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PROCEDURES FOR FOREIGN NATIONAL PERSONS TO ACQUIRE

AGRICULTURAL LAND IN TURKEY​​​

 

This study examines the procedures and conditions for foreign individuals to acquire agricultural land in Turkey. The study utilizes the guide "PROCEDURES FOR FOREIGN NATIONAL PERSONS TO ACQUIRE AGRICULTURAL LAND" prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and "The LEGISLATION RELATING TO FOREIGNERS IN REAL ESTATE LAW" published by the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre.

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Considering that the practices in this area can change frequently, it is beneficial to learn the current practices for that region by contacting the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry where the real estate is located, either directly or through a lawyer who is an expert in this field, before making a transaction.

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1-) The FOREIGNER’S APPLICATION TO THE LAND REGISTRY AND THE PROVINCIAL DIRECTORATE OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY

a) The foreigner must first apply to the Land Registry Directorate to obtain an acquisition permit for a parcel of agricultural land.

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b) The Land Registry Directorate have the foreigner sign a letter of undertaking explaining the purpose for which the foreigner intends to acquire the parcel. The foreigner or their representative must also hand-deliver the permit request cover letter prepared by the Land Registry Directorate and the signed letter of undertaking to the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry.

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If the permit request letter and the attached letter of undertaking are not hand-delivered to the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry by the foreigner or his representative, the application will not be evaluated.

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c) The foreign buyer appoints a Turkish citizen as his legal representative with a notarized power of attorney.

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The power of attorney must include a copy of the Turkish Republic ID card, full address, and contact information such as telephone, fax, email, etc.

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The authority granted to the representative in the power of attorney must be stated as follows: "I hereby accept that all notifications, warnings, and correspondence to be made to me by the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, in accordance with the laws of the Republic of Turkey and the Legislation on the Acquisition of Agricultural Land by Foreigners in Turkey, shall be sent to the person to whom I have granted the power of attorney, as if they were made in my own name."

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d) Implementation regarding the minimum amount of land to be acquired by a foreigner:

In requests for agricultural land acquisition permits by foreign individuals, the minimum amount of agricultural land with sufficient income, as specified by province and district, as listed in List (1) added to the Soil Conservation and Land Use Law by Law No. 6537, shall be taken as the basis. Acquisition permits will not be granted for requests below that amount.

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e) Implementation regarding the minimum acquisition amount in areas declared as "agricultural reform implementation areas" under the Agricultural Reform Law No. 3083 on Land Arrangement in Irrigation Areas, dated November 22, 1984:

In areas declared as implementation areas pursuant to Law No. 3083, the minimum acquisition amount will be determined by the Presidential Decree, as the standard sizes for irrigated, dry, olive groves, etc.,. If no size is determined by the Presidential Decree for agricultural reform implementation areas, the amount in List (1) annexed to Law No. 5403 on Soil Conservation and Land Use will be taken into account.

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Acquisition requests below the specified amounts will not be evaluated.

f) The foreigner or his legal representative is informed about the project arrangements.

When the foreign individual or their legal representative arrives with the undertaking, they will be informed as follows: the request will be reviewed, and if the necessary permit is granted and the agricultural land is acquired, the foreigner to prepare an agricultural project prepared within two years of the parcel's registration, pursuant to Article 35 of Land Registry Law No. 2644, to be submitted to the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry for approval.

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g) A date is given to the foreigner or his/her legal representative to receive the final letter regarding the acquisition permit request in person.

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2-) CONDUCTING INSPECTIONS WITHOUT ESTABLISHING A COMMISSION

No commission is formed during the acquisition permit phase. Necessary inspections are conducted at the location of the parcel.

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3-) SITUATION IN SHARED OWNERSHIP

In parcels with shared ownership, if the shares of all shareholders are not acquired, the acquisition permit request will be rejected.

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4-) AGRICULTURAL LANDS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF AGRICULTURAL REFORM AND CONSOLIDATION

a) In areas where the Agricultural Reform Law No. 3083 on Land Regulation in Irrigation Areas is implemented, the procedure to be applied to a parcel for which an acquisition permit is requested:

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If an implementation announcement has been made on the parcel for which an acquisition permit is requested by a foreign person, in accordance with Article 13 of Law No. 3083, if the owners wish to sell their land to a foreign individual within the restriction period apply, the implementing institution must expropriate or permit the sale of the agricultural land belonging to these individuals within sixty days in accordance with the specified legislation. The necessary permitting process for this transaction is finalized by the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, after which the foreign person's parcel acquisition permit request is evaluated.

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b) Procedure to be followed if the parcel for which an acquisition permit is requested has a consolidation annotation and project pursuant to Laws No. 3083 or 5403:

If the parcel subject to acquisition has a consolidation annotation and project, and since the location of the parcel is subject to change during consolidation, acquisition permits will not be granted to foreigners, except for parcels planned for annual grain cultivation, until the registration of new parcel plans with the land registry is finalized.

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c) Procedure to be followed if a request is made to submit annual crop projects in the Consolidation Project Area:

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Agricultural land acquisition may be permitted provided that the foreigner commits to submit a single-year crop cultivation project that does not require a fixed facility in the consolidation area and indicates their consent to the potential loss of land and relocation within the scope of land consolidation legislation.

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5-) AGRICULTURAL LANDS WITH BUILDINGS AND AGRICULTURAL LANDS IN VILLAGE SETTLEMENTS

a) Implementation in cases of licensed agricultural or non-agricultural facilities that have not yet been registered with the land registry:

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If the licensed buildings or agricultural facilities located within the parcel in question have been named and registered in the land registry by the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry in accordance with Law No. 5403 on Soil Conservation and Land Use, there is no problem with the acquisition permit for this parcel, and these should be taken into account during agricultural project development.

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b) Application in cases where the agricultural land has been determined to be land without the knowledge and opinion of the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry, or if there are unlicensed agricultural or non-agricultural facilities within this parcel:

According to Law No. 5403 and related legislation, agricultural land cannot be considered land without the knowledge and opinion of the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry. Since any such practice is invalid, the land's agricultural status remains. In such a case, a foreign individual will be granted an acquisition permit, provided they prepare an agricultural project for the land they intend to acquire within two years.

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c) Application in Case of Land Acquisition within a Village Settlement Area:

According to relevant legislation, agricultural parcels located within a village settlement area are not subject to a permit for non-agricultural transactions. Therefore, the acquisition of parcels within a village settlement area by a foreign individual is not subject to a permit.

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6-) TRANSFER OF AGRICULTURAL LAND FROM A FOREIGN PERSON TO A FOREIGN PERSON

Implementation in case a parcel of agricultural land acquired by a foreign individual with the permission of the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry is intended to be acquired by another foreign individual:

The new foreign individual who wishes to acquire the parcel from another foreign individual for agricultural purposes may be granted an acquisition permit for agricultural purposes if they give a written commitment to submit the agricultural project to the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry for approval within two years, starting from the date the previous foreign individual registered the parcel in their name.

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7-) AGRICULTURAL LANDS WITHIN THE MUNICIPALITY OR IN THE CONtiguous AREAS

Applications for purchase permits by foreign individuals for parcels within the zoning plan and adjacent areas designated as protected agricultural lands are also evaluated within the framework of the conditions specified above.

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8-) LANDS AND OLIVE GROVE LANDS WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE AGRICULTURAL REFORM

In areas declared agricultural reform implementation areas by Presidential Decree pursuant to Law No. 5403 on Soil Conservation and Land Use, requests are reviewed within the framework of Law No. 3083 on Agricultural Reform Law on Land Regulation in Irrigation Areas.

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If the request relates to olive groves, the review is conducted within the framework of Law No. 3573 on the Rehabilitation of Olive Cultivation and the Purification of Wild Plants.

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9-) COMPANIES ESTABLISHED IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES

Agricultural land acquisition requests by legal entities established in foreign countries are subject to these different rules.

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10-) PROCEDURE TO BE TAKEN UP WHEN ACQUISITION PERMIT REQUESTS ARE RECEIVED FOR AGRICULTURAL LAND REGISTERED AS BUILT-IN

If the real estate to be acquired is described as a brick house etc. in the land registry record, the acquisition of these by foreign real persons is also subject to permission due to the agricultural characteristics of the property as a field, vineyard, hazelnut grove, olive grove, garden or similar specified in the land registry record.

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11-) OBTAINING THE APPROVAL OF THE RELEVANT GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY ON THE ACQUISITION PERMIT REQUEST

The undertaking and acquisition permit request letters submitted by the foreign individual to the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry are attached to an evaluation report and forwarded to the General Directorate of the Ministry, along with the opinion of the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry on the request. Following the approval of the General Directorate of the Ministry, the acquisition permit process is finalized by the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry.

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12- CONSEQUENCES OF ACCEPTING OR REJECTING THE REQUEST

a) If the response provided by the provincial units of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to the relevant person is positive, the relevant Land Registry Directorate will add the following annotation to the declarations section of the Land Registry, along with the date and journal number of the completion of the process: "The project to be developed must be submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry for approval within two years."

The relevant Land Registry Directorate will then notify the provincial units of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in writing of the date the agricultural land will be registered in the name of the foreign individual.

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b) If the response provided by the provincial units of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to the relevant person is negative, the foreign individual's application will be rejected by the relevant Land Registry Directorate.

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13-) ACQUISITION OF OTHER UNBUILT-IN PROPERTIES THAT ARE NOT AGRICULTURAL LAND

For acquisition applications for other unbuilt-in properties that are not agricultural land: Following the completion of the transactions within the framework of general legislation without any commitment or permission, a statement is made in the declarations section of the Land Registry with the date of completion of the transaction and the journal number, stating that "There is an obligation to submit the project to be developed for the approval of the relevant Ministry within two years."

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14-) ISSUANCE OF THE OFFICIAL DEED OF LAND

For official deeds issued for all transactions related to the acquisition of unstructured real estate, whether agricultural land or not, a declaration is required from the foreign person acknowledging the following:

"The obligation to develop a project for the real estate and submit it for approval to the relevant Ministry within two years from the date of acquisition. If no indication is made in the declarations section of the land registry that the project has been submitted or approved within this period, the real estate or limited real right will be subject to liquidation."

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15-) MAKING AN INDICATION IN THE DECLARATIONS SECTION OF THE LAND REGISTRY

If the approved project is submitted to the Land Registry Directorate or a letter from the relevant Ministry confirming the project's start and completion dates is received by the Land Registry Directorate, the annotation in the declarations section of the Land Registry, mentioned above in number 14, will be deleted. Instead, the following will be stated: "...project...approved by the Ministry on..." Date, Journal."

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16-) LIQUIDATION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND ACQUIRED BY A FOREIGN INDIVIDUAL IN CASE THE PROJECT IS NOT APPROVED OR IS NOT COMPLETED WITHIN THE TIME LIMITATION

Agricultural land acquired by a foreign national is liquidated in the following cases (the foreign person's ownership is terminated.)

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1) If, despite the expiration of the two-year period commencing from the date of acquisition of the immovable property, the person concerned has not submitted an official document stating that the project has been submitted for approval or approved by the relevant Ministry, or if the Ministry has not sent such a document.

 

2) If the relevant Ministry notifies that the project submitted within two years of the acquisition date of the immovable property has not been approved at the end of this period,

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3) If the relevant administration notifies that the project has not been completed within the deadline,

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If one of the conditions listed in the 3 items above is present, the Land Registry Directorate will notify the Ministry of Finance (Local Unit) for the liquidation of the real estate or limited real right.  

 

Prepared by Tahsin TAŞKIN 

Attorney, Sworn Translator                                                              

                                                                       

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