the agency charges its own client for its own services is a matter between them.
How does an introduced file run?
- The agency sends the profile. The family composition, each person’s nationality and country of residence, the route under consideration, the amount and currency the family can remit, and whether the funds are the applicant’s own. Names and passport numbers are not needed at this stage.
- The firm answers in writing the same business day. The route, what the file will turn on and the document list are worked by the lawyer who will run the file, once the family has instructed.
- The applicant instructs the firm directly. An engagement agreement in Turkish and in the applicant’s language is signed by the applicant, who deals with the firm directly from then on.
- The file runs in Türkiye on a power of attorney. The applicant signs a power of attorney before a Turkish consulate or a local notary, with an apostille or consular legalization; the firm then handles the bank or the title deed, the Certificate of Conformity (Uygunluk Belgesi), the residence permit and the citizenship application. The applicant travels once, for a short biometric appointment.
- The agency is kept informed with the applicant’s written consent. The applicant decides in the engagement agreement whether the agency receives each milestone confirmation, so the agency can serve its client without the firm breaching the client’s confidentiality.
Which routes does the firm take on an introduced file?
Every qualifying route of Article 20(2) of the Implementing Regulation, and most introduced files are one of two. The real estate route requires property worth at least $400,000, bought from a Turkish individual or company, with a three-year no-sale annotation on the title deed (tapu). The bank deposit route requires at least $500,000 in foreign currency, sold through a Turkish bank to the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye and held for three years as a Turkish lira deposit at that same bank, with the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) as the determining authority. The spouse and the children who are minors or dependent come in on the same application with no further investment. The citizenship itself is granted by decision of the President under Article 12(b) of Turkish Citizenship Law no. 5901.
What does the agency receive from the firm?
- A named lawyer on every file, and a written answer the same business day.
- Milestone confirmations where the applicant has consented: the engagement agreement signed, the funds received by the bank or the deed registered, the Certificate of Conformity, the residence permit, the application filed, the decision.
What does the applicant receive?
A firm that answers to the applicant directly, in the applicant’s own language, and a file run to the passport: the legal work in Türkiye, the sworn translation and notarization of the family’s documents, the official inquiries and every filing are carried by the firm itself.
What if the family’s file has already gone wrong?
The firm takes over files another adviser started: refused applications, property purchases that stalled after the money moved, and decisions annulled after the operation against forged valuation reports that the Ministry of Interior announced on 4 August 2026. The route for the last group is set out in Turkish citizenship annulment and appeal.
How does an agency introduce a file?
The firm answers the agency in writing; the file itself opens on the applicant’s signed instruction and passport page.