Turkey's geopolitical and economic position encourages foreigners and foreign companies to invest, start a business and obtain work or residence permits in Turkey. In this respect, opening a bank account in Turkey provides utmost convenience and speed in financial transactions. Non-citizens of the Republic of Turkey also have the right to open a bank account in Turkey, as do Turkish citizens. The foreigners can be either natural persons or legal entities. Opening a bank account by a foreign natural person and opening a bank account to a foreign legal person are subject to different procedures.

Foreign natural persons first need a provisional tax number to open a bank account in Turkey. Foreign nationals can request such tax number from any tax office with their passport or residence permit. Apart from the provisional tax number, the foreigner has to determine/ identify a correspondence address. In any case, the bank will contact the relevant person in question via this correspondence address. While tax number, passport and correspondence address are mandatory conditions for opening an account, some banks may also request a telephone number from a Turkish operator.

Likewise, foreign companies can open a bank account in Turkey if they meet the necessary conditions. However, additional (corporate) documents are requested from foreign companies. First of all, only a manager or a person authorized to sign on behalf of the company can request a bank account to be opened. It is not required for companies to have an office or a commercial activity in Turkey. However, the company has to determine a correspondence address and receive a tax number. The company agreement, trade chamber registries, establishment and activity documents and licenses are among the other documents that the foreign company must submit. These documents must be translated and approved properly, either by the public notary and/or consulate.

It should be noted that in practice, banks may ask documents other than those listed above. For this reason, it is preferable to first determine the bank where the account will be opened and then make a list of the required documents.