Government bond calculator for Turkish citizenship
Read the full guide to the government bond route: law, process, costs and FAQ
The bond route requires USD 500,000 of Turkish government debt instruments to stay in your account for three years. The coupon is fixed on the day you buy. The bank's exchange spread, the bond's price when you leave and where the lira stands are not. This tool shows what you are left with in dollars.
How it gets there
- Lira at the market rate
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- Bank FX spread at entry
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- Lira invested in the bond
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- Nominal bought
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- Coupons received
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- Coupons converted to dollars
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- Bond sale proceeds
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- Withholding tax
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- Lira at exit
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- Return in lira
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- Bank FX spread at exit
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- Yield at purchase
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- Break-even USD/TRY
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- Annual lira depreciation that would erase the gain
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If the rate lands at
| USD/TRY | You receive | Against your investment |
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The two costs people miss
The first is the exchange spread. Your dollars are converted to lira at the bank's buying rate, which sits below the market rate, and at exit the lira are converted back at the bank's selling rate, which sits above it. On a USD 500,000 file a spread of around 1.5% costs roughly TRY 350,000 on the way in alone.
The second is the purchase price. A bond bought between coupon dates is paid for with the interest accrued since the last coupon, so you pay more than the face value you receive. The first coupon gives that back. That is why the calculator works from the nominal you actually hold and the coupons it actually pays, not from a yield applied to the lira you spent.
Why the withholding line matters here
In Türkiye the tax on investment income is calculated in lira, not in dollars, so over three years much of any taxable gain is simply the currency moving.
Lira-denominated government bonds are currently the exception. Under Presidential Decision no. 11444 (Official Gazette of 20 June 2026), coupons and disposal or redemption gains on Treasury bonds acquired up to 31 December 2026 are withheld at 0%. The rate follows the acquisition date, so a bond bought inside that window keeps the 0% rate on its income for as long as it is held. For bonds bought after that date, enter the rate in force when you buy. The relief has been extended repeatedly but never made permanent.
What this route involves
| Minimum investment | USD 500,000 of Turkish government debt instruments, or the equivalent in another currency |
| Holding period | Three years from the date the Ministry of Treasury and Finance establishes the purchase |
| Currency | The incoming foreign currency is converted and the bonds are bought in lira |
| Certification | Certificate of conformity issued by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance |
| Income | Coupons paid into the investor's account, every six months on fixed-coupon issues |
| Tax | Withholding on coupons and disposal gains at the rate applicable to the acquisition date |
| Family | Spouse and children under 18 included in the same application |
Legal basis: Turkish Citizenship Law no. 5901 and Article 20(2)(d) of its implementing regulation, with the investment established by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.
Common questions
Is the return locked in for the whole three years?
The coupon is. A fixed-coupon government bond pays the rate set at issue until maturity. What is not locked is the price you get if you sell when the three years end: if market yields have risen by then, the price is lower, and if they have fallen, it is higher. Holding to maturity removes that price risk and pays the nominal in full.
What if the bond matures before the three years are up?
The proceeds have to be reinvested so the qualifying holding is never interrupted. The cleaner solution is to buy an issue whose maturity falls after the end of the lock, which removes the reinvestment decision from the qualifying period altogether.
Why do the documents show more than USD 500,000?
The Treasury establishes the dollar value of the bonds bought. A buffer above USD 500,000 keeps that value clear of the threshold after exchange differences and pricing on the day, so the file is not held up by a shortfall of a few thousand dollars.
What if the value falls below USD 500,000 during the three years?
The threshold is tested at the time of the investment. Market and currency movements afterwards do not invalidate an application. What does matter is the holding itself: it must stay in the account, and the bank reports any shortfall to the authorities.
Do the coupons have to stay in the account?
The qualifying holding is the bonds themselves. Coupon income is credited to the investor's account and is generally available, provided the qualifying holding stays intact. Confirm the handling with the bank in writing at account opening.
Do I have to come to Türkiye?
One short visit is usually enough. The purchase, the declarations and the application can be handled under a special power of attorney.
How does this compare with the other routes?
The deposit route pays a contractual rate that resets at every renewal and carries no market risk on the principal. The bond route fixes the coupon for the life of the issue, adds a sovereign rather than a commercial bank counterparty, and prices daily in the meantime. Our deposit calculator and gold fund calculator run the same kind of scenario for those routes, and our route comparison sets all three side by side.
Assumptions
- Defaults are taken from a fixed-coupon Treasury bond maturing on 10 July 2030 (TRT100730T13), bought on 15 September 2026: 17.05% coupon per half-year, price 103.988 including accrued interest, first coupon 120 days after purchase, 8 coupons remaining.
- The yield at purchase uses the Turkish Treasury convention: semi-annual compounding over 182-day half-years. At these defaults it reproduces the 34.85% shown on the bank's trade confirmation.
- Coupons are spaced 182 days apart. The three-year lock is counted as 1,096 days from purchase; in practice it runs from the Treasury's determination date, a little later.
- When selling at the end of the lock, the bond is priced at the market yield entered, including accrued interest. Holding to maturity repays the nominal in full.
- The bank FX spread is applied as a percentage of the market rate at entry and again at exit.
- Withholding, if entered, is applied to coupons and to any gain of the sale or redemption proceeds over the purchase cost.
- When coupons are converted to dollars as paid, each is converted on its payment date at a rate on a steady path from the entry rate to the exit rate (the lira losing value at a constant yearly pace), less the bank spread. Dollars are assumed to earn nothing. When held in lira, all coupons are converted at the exit rate. No custody fees are modelled.
Run your own numbers with us
We handle the instrument selection, the currency conversion, the certification and the application, and we monitor the holding for the full three years. Send the figures you are considering and we will walk through them with you.
Reviewed by Av. Arda Şardağ, Istanbul Bar Association no. 70004.
This page is general information, not legal, tax or investment advice, and it is not a forecast of interest rates or exchange rates. Figures depend on the rates and rules in force on your investment and exit dates.