Can I Appeal a Turkish Citizenship Cancellation? (2026)

1. I received a cancellation decision: what exactly is it?

In August 2026 the citizenship of 6,134 people was cancelled or withdrawn; on 21 September 1,070 more were named after the Gül İnşaat, Beyaz İnşaat and LİV İnşaat investigation, following the 687 in the Babacan İnşaat file [H1] [H2] [H3] [H4]. The full figures and what they mean for families are in our article on the 2026 citizenship cancellations. No list of names has been published, so for an appeal what matters is the document you received. If nothing has arrived, how to check is explained in Was my Turkish citizenship cancelled? How to check. Families often receive more than one, at different times:

Document you may have received	Who made it	What it means for you
Letter cancelling the investment conformity certificate (uygunluk belgesi)	TKGM, usually a regional directorate (in one published case, İstanbul) [Y1]	Your property purchase no longer counts as a qualifying investment
Decision cancelling citizenship (Art. 31)	The President of the Republic	Citizenship ends from the date of the decision; spouse and children who became citizens through you are included
Decision withdrawing citizenship (Art. 40)	The President of the Republic	The original grant becomes void from its own date (Regulation Art. 66)

2. I bought from Babacan, Gül İnşaat, Beyaz İnşaat or LİV: can I appeal?

Yes. A person whose citizenship decision is cancelled or withdrawn can challenge it in court, whichever developer the property was bought from. Three points matter for buyers from the named developers:

• Not every sale was found sham. In the second wave, 274 of the 734 sales examined were described as sham; the other 460 were not [H4]. Each family's file is decided on its own documents.
• The deadline runs from a decision, not from the news. Being a buyer from a developer named in an investigation does not start a deadline. The 60 days start only when a decision is notified to you.
• The money trail is the core. In the second wave, the authorities described foreign currency that did not actually enter Turkey [H3]; in the Babacan file, low-value properties sold with inflated valuation reports [H2]. Your own bank transfers, currency certificate and receipts are what show what you paid.

3. How many days do I have to appeal? The 60-day deadline

Under Article 7 of Law No. 2577, the period to file a case is 60 days, starting on the day after the written notification [M3]. Law No. 5901 requires citizenship decisions to be notified to the person and to the application authorities (Art. 41) [M1].

Day	What the law says
Day 0	Written notification received
Day 1	The 60-day period starts
Within the 60 days	An application to the authority under Art. 11 pauses the clock (section 6)
Day 60	Last day to file; a petition filed later is out of time, whatever its merits

• Each family member counts separately. Each adult's period runs from his or her own notification.
• The recorded address matters. A notification sent to the address in the records can start the period even if the family has moved. If notification is made by public announcement, the period starts 15 days after the last announcement (Art. 7/3) [M3].
• Living abroad does not add days. The 60 days are the same for a family in Dubai, Baghdad, Tehran, London or İstanbul.

4. Where do I appeal a Turkish citizenship cancellation? Not a local court

Citizenship by investment is granted, cancelled and withdrawn by Presidential decision. Cases against Presidential decisions are heard by the Council of State in Ankara as a court of first instance (Law No. 2575, Art. 24/1-a) [M4]. The TKGM certificate is a separate act heard under different rules:

	Conformity certificate cancellation	Citizenship cancellation or withdrawal
Made by	TKGM (regional directorate)	President of the Republic
Court	Administrative court where the authority is located, under the general rule (Law No. 2577, Art. 32)	Council of State in Ankara (Law No. 2575, Art. 24/1-a)
Deadline	60 days from the day after notification	60 days from the day after notification
If you lose	Appeal under the general rules	Appeal to the Council of State's Plenary of Administrative Law Chambers (İDDK) within 30 days [Y1] [Y2]

5. My TKGM certificate was cancelled too: do I need to appeal that as well?

The certificate and the citizenship decision are made by different authorities, so the law treats them as two acts [M3]. Law No. 2577 allows one petition against acts linked by cause and effect (Art. 5/1), and when connected cases are before different courts and one is before the Council of State, the file goes to the Council of State (Art. 38/3) [M3].

Why this matters was shown in a case decided on 5 February 2026. An investor challenged only the Presidential decision. TKGM's İstanbul regional directorate had cancelled the conformity certificate because the foreign-exchange purchase certificates were found untrue. The Council of State noted that "no lawsuit was filed against that act" and, finding that the investment condition was missing before the grant, rejected the case [Y1].

6. Can I ask the authority to reverse the decision first? Does it give more time?

Within the 60 days, a person may ask the authority to remove, withdraw or change the decision. This application pauses the period. If there is no answer within 30 days, the request counts as rejected, and the period continues with the days already used counted (Law No. 2577, Art. 11) [M3]. It is often used to learn the reasons and documents behind a decision, because many notifications do not include them. It pauses the clock; it does not restart it from zero.

7. Can I stay in Turkey while I appeal? Does the appeal stop the cancellation?

Filing a case does not stop the decision by itself (Law No. 2577, Art. 27/1) [M3]. Unless the court grants a stay of execution, the decision applies during the case and the person is treated as a foreigner: Article 33 of Law No. 5901 applies the foreigners' law, which today means the Law on Foreigners and International Protection (Law No. 6458, Art. 122) [M1] [M6]. Staying then requires a visa or residence permit, and staying without one can count as an overstay.

Question	Rule
When is a stay of execution granted?	Only if the decision is clearly unlawful and applying it would cause damage that is difficult or impossible to repair (Art. 27)
When is it decided?	Usually after the administration's defence, with reasons
Can the stay decision be challenged?	Once, within 7 days, before the İDDK, which decides within 7 days (Art. 27/7)
What harm is usually described?	Losing the right to stay, schooling, work, travel documents and family unity

Our overstay and entry ban calculator shows how overstay periods translate into entry bans, and our guide to deportation and entry bans explains the separate 7-day appeal against a deportation order.

8. Can my wife, children and I appeal together?

Which family members a cancellation covers, and the exceptions for a child born later or a spouse who became a citizen by marriage, are explained in our article on the 2026 cancellations (Law No. 5901, Art. 32; Regulation Art. 58/2) [M1] [M2]. For the appeal itself:

The investor, spouse and children of one family may file one joint lawsuit. But in January 2025 the Council of State held that different families cannot join one petition, even when the same Presidential decision covers them all, because each investor's currency and conformity certificates are separate; the joint petition was returned and the families were given 30 days to file separately [Y3]. Families who bought in the same project and received the same decision therefore still file one case per family.

9. Can my apartment be sold or liquidated while the appeal continues?

If the cancellation decision orders the property to be liquidated, liquidation is postponed until the end of the case once a lawsuit is filed (Law No. 5901, Art. 33/2) [M1]. Measures placed in the criminal investigation are separate: in the second wave, measures were placed on 2,011 properties, 42 bank accounts and other assets [H3], and those are dealt with in the criminal proceedings, not in the citizenship case.

10. Can I appeal from Dubai, Baghdad, Tehran or London?

Yes. Law No. 2577 allows petitions and case documents to be handed in at Turkish consulates abroad, as well as at the Council of State or any administrative court (Art. 4) [M3]. A lawyer in Turkey can also file and follow the case electronically through the national court system (UYAP) under a power of attorney, which people abroad usually sign at a Turkish consulate or before a notary with an apostille. For Arabic-speaking families, our Arabic guide to hiring a lawyer in Turkey from abroad explains the consulate power of attorney.

11. Has anyone won? What the Council of State decided in similar cases

Published decisions of the Council of State's 10th Chamber show both results. They are described as they were decided in those files; each new file depends on its own facts.

Decision	What happened in that file	Result
E.2022/7637, K.2025/3313 (26 June 2025) [Y2]	The information relied on had been known before citizenship was granted, and the administration could not show concrete documents that the conditions were missing on the grant date. The court had asked the ministries and the intelligence service for the documents.	Withdrawal annulled for the family (majority)
E.2024/405, K.2026/361 (5 February 2026) [Y1]	Foreign-exchange purchase certificates found untrue; the TKGM certificate cancelled and not challenged.	Withdrawal upheld
E.2023/6208, K.2025/169 (14 January 2025) [Y3]	Six people from three different couples filed one petition.	Petition returned; each family to file separately

Read together, these files show that the state's power to withdraw a grant made without its legal conditions is broad and has no time limit, but the reason must be real, must relate to the grant date and must be shown with "concrete, sufficient and serious" information [Y2].

12. The valuation report was too high: does that decide my appeal?

Not by itself. The court asks whether the reason stated in the decision is real and lawful: real means proven by proper findings, lawful means one of the reasons the law allows [Y1] [Y2]. In plain words, the questions in these files are:

Question	Why it matters
Was the investment amount really paid and the currency really sold to a bank in Turkey?	The investment condition in Regulation Art. 20; decisive in the February 2026 file [Y1]
Did the problem exist on the day citizenship was granted?	Withdrawal (Art. 40) concerns conditions missing at the grant [Y2]
Was the false statement or document the investor's own?	Cancellation under Art. 31 refers to the person's own false statement or hidden facts [M1]
What did the investor pay, know and receive?	Shown by contracts, receipts, bank records and messages with the developer or agent

The difference between cancellation and withdrawal, and why it matters for families, is explained in the companion article on the 2026 cancellations.

13. Will the criminal investigation affect my appeal? Being a buyer is not being a suspect

The citizenship lawsuit and the criminal investigation are separate. The İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office runs the investigation into the developers and intermediaries (Babacan İnşaat-linked sales in the first wave; Gül İnşaat AŞ, Beyaz İnşaat and LİV İnşaat sales in the second) [H2] [H4]. In the second wave, 33 suspects were remanded in custody on 25 September 2026 [H5]. Criminal liability is personal: a buyer in a sale under investigation is not automatically a suspect, and the presumption of innocence applies to everyone named. If a buyer is asked to give a statement, the rules on legal assistance in our guide for foreigners arrested or questioned in Turkey apply.

14. How long does the appeal take, and what happens step by step?

There is no fixed period. The published decisions show cases filed in 2022-2024 and decided in 2025-2026 [Y1] [Y2] [Y3]. The same sequence appears in each file:

Step	What happens
1. Petition	Filed electronically (UYAP), at a court, or at a Turkish consulate abroad (Art. 4)
2. First check	Court, deadline, standing and form; a defective petition can be returned with 30 days to refile (Arts. 14/3, 15/1-d)
3. Defence	The Presidency and the Ministry of Interior answer
4. Stay of execution	If requested, decided after the defence (Art. 27)
5. Interim decision	The court may ask ministries, TKGM or the intelligence service for the documents (as in June 2025)
6. Opinions	A rapporteur judge and a Council of State prosecutor give opinions; the chamber is not bound by them
7. Judgment	The 10th Chamber decides
8. Appeal	30 days to the İDDK

A form defect can be fixed; a missed 60-day deadline cannot [Y3].

15. If I win, do I get my Turkish passport back? And if I lose?

An annulment removes the decision. In the June 2025 case, the Council of State annulled the Presidential decision "in the part concerning the plaintiffs" and ordered the administration to pay the costs and the lawyer's fee [Y2]. The administration can appeal a chamber decision to the İDDK within 30 days; once the annulment is final, the family's citizenship continues as if the withdrawal had not been made. If the certificate was also cancelled, the result of the certificate case matters too. If the family loses, the same 30-day appeal to the İDDK is available.

16. What documents do I need to appeal?

Document	Where it usually comes from	What it shows
The notification(s) and decision(s)	Sent to you; also held by the population authorities	Which decision, which date, which reason, and when the 60 days started
Title deed and official sale record (resmi senet)	Land registry; e-Devlet	Declared price, date, parties
Foreign-exchange purchase certificate (döviz alım belgesi)	The Turkish bank that bought the currency	That the currency was sold to a bank in Turkey
Bank statements and SWIFT messages	Your banks, in Turkey and abroad	The full payment chain from your account to the seller
Valuation report	The valuation company; the TKGM file	The value relied on and who prepared it
Conformity certificate and its cancellation letter	TKGM	The basis of the citizenship decision and why it fell
Sale contract, receipts, messages with the developer or agent	You	What you paid, knew and were told

The petition itself states the parties, the decision challenged, the reasons and the evidence, and can ask for the administration's file to be obtained and for a stay of execution (Law No. 2577, Art. 3) [M3].

17. Citizenship lawyer in Istanbul, Ankara and across Turkey for cancellation appeals

These files touch three places. The Council of State, which hears the case against the Presidential decision, sits in Ankara, so a lawyer in Ankara or anywhere in Turkey follows the file there electronically. The criminal investigation into Babacan, Gül İnşaat, Beyaz İnşaat and LİV sales is run in İstanbul, and certificates have been cancelled by TKGM's İstanbul regional directorate, which is why many families first contact a Turkish citizenship lawyer in Istanbul. The administrative side (certificate, Presidential decision, stay of execution) is covered on our administrative law page. Families searching for a "citizenship lawyer in Turkey" after a notification usually do so with the 60-day clock already running, which is why the notification date is the first fact any lawyer asks for.

Sources and References

Legislation

• [M1] Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901, Arts. 12, 31-33, 40, 41

• [M2] Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law, Arts. 20, 58, 66

• [M3] Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577, Arts. 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 11, 14, 15, 27, 32, 38

• [M4] Council of State Law No. 2575, Art. 24

• [M6] Law No. 6458 on Foreigners and International Protection, Art. 122

Council of State (Danıştay) decisions

• [Y1] Danıştay 10th Chamber, E.2024/405, K.2026/361, 5 February 2026

• [Y2] Danıştay 10th Chamber, E.2022/7637, K.2025/3313, 26 June 2025

• [Y3] Danıştay 10th Chamber, E.2023/6208, K.2025/169, 14 January 2025

Official statements and reporting

• [H1] Ministry of Interior statement of 4 August 2026, as reported by Hürriyet

• [H2] Anadolu Ajansı, 7 August 2026: first wave, 687 people

• [H3] Anadolu Ajansı, 21 September 2026: second wave, 1,070 people, Ministry of Interior update

• [H4] Milliyet, 21 September 2026: Minister of Justice statement naming Babacan İnşaat, Gül İnşaat AŞ, Beyaz İnşaat and LİV İnşaat

• [H5] Anadolu Ajansı, 25 September 2026: 33 suspects remanded

This article is general information about Turkish law as of 2 October 2026. It is not legal advice and does not assess any individual file. Companies and people named in investigations have not been convicted; the presumption of innocence applies.