Turkish AKP government on Wednesday made it easier for foreigners to become Turkish citizens by cutting the financial and investment criteria required for citizenship, according to the relevant decree of the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan published in the government’s Resmi Gazette on Wednesday.
Foreigners now need only to have $500,000 deposits in Turkish banks, down from $3 million before while fixed capital investment was reduced from $2 million to $500,000 dollars.
In addition, foreigners owning real estate in Turkey worth $250,000 can now acquire the citizenship — the previous minimum was $1 million.
The requirements for foreigners who generate jobs in Turkey were also simplified, with the number of jobs needed to be created down to 50 from 100.
The decree is the latest in a series by Erdoğan in what appears to be a bid to prop up the embattled Turkish lira and the economy which slowed down in the second quarter. The lira lost nearly a quarter in value against the greenback in August.
