How to pay for property in Turkey from Russia in 2026

Updated 5 November 2026

Finding an apartment in Alanya may be the enjoyable part of a move. Paying for it calls for a plan of its own. Before placing a deposit, establish where the money will arrive, whose name will appear on the bank transfer and how the Turkish bank will prepare the document needed for the title deed. A successful transfer and a purchase ready for registration are two separate milestones.

A recent bank transfer, step by step

In a recent Maxhome Invest client transaction, the buyer opened a Turkish lira account at a bank in Russia, exchanged rubles for lira and transferred the lira to their own account in Turkey. The money arrived in three to four working days in this case. The time reflects one completed transfer; it is not a promise that every bank or payment route will work as quickly.

There was another step before the title deed transfer. The Turkish bank exchanged the received lira into euros and then sold the euros for lira. This enabled the bank to issue the Döviz Alım Belgesi, the foreign exchange purchase certificate required for registration of a foreign buyer's property purchase. Those extra conversions affect the final amount available for the apartment. Ask the bank about its exchange rates and charges before moving the full purchase price.

Turkey's General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre explains that a bank must prepare the certificate and send it to the relevant land registry office. Lira in a Turkish account alone does not finish this part of the purchase. The bank handling your transaction in Alanya or Antalya should explain how it will produce the certificate for your funds and property.

Other bank routes to consider

Some Russian banks offer transfers to Turkish bank details from a ruble account. T-Bank, for example, describes a transfer to Turkey in which the sender pays in rubles and the recipient receives lira. Check the exact amount, destination IBAN, named recipient and purpose of payment with the sending bank. Then ask the receiving bank what it will require to accept the funds and prepare the title deed paperwork. A service being advertised on a bank website does not guarantee that a particular property payment will pass its checks.

If the buyer already holds funds in an account outside Russia, an international bank transfer to their own account in Turkey may be another route. Ziraat Bankası lists the information needed for SWIFT transfers, including the recipient's name and IBAN. The sending bank, intermediary banks and Turkish bank all matter. Agree with the receiving bank how the incoming currency will be sold and how the certificate will be sent to the land registry.

After the funds and documents are in place, the payment to the seller should follow the signed contract. For some transactions a bank can hold the purchase money until ownership is registered. Ziraat's Tapu Güvenilir Hesap is one such service. Confirm whether it is available for your transaction and how it fits with the currency certificate. It protects the settlement stage; it is not a way to send money out of Russia.

Compare the amount that reaches the purchase

The cheapest looking exchange rate may not be the cheapest route. The client transfer described above involved rubles to lira in Russia, the transfer itself, and lira to euros and back to lira in Turkey. Other routes may use fewer exchanges but incur correspondent or receiving bank charges. Request a written estimate from both banks and compare the amount ultimately available to pay the seller.

The Bank of Russia's current guidance says there is no general amount cap on transfers abroad by resident individuals to their own or another person's account. A bank can still apply its own limits and checks, and a transfer can be delayed. If you are a Russian currency resident opening a bank account in Turkey, Russia's Federal Tax Service explains the account notification and reporting rules. These obligations depend on your status; they do not apply to every foreign buyer.

Be cautious about suggestions to pay a third party in Russia, use an informal exchange, carry the whole price in cash or send cryptocurrency. Before committing, establish how the payment will be documented, who is authorized to receive it and whether the Turkish bank can issue the paperwork for the title deed. Do not send the purchase price to account details that appear only in a chat message.

Before you pay a deposit

Choose the apartment and speak to the Turkish bank that would receive the funds. Ask whether it accepts money from your chosen sending bank, in which currency, what evidence of the funds it needs and how it will arrange the Döviz Alım Belgesi. Match those answers to the seller's name, price, payment schedule and refund terms in the contract. Allow time for bank questions before fixing the land registry appointment.

Maxhome Invest can help you choose a property in Alanya and work through the purchase steps for that particular apartment. Explore apartments for sale or send us a link to a home you like. A payment plan is more useful when it is built around a real price, seller and completion date.