Tag: second passport

Categories
Uncategorized

Do I Have…

I don't have a police record, but I think Synchronicity is a pretty good Police CD.

As mentioned in the last few posts, we learned that we had/have a lot more hoops to jump through before being awarded our Turkish passports and citizenship.

Before this last visit, we had to get background checks to ensure that we don’t have criminal records (spoiler alert: we’re goody two-shoes). Which involved additional paperwork and expense.

I didn’t do this, but I was tempted… When they asked if I had a police record, I wanted to tell them no, but I have a Police CD. (Sting and team wrote killer songs. Just a musician’s opinion. Fight me.)

Seriously, tho: We had to get fingerprinted and verified on both the US and Turkish sides. Mr. Becoming Turkish had no problem, but fingerprints have often been the bane of my existence. Why do I have shallow prints? All I can think of is hands in water and solvents too often.

Shout-out to Seattle Fingerprint (Shoreline, WA) for managing to get my fingerprints before the deadline passed. We had tried one of our local post offices, and while the Mr. went through with no problem, they tried every trick in the book to get my prints to show. Warm up hands. Wash hands to get oils off. Different angles. Nope. I was so distraught, hoping that this would not be my barrier to citizenship.

After that little shop captured my fingerprints, I was not out of the woods — I had to do the same in Istanbul. In the weeks prior, I used a lot of lotion on my fingertips (supposedly heals any damage to prints) and avoided hand sanitizer (alcohol can be bad for prints). It took a little back and forth and trial and error, but my prints showed up in Istanbul, and they verified properly in my second appointment.

Can I say — WHEW!!!

So funny that I never thought that fingerprints could be a barrier to my second citizenship. Which got me thinking: what do people with amputated fingers/hands/arms do?

Categories
Uncategorized

Second Passport, Second Name?

Sign your name on the form

Did you know that I might need a new name when we become Turkish citizens?

I mean, names I’ve considered: Ink Ognito (only when I want to stay in hiding), Paige Turner (overdone?), Ima Pseudonym…

Seriously, though. Apparently Turkish society is still — shall I say — a bit behind on women’s rights.

When we got married in 2001, I made a last-minute decision to keep my own last name. While I was thrilled to become his life-partner, even at the ripe age of 27, I felt like changing my name meant changing my deep-down identity. So, I didn’t change.

Yet, after we had already committed to the citizenship process, our attorney told us that in most cases, husband and wife need to have the same last name. I was gobsmacked, to say the least.

But I wasn’t going to let that stop our citizenship application. I just thought, “gee, after 50 years, I’ll have to teach myself a new way to sign my name.”

On this recent trip, however, our attorney filled out our paperwork with our legal American names for both of us — and told us to cross our fingers that it would go through. I still don’t know.

I guess it might be cool to have two identities either way?

Interestingly, when applying for Turkish citizenship, you can opt to change your name to anything. The thought briefly crossed our minds to create new Turkish names for each of us, but we quickly discarded it due to overall logistical challenges.

However, it would be super convenient to have a Turkish name when we visit an Espresso Lab, the only chain which insists on putting a name on a cup Starbucks-style (funnily enough, even when there’s no crowd). I have had mixed results trying to communicate my first name to staff, and got this interesting result from one of my visits:

How does Brooke become Billar???

On future visits, I learned to hold up the credit card I used, point at the spelling of my name, and hope for the best. (Worked, mostly, the last time I went to Espresso Lab — they’re more expensive, so not a frequent stop for us, but I looooove their Green Plum drink!)

Overall, there is a fair amount of gender equality in major cities like Istanbul. So, the possible name change surprised us. Hopefully they accept our attorney’s current application with my legal American name!

Categories
Uncategorized

Still at #14…

Maiden's Tower

It’s been a minute, eh?

Last time we chatted, we were on step #14 of the 15-step Turkish citizenship process. Annnnnd we’re still at Step 14, nine months later.

Why the delay, you ask? As always, red tape. Bureaucracy.

Last October, we were told that only Bruce needed to complete residency paperwork, and that I would be carried along with his application. Which was true then. But an early call from our Turkish attorney on March 1 made things a little more complicated.

She told us that there had been a change to the program. We both would need official US background checks, and both of us needed fingerprints verified. In person.

I thought, so much for my goal of having a Turkish passport by my 50th birthday (just over a month ago). But — at least it would eventually happen. Hopefully. I was only half-joking with our attorney when I asked if I should leave a DNA sample.

While we toyed with the idea of spending a quick week in Istanbul in May, we knew that it made the most sense to wait until the July/August trip we’d already planned. (Besides, it gave the government a few months to add even more requirements — which they luckily did not, but it was a good buffer, anyway.)

During our time in Istanbul, we had two appointments: first to get my fingerprints, and then to verify both of our fingerprints around 3 1/2 weeks later. We were among the lucky, who had already planned a longer trip; many other expats we spoke with had to make two separate trips for the two appointments.

We haven’t heard anything else yet, so we assume all is well. But since not many passports have been issued since this change, we’re planning an October ’25 trip to update our residency (which needs to be done in person every year).

In case you’re wondering about the rationale behind these changes, put simply: corruption. It ends up that many of the now-former government officials rubber-stamped “spouses” without thorough research, letting folks in (criminal background, etc) who should not have been. The new government, noting that this had gotten out of hand, started requiring background checks for all applicants, not just one from each couple.

Whew! That was a lot to unpack. But hopefully… someday… we’ll be the owners of that red passport to go alongside our current blue ones.

Categories
Uncategorized

CBI: Almost There!

At the beginning of the year, our Turkish attorney sent us this list, which outlines the Turkish CBI (Citizenship By Investment) process:

When I found this list earlier today, I was thrilled to see that we are currently at #14!

It wasn’t that long ago that we were spending a long time in #4. It took us a long time to find places that fit in our budget and would make good rentals. Plus, we wanted properties that we’d want to stay in, as well.

Some of these steps were almost instantaneous, which is how we’ve stepped through them so quickly. For example, applying for the Residency Permit (#13) happened over the course of a few morning meetings. That paperwork was processed relatively quickly, and I’m happy to say that as of the end of October ’23, we are indeed Turkish residents!

At this point, our application is in “the queue”, we’re told. We’re not the only ones applying for Turkish citizenship, after all. Our attorney told us that processing time was 3-4 months. Since we applied toward the end of October, hopefully we’ll have our shiny, new passports in January or February!

Here’s looking forward to our second passports in the new year. It will be strange at first, but it will open up so many more opportunities — primarily, being able to stay in Turkiye longer-term. It has taken patience and a lot of attention to detail, but it can be done.

If you’re curious about CBI (or Golden Visa) programs, please DM me, and I’m happy to chat!