Today, Turkey is facing a serious test not only in terms of economic hardship but also in terms of equal citizenship and public interest. While millions of citizens are struggling to survive, the fact that a basic bond such as citizenship is effortlessly offered to those who can afford it creates a justified discomfort in the public conscience.
Economic Justification or Consolation Bonus?
Citizenship in exchange for the purchase of immovable property was initially defended on the grounds of “foreign exchange inflow”, but today this claim has weakened its social relevance. Citizenship is not a commodity to be marketed according to market conditions, but a permanent contract based on equal citizenship.
The figures confirm this fact: The revenue generated from the implementation is in the thousands of thousands within the central budget, almost like a “consolation prize”. On the other hand, the cost of security, supervision and social cohesion risks are not included in any of the tables. While the housing prices determined today are unattainable for our own citizens, they have turned into the fastest way for wealthy people of unknown origin in the region to obtain legal status.
Citizenship is not a Land Registry
Cases reflected in international criminal files prove that these concerns are not abstract. Granting this status to people who do not live in Turkey, who are not in contact with our social life, is incompatible with the seriousness of the state. The point here is not to oppose the state, but rather to warn the state to make it stronger. While the social state pursues justice, the national state meticulously protects the bond of citizenship.
The land of the homeland is not a pile of concrete on which only technical controls can be carried out, and citizenship is not a commodity on which a commission can be paid. Citizenship is not a title deed transaction, not a value to be measured by an appraisal report.
National Will and the Risk of Imported Voters
The Misak-ı Milli is the will of those who drew these borders with their lives and blood, not at the table. The society cannot accept citizenship given with money when it has not even fully internalized paid military service. Sharing the mobilization order in one's pocket with someone who has never been to Turkey, under the same identity, does not fit into the conscience of the nation.
Citizenship is not just about rights; it is about assuming responsibility when necessary and not abandoning the ship in a storm. In an electoral system where the +1 rule applies, the vote of even a single person who obtains citizenship in this way, just by showing up at the airport, can change the governance and future of the country. The national will cannot be abandoned to the fate of “imported contract citizens”.
Bottom line: The children of the Kuvâ-yı Milliye do not want to share the same citizenship document with the holders of foreign currency, who are not known how many countries' passports they carry in their pockets, and who are exonerated by expert reports.