Can foreigners open a hotel in Türkiye? Company, property and certificate rules

Yes, in principle. Türkiye's tourism facilities regulation (Presidential Decision 1134, Article 4(1)(m)) defines a tourism business as one run by natural or legal persons of Turkish or foreign nationality. In practice the route is usually a company incorporated in Türkiye under the Foreign Direct Investment Law (No. 4875), plus a tourism certificate. Property ownership has separate limits.

An investor finds the building, agrees a price, and only then asks whether the law lets them own it and run a hotel inside it. Three separate rulebooks answer that question, and they do not move together. After reading this article you will know which law governs each step, in which order to take them, and which questions to put in writing to local counsel and an accountant before you commit money.

What do the tourism rules say about nationality?#

They treat nationality as irrelevant. Article 4(1)(m) of the Regulation on the Qualifications of Tourism Facilities (Presidential Decision 1134) defines a tourism business as a commercial business active in the tourism sector, run jointly or separately by natural or legal persons of Turkish or foreign nationality, according to the consolidated text on mevzuat.gov.tr (opens in a new tab).

The same article separates three roles that investors often blur: the tourism business itself, the certificate holder and the operator. Because the three are defined separately, an owner, a certificate holder and an operating company can be three different legal persons. The certificate follows the name written on it, not the building.

The words "jointly or separately" mean a foreign investor can hold the business alone or with partners. This article sets no local-partner requirement.

What the article does not do is grant a property right, a residence status or a tax position. Those come from the title deed, immigration and tax rules, which are separate. Practical check: decide which entity will be the certificate holder and which will be the operator before you sign a management or lease contract, then confirm the split with counsel.

Can a foreigner open a company in Türkiye to run a hotel?#

Yes. Article 3(a) of the Foreign Direct Investment Law (No. 4875) states that, unless international agreements or special laws provide otherwise, foreign investors are free to make direct investments in Türkiye and receive the same treatment as domestic investors, per the consolidated law on mevzuat.gov.tr (opens in a new tab).

Article 2 defines a foreign investor broadly: a natural person with foreign citizenship, a Turkish citizen resident abroad, a legal entity set up under foreign law, or an international organisation. It also defines what counts as direct foreign investment: bringing assets such as cash capital from abroad to set up a new company or open a branch, joining an existing company by buying shares off the stock exchange, or acquiring at least 10% of the shares or votes on the exchange.

The law adds protections in Article 3. Investments may not be expropriated or nationalised without public interest and compensation. Net profit, dividends and sale proceeds may be transferred abroad freely through banks or private finance institutions.

Article 3(g) adds that staff of foreign nationality employed in companies and branches set up under this law get their work permit from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. That links the company question to the staffing question later in this article.

In practice, the entity that holds the certificate and the property is normally a company incorporated in Türkiye. Which form suits your investor profile and tax position is a question for counsel and an accountant, not a template.

Can a foreigner buy the hotel building or the land?#

Sometimes, and by two different routes. A foreign natural person may acquire real estate only if they are a citizen of a country the President determines, within area caps. A company set up in Türkiye in which foreigners hold 50% or more of the shares may acquire property to carry out its articles' activities, under the Title Deed Law's consolidated text (opens in a new tab).

Article 35 of the Title Deed Law (No. 2644) governs natural persons: acquisition is open to citizens of countries the President determines, subject to legal restrictions. The total area acquired, including independent and permanent limited real rights, may not exceed 10% of the privately owned area of a district, or 30 hectares per person across the country. The President may double the per-person limit.

The President may also set, restrict, suspend or ban acquisitions by country, person, region, period, number, ratio, type, quality or area. The position can change and must be checked at the date of purchase.

Article 36 is the usual company route. A company set up in Türkiye where foreigners hold 50% or more of the shares, or can appoint or dismiss most of the managers, may acquire and use real estate to carry out the activities in its articles of association. Acquisitions in military and special security zones need permission.

Undeveloped land carries a deadline: the buyer must submit the project to be built to the relevant Ministry for approval within two years. Property acquired against the article, used against its purpose, or whose project is not carried out on time is liquidated into money if the owner does not dispose of it within a period of up to one year.

Check before paying a deposit: whether the plot falls inside a military or special security zone is a title deed question, and it is answered by the land registry file, not by the seller's brochure. If your project is a new build, read also when a tourism investment certificate for a hotel project is required.

Which certificate does the hotel need, and does being foreign change the steps?#

The property needs a tourism operation certificate (işletme belgesi) from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the application steps are the same whatever the applicant's nationality. Nationality changes the company and property steps, not the certificate steps.

The certificate is issued in the name of the certificate holder, so settle the entity question first. Changing the name on a certificate later is a separate procedure. Name the operator on the file from the start: if a management company will run the facility in its own name and for its own account, the paperwork should say so.

The order that does not change: entity, then property or lease, then project and permits, then the certificate application, then opening. Skipping a step usually means paying for it twice. A project may also need a tourism investment certificate, which is a different document from the operation certificate and can sit before or during construction; confirm which applies to your project before you buy land.

The documents are the same in kind for everyone: identity and company papers, title deed or lease, project files, and evidence that the facility meets the regulation's qualification rules for its type. What does change is origin. Your corporate papers come from another jurisdiction, so ask counsel what legalisation and translation they need and who must sign for the company.

For the certificate itself, the step-by-step guide to how a hotel applies for a tourism operation certificate covers the documents in detail, and which permits come in which order when opening a hotel covers the wider sequence.

How many foreign staff can a certified hotel employ?#

Up to 10% of total staff, unless the Ministry of Culture and Tourism raises the limit to 20%. The permit comes from the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, issued after the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Interior give their opinions (Law No. 2634, Article 18(a), per the consolidated law on mevzuat.gov.tr (opens in a new tab)).

The 10% is a share of total staff, not a headcount. The ceiling moves with your payroll, and a small property reaches it with two or three people. The article speaks of foreign expert staff and artists, so the permit is a regulated route for specific roles rather than an open quota for any position.

Timing helps pre-opening: these staff may start work from three months before the business starts operating, which covers training and setup. Article 18(b) adds a separate rule: in certified businesses covered by Article 12 of the Police Duties and Powers Law (No. 2559), people under 21 may be employed only with the permission of the highest local civil administrator.

The general work permit route for foreign staff runs through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (Foreign Direct Investment Law, Article 3(g)); Article 18 adds the two-opinion step and the cap for certified businesses. Check before promising a role to an overseas manager: ask counsel how total staff is counted for the cap, particularly where seasonal contracts are used. The article on employing foreign staff at a hotel in Türkiye covers the permit process in detail.

What should I ask local counsel and an accountant before committing?#

Bring a written list and ask for written answers. The four texts above set the frame; your country, your plot and your tax position decide the rest.

Property

Certificate

Money and people

This article does not answer questions of residence, citizenship or tax incentives. Ask those separately, and do not accept a property purchase presented as any of them.

What to do next#

Get the entity and the property question answered in writing before you negotiate a price, then run the certificate steps in the fixed order above. The tourism, investment and title deed rulebooks are read together, and only your own counsel and accountant can read them against your country, your plot and your tax position. This article is orientation, not legal advice.