Turkey cuts investment levels for citizenship

Turkey has reduced the financial investment which foreigners must make to be issued citizenship in an effort to bolster its economy and encourage investment, the country’s Official Gazette revealed yesterday.

According to new regulations, foreigners can become citizens if they own property worth $250,000 for three years, down from a previous value set at $1 million, or if they have $500,000 deposited in Turkish banks for three years, down from a previous $3 million.

The reduction of the minimum limit to invest for citizenship is expected to double property sales and bring in cash which would otherwise be invested in Greece or other European Union countries, sector officials said.

Additionally, those who employ 50 people will be granted citizenship.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, property sales in Turkey in 2017 amounted to 1,409,314. In 2018 property sales, to date, amounted to 875,064 compared to last year’s 890,430 over the same 7 month period.

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