Technical article

What Do Turkey, the UAE and Saudi Arabia Ask For When You Buy Property or Retire?

Two Turkish government pages give two different figures for citizenship through property.

By Neil Solomon · 4 min read

Picture a couple named Greg and Linda. Both are 58. They have sold a house and are thinking about a place with warm winters. Someone told them Turkey will give a permit for US$200,000 of property, and that Dubai asks AED 1 million. They want to know where those numbers come from.

I looked for the answer on government pages. Some figures held up. One did not, and I say which.

What the official pages say

Turkey

Two Turkish government pages give two different figures for citizenship through property.

The Invest in Türkiye page, dated 11 August 2026, says citizenship can come "upon purchase of real estate worth USD 400,000 and more". The buyer must agree not to sell for three years. The Presidency of Migration Management brochure says "purchased real estate worth minimum USD 250,000". It carries no date. It also lists a bank deposit of USD 500,000 held for three years. I cannot tell which is current, so I show both. The Invest page is marked "test version", which is one more reason to confirm with the population registry office (nvi.gov.tr).

The US$200,000 figure for a residence permit by property does not appear on any official page. The Invest page on residence permits speaks of property worth "a minimum of USD 400,000", with a resale restriction of at least three years. It also says short-term permits run for "a maximum of two years as a principle." Property buyers get "renewable short-term residence permits under Law No. 6458", and the page gives no amount. If you have seen US$200,000, no official page shows it.

United Arab Emirates

For retirees, the Dubai residency authority lists a permit for people aged 55 or older with "at least 15 years of service before retirement". Then there is a financial test. The page lists these:

• Property worth at least AED 1,000,000, at purchase or market value. A mortgaged deed counts if the amount paid to release the mortgage is at least AED 1,000,000.
• A deposit of at least AED 1,000,000. The wording on the page is unclear, and the authority says to confirm it.
• A fixed income of at least AED 240,000 a year, shown by six months of bank statements.

The permit lasts five years and can be renewed, with a 60-day grace period after it ends. Listed fees include AED 200 for the permit, AED 500 for the fee inside the country, and AED 20 for delivery. The issuance fee rises by AED 100 for each year beyond two. The page expects processing in 48 hours.

The golden visa for real estate investors is a different route. The UAE government portal, updated 28 July 2026, gives it five years and, as I read the summary, a minimum capital of AED 2 million. The summary did not give a separate property value. This is paraphrase and worth checking on the page itself.

The federal retirement page was blocked to automated reading. This article uses the Dubai authority's page, and rules can differ between emirates.

Saudi Arabia

The national portal lists "Real Estate Owner Residency" as one of seven Premium Residency options. There are two types, unlimited and limited. The service takes 90 workdays and the cost is "variable depending on the service." Payment is by MADA, SADAD or credit card. That page is dated 2 May 2025.

The Premium Residency Center site, where fees and property values would sit, was blocked. No rial amount appears. Fees and the property value are not on an official page in the sources.

What is left open

• Turkey's US$200,000 residence permit threshold.
• Which of Turkey's US$400,000 and US$250,000 pages is current.
• Saudi Premium Residency fees and the real-estate value.
• The UAE federal rules, and what the AED 1,000,000 "deposit" option means in practice.