By Aran Hawker
Higher taxes in Britain and the replacement of its non-domiciled (“non-dom”) regime with just four years of relief for newcomers cost the country an estimated 9,500 millionaires in 2024 and a record 16,500 in 2025. I predict that in 2027, more millionaires will apply to become tax residents of Türkiye than Britain lost in all of 2024.
The reason is Law No. 7582. With this very well-thought-out incentive, the government has aimed a single, aggressive measure at individuals and industry alike: From January 1, 2026, anyone who becomes a Turkish tax resident pays no Turkish tax on income earned abroad, and the exemption lasts 20 years.
For a client drawing £1 million a year in dividends, that is roughly £393,000 a year that Britain would take at its top rate and Türkiye will not, close to £7.9 million over the life of the exemption. Italy charges new residents €300,000 a year for 15 years of relief, and Greece asks €100,000 a year plus a €500,000 investment. Türkiye asks for nothing and gives 20 years.
And now, the floodgates have opened.
A Law Written for Those Coming Home
Foreign investors may think this is an offer designed specifically for them, but I would argue it is directed more towards the Turkish business community residing abroad. The same zero rate on global earnings applies to a Turkish citizen who repatriates, and the test is identical for both: No Turkish domicile and no Turkish tax liability in the three calendar years before becoming resident.
On October 13, Istanbul’s tax authority confirmed that a Turkish address registration alone will not disqualify a citizen who can document a life abroad. For the Turkish entrepreneur who built his fortune in London, Frankfurt, or Dubai, the road home has rarely been better paved.
A Client We Have Never Seen Before
Just 24 hours after the new tax law was ratified, the first client was knocking on the door of our Istanbul office. If there were any doubts about the appeal of these incentives, step back and see what happens: That client now holds his Foreign Income Exemption Certificate, and we have completed the process end to end, among the first firms in Türkiye to do so.
Since then, more than half of our clients have come to us specifically because of the tax incentive. They want citizenship and tax residency together, and they come from a whole new demographic of client that we have never seen before.
We knew the Chinese flow was coming. Beijing’s tightening grip on its residents’ overseas wealth, including a new 20% levy on offshore trust income, made it predictable, and Chinese investors now lead purchases of citizenship-qualifying property, ahead even of Iranians.
In September, Chinese nationals bought more homes in Istanbul than any other nationality for only the second time since records began in 2013, and while foreign purchases across Türkiye fell 4.3% in the first nine months of the year, Istanbul’s rose 2.9%, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat).
The First Wave, and the Second
By design, the first wave of business that these incentives create is made up of individuals coming to apply for Turkish citizenship and to register for personal tax residency here in Türkiye.
The second wave, and the one to watch, is whether large corporations will set up shop here to take advantage of the corporate incentives. These include a 95% deduction on transit trade profits, rising to 100% inside the Istanbul Financial Center, and a 12.5% rate on manufacturing profits from 2027.
What I Tell Every Client
The exemption is not automatic. Every new resident must obtain a Foreign Income Exemption Certificate from his tax office by the end of the calendar year in which he settles, or by the end of the following February for those who arrive in November or December, and anyone who became resident this year and misses December 31 loses the exemption.
The three-year look-back is just as strict: Turkish salary or business income at any point in that window disqualifies an applicant, although rental, securities, or capital gains income does not. Home-country rules, from exit taxes to the inheritance tax that follows long-term residents abroad, still have to be planned around, which is why we model every client’s position with his advisers at home before he moves.
Plan A, or Plan B
All of this is great news for Türkiye. I moved my family here from London more than two decades ago, and I would never have imagined that investment migration could have gained even wider appeal than it already has for the country.
I believe the law will strengthen Türkiye’s citizenship by investment (CBI) program as a whole. Citizenship alone does not make anyone a Turkish tax resident, so an investor can secure a passport today for a $400,000 property purchase held for three years and switch on the 20-year exemption the day he moves: For a Plan A or Plan B citizenship, I struggle to think of a better first choice.
Speak to Us Before December 31
Anyone who became a Turkish resident this year has until December 31 to secure the certificate. Those still weighing the move have more time, but the three-year look-back is settled long before the flight, so the conversation should start now.
CIP Türkiye offers a complimentary private consultation on eligibility, route selection, and tax residence planning. You can reach me, my co-founder Taymour Polding, and our team via WhatsApp on +90 555 305 3293, or at cipturkiye.com.
