Investors preparing a Turkish citizenship file encounter a three-letter abbreviation that appears on no marketing brochure and blocks more applications than any other single document: DAB. It stands for döviz alım belgesi — foreign exchange purchase document. This article explains what it is, why the ministry asks for it, when it must be obtained, and what happens to investors who find out about it too late.
What a DAB is
A DAB is a document issued by a bank in Türkiye recording that a sum of foreign currency was sold to the bank and converted into Turkish lira. It identifies the person who brought the currency in, the amount, the currency, the exchange rate applied, and the date.
In everyday banking it is unremarkable — evidence of a currency conversion. In a citizenship file it does something more specific: it proves that the money used for the investment entered Türkiye from abroad as foreign currency, rather than having been generated inside the country or moved through channels that cannot be traced.
Why the state requires it
The investment routes to Turkish citizenship exist to attract foreign capital. That objective is only met if the capital is genuinely foreign. Without documentary proof of entry, the same domestic funds could circulate between related parties and be presented as investment.
The DAB closes that gap. It is issued by a supervised institution, it cannot be produced retrospectively by agreement between buyer and seller, and it ties a specific sum of foreign currency to a specific person on a specific date. That is why the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change asks for it in real estate files, and why its absence is not something an official can overlook as a technicality.
Where it fits in the sequence
The order is fixed, and getting it wrong is the source of nearly every DAB problem:
- Foreign currency is transferred from abroad to an account in Türkiye, in the investor's own name.
- The currency is sold to the bank — converted to lira — and the DAB is issued at that moment.
- The lira proceeds are paid to the seller, through the banking system.
- The title is transferred and the three-year annotation entered.
- The DAB, together with the deed, appraisal and payment records, goes into the certificate of conformity file.
The critical feature is that a DAB is generated at the point of conversion. It is not a certificate you can request later on the strength of a completed transaction. If the conversion happened without one being issued, obtaining it afterwards ranges from difficult to impossible depending on how the payment was made.
The mistakes that cause the problem
Almost all DAB difficulties trace back to one of these:
- Paying the seller in foreign currency. No conversion, no DAB. The investor believes the payment is well documented — there is a SWIFT transfer, after all — but the specific document the ministry needs was never created.
- Paying in cash. Currency carried in physically and handed over leaves no record capable of supporting a file of this size.
- Transferring from someone else's account. A DAB names the person who sold the currency. If that is a relative, a company or a business partner rather than the applicant, it does not evidence the applicant's investment.
- Converting before the money leaves home. Currency changed abroad and sent as lira never undergoes a conversion in Türkiye, so no DAB exists.
- Leaving it to the estate agent. Agents arrange viewings; they do not manage evidentiary chains.
Each of these can be avoided by a single instruction given to the bank before the money moves — and each is expensive once the transfer has been completed.
The partial DAB problem
A common variant: the investor converts part of the purchase price through a bank and pays the remainder from lira funds already held in Türkiye, or in cash. The DAB then covers, say, USD 260,000 of a USD 410,000 purchase.
The file is now inconsistent. The property qualifies on valuation, but the documented foreign currency inflow does not match the investment. Resolving this means demonstrating the source of the remaining sum through other records — which sometimes succeeds and always costs time.
The rule to follow is simple: the entire purchase price should move through the banking system, and the entire foreign currency component should be converted with a DAB issued. Partial documentation is the awkward middle ground where files stall.
Do the deposit and other routes need one?
The DAB is most closely associated with the real estate route, because that is where the ministry expressly looks for it. But the underlying principle — that the state can trace foreign capital entering the country — applies across all six routes.
An investor placing USD 500,000 on deposit will hold the transfer records, the account statements and, where a conversion occurs, the DAB. Someone buying government bonds or fund shares will have the intermediary institution's records. In each case the question the certifying authority asks is the same: where did this money come from, and how did it get here? The DAB is simply the cleanest answer available in the property route.
Practical points that save time
- Tell the bank in advance what the conversion is for. Banks issue DABs routinely, but the document must actually be requested and retained. Ask for it at the counter and keep the original.
- Match the names. The person on the DAB, on the payment, and on the title deed should be the same person.
- Keep the whole chain. The SWIFT confirmation from abroad, the account statement showing receipt, the DAB, and the outgoing payment to the seller together form a continuous record. Any missing link invites a question.
- Convert close to the payment. A conversion months before the purchase leaves a gap that has to be explained.
- Do not net off. Where a deposit is paid early, convert and document it in the same way as the balance.
A short scenario
An investor from Central Asia transfers USD 430,000 to his own account at a Turkish bank, converts it, receives the DAB, and pays the seller by bank transfer in lira. His file passes the ministry without a query.
A second investor, buying in the same building, agrees with the seller — who also holds a foreign currency account — to pay in dollars directly. It is faster and avoids conversion spread. There is a full transfer record and no doubt whatsoever that the money is his. But there is no DAB, because no conversion took place in Türkiye.
His file is not lost. It takes four additional months, additional documentation from two banks, and a supplementary explanation of the fund flow. The convenience of paying in dollars cost him a third of a year.
Neither investor did anything dishonest. The difference is that one of them knew what document the file would need before choosing how to pay.
Frequently asked questions
Can I obtain a DAB after completing the purchase? Generally no. It is created at the moment of conversion. Where no conversion occurred, no DAB can be issued.
Can my spouse convert the funds? The DAB should name the applicant. Where family funds are used, this needs to be structured before the transfer, not explained afterwards.
Is a SWIFT transfer confirmation enough on its own? It evidences that money arrived, not that foreign currency was converted in Türkiye. Both belong in the file.
What if I already hold foreign currency in a Turkish account? Converting it will generate a DAB, but be ready to document how the currency entered the country in the first place.
Does the DAB affect the exchange rate I get? No. It records the rate applied; it does not change it.
Which currencies qualify? Any convertible foreign currency the bank will buy. The threshold is calculated in US dollar equivalent.
Do I need a separate DAB for each property? You need documentation covering the full amount converted; where purchases are made at different times, each conversion produces its own document.
Getting it right the first time
The DAB is not complicated, and that is precisely why it catches people out — nobody expects a routine banking slip to be the reason a citizenship file takes an extra six months. The safeguard is to design the payment route before the money moves: who sends, from where, to which account, converted when, paid to whom.
Dural Hukuk sets out that payment map at the start of every investment file and coordinates with the client's bank so the documentation exists when the ministry asks for it. Call +90 535 260 74 54 or use the contact form on this site.
This article is general information on Turkish law as at August 2026 and is not legal advice. Banking procedures and administrative practice change; obtain advice on your own circumstances before transferring funds.