The Blue Card: Are You Treated as a Turkish Citizen, and Which Rights Fall Outside It?

Published: 22 September 2026 · Reading time approximately 7 minutes

The Blue Card is the document issued to people who were Turkish citizens by birth and lost Turkish citizenship by obtaining a renunciation permit, and to their descendants. Its basis is Article 28 of the Turkish Citizenship Act No. 5901. It is very common in families living abroad who gave up Turkish citizenship when acquiring the citizenship of another country.

Who can obtain one?

There are two groups. The first is people who were Turkish citizens by birth and left citizenship with a renunciation permit. The second is the descendants of those people up to the third degree. Children and grandchildren are therefore covered as well.

There is a critical distinction here: leaving citizenship by obtaining a renunciation permit is not the same as losing citizenship for some other reason. The Blue Card is issued to those who left by way of a renunciation permit.

Is a Blue Card holder a Turkish citizen?

No. Apart from the exceptions listed in the Act, a Blue Card holder continues to enjoy the rights granted to Turkish citizens; but in law they are not a Turkish citizen and hold the status of a foreign national. The distinction may look technical on paper, yet in practice it causes problems regularly: for example, where a certificate of citizenship is required for certain transactions, a Blue Card is not enough.

Rights that fall outside the scope

According to the statements of the Directorate General of Population and Citizenship Affairs, the excepted headings are as follows:

• The right to vote and to stand for election
• The right to import a vehicle or household goods free of duty
• Liability for military service
• Employment in established and permanent public posts that are based on an official staff position and subject to the public law regime

Working in public institutions as a worker or as temporary or contracted staff is, however, possible. Acquired rights in respect of social security are preserved; the exercise of those rights is subject to the relevant legislation.

How it differs from a residence permit

A Blue Card holder does not need to obtain a separate residence permit in order to be in Türkiye; the card provides that status itself. A residence permit, by contrast, is a time-limited permit granted to foreign nationals with no connection at all to Turkish citizenship. The two are not alternatives to each other, and the application routes are entirely separate.

Where is the application made and what is required?

The Blue Card is issued by district population directorates within Türkiye and by missions abroad. The documents listed as required are a petition setting out the request, two photographs, and an identity document or passport showing foreign nationality.

Identity and civil status documents brought from abroad may require an apostille or consular certification together with a sworn translation. Differences in the spelling of names are the shortcoming most often encountered in these files.

What it means in practice for transactions in Türkiye

A Blue Card holder can acquire property in Türkiye, carry out inheritance transactions, open a bank account and form a company. The set of documents institutions ask for in these transactions can differ from that for citizens' files; the certification and translation chain comes into play in particular for powers of attorney, population records and certificates of inheritance drawn up abroad.

At title deed and notary transactions, having a sworn interpreter present for a party who does not speak Turkish is a further requirement. A transaction being postponed because no interpreter was there on the day of the appointment is a common and easily avoidable situation.

What do we do?

In Blue Card files we draw up the list of documents, run the apostille and sworn translation process for documents coming from abroad, and check the consistency of name spellings at the outset. We are also with you for the title deed, inheritance, banking and company transactions you carry out in Türkiye with your card; where necessary we provide a sworn interpreter for notary and title deed appointments. The initial consultation is free.