Gulf crises and changes in Saudi Arabia are driving residents to buy real estate and live in Turkey

To side with ease of ownership and the back down of the lira against the dollar, Istanbul “Al Quds Alarabi”: Many of the political, security and economic transformations witnessed by the Arabian Gulf in past years have prompted a segment of Arab residents of the Cooperation Council countries to buy real estate and moving to live in Turkey, or at least buy real estate and insurance Lodging for them to serve as another option if they have to leave the Gulf. One of the main reasons for this phenomenon is the Asylum of Saudi Arabia to impose a monthly tax on every person residing in the Kingdom, which prompted many residents to leave Saudi Arabia After their salaries are not enough to pay the monthly taxes and housing wage and the requirements of life.

This was followed by the Gulf crisis between Qatar and the four countries where increase the fears of many residents that the council countries will see more political turmoil and perhaps security during the next phase, In addition to the fear of some of the policy of deportation which was followed by some Gulf States to a number of residents against the backdrop of their political positions. In contrast, many economic factors have be clarify this trend, particularly the possibility of real estate easily in Turkey it has been missing Gulf residents for decades, and forced to live on rent or within the policy of the surety , which caused many of them in the extortion and fraud, as they put it.

The prices of real estate in Turkey are considered suitable compared to others, especially with the devaluation of the Turkish lira against the American dollar and reaching the barrier of 3.89 lira to the dollar, the talk of a partial recession in the Turkish real estate sector makes apartment prices reasonable for Arab residents in the Gulf, this is aided by Turkey’s extensive official and commercial advertising campaigns that encourage Gulf Habitants and residents to buy apartments in Turkey. Palestinian “NH” 55 years, He tells Al Quds Alarabi that he has been living in Saudi Arabia for 30 years, and he is now unable to pay his monthly stay and his family of eight, pointing out that he resorted to buying a residential apartment in one of the prestigious complexes in Istanbul at a price reasonable. And his goal behind it, he says: “The first objective is to try to obtain Turkish nationality after 5 years of residence, or at least give my children this opportunity, we are from Palestine, we carry the document, we do not have a passport, and there is no country in the world that welcomes us if we leave Saudi Arabia, So I am working to secure accommodation for my children in Turkey, so maybe they can get citizenship after years”. Over the past years, the Turkish government has offered Privileges, including the possibility of obtaining Turkish citizenship for property owners in Turkey and for several years, within several detailed conditions. “Ali.H” Syrian from the city of Aleppo and has been living in the UAE for 15 years and said that he sought to buy an apartment in Istanbul for several goals, most notably securing his family in the event of worsening conditions in the Gulf, especially after the crisis with Qatar, He adds on “Life in United Arab Emirates is beautiful but ownership is very difficult and property prices are high, most importantly there is no guarantee of continuity there, and the under situations very difficult in Syria, we seek to have another option to resort to in case the situation worsens in the UAE, he added: “Perhaps the apartment and accommodation later allows us to obtain Turkish nationality, my brother got it after 5 years to Turkey”. Turkey recently began to grant part of the Syrian refugees Turkish nationality under conditions including experience and competence in one of the fields and residence for 5 years and obtain a formal residence work, talks are being made about the intention of the Turkish authorities to complete tens of thousands of naturalization files for refugees.

Abu Mahmoud is a Jordanian who has lived in Saudi Arabia for a long time, and says he recently bought a flat in Istanbul that he use it as a summer resort for him and his family and did not live permanently in Turkey, but he added: “It’s true that I am using it as a summer resort now but my primary goal was to get accommodation and that this apartment as a refuge if I and my family had to leave Saudi Arabia, there has been a major drawback on residents in recent time and we are concerned about the escalating effects of the war in Yemen, the Gulf crisis and other crises”, buying apartments in Turkey is not limited to residents in the Gulf, cooperation council nationals have become more Turnout in recent years, According to the latest statistics published by the Turkish Statistics Agency, the number of houses bought by foreigners in Turkey reached January 2013, June 2017 to 81 thousand and 754 houses, Which means that an average of 50 houses a day were sold to foreigners during that period.

And foreigners are increasingly buying real estate in Turkey, after a decision in April to exempted foreigners from paying value-added tax when buying houses in Turkey, the Arabs are also making a list of foreigners careful to buy houses in Turkey and Iraqis issue a list of Arabs who bought real estate in Turkey, followed by Kuwaitis and Saudis, while the Syrians resort to owning real estate through companies because of the restrictions imposed by Turkey on their ownership of real estate unlike other Arab nationalities.