Two years ago, legislative amendments were introduced changes in the minimum requirements for obtaining Turkish citizenship. This led to an increase in the number of investors and, as a consequence, the volume of investments.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Friday that applications for citizenship from foreign investors continue to grow. About 5111 citizenships have already been issued, 9000 applications are still being processed.

“Investors who have obtained citizenship have already brought about 1.7 billion dollars of investments to the country ... as soon as 1382 investors receive their documents, about 407 million dollars of additional investments are expected,” Soylu said. “If you take into account those who have not yet completed the process of obtaining citizenship, the total amount of investments attracted by foreign investors to Turkey will be about $ 2.7 billion.”

The country received such results because of an amendment introduced in September 2018, which facilitated the acquisition of Turkish citizenship by foreign investors.

According to the decree, foreign citizens can obtain Turkish citizenship if they own real estate in Turkey worth at least $ 250,000 (previously the limit was $ 1 million). As for investments in fixed assets for the acquisition of citizenship, it was reduced to $ 500,000 from $ 2 million.

The regulation also applies to foreigners who place at least $ 3 million in Turkish banks. The requirement for a deposit in Turkish banks in the amount of at least 3 million dollars was also reduced to 500 thousand dollars. A similar provision applies to foreign investors who hold government bonds in the amount of at least US $ 500,000, which are not diversified for three years. The previous minimum requirement was $ 3 million for foreign holders of government bonds. Foreigners who create jobs for at least 50 people (the previous requirement was 100 people) will also be able to apply for Turkish citizenship.

Such an amendment has led to an increase in demand for residential real estate throughout the country.

According to information provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), in 2019 about 1.35 million units of housing were sold in Turkey, while foreigners bought up to 45,500 houses, an increase of 14.7% over the previous year.

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More than 5,000 foreign investors have already obtained Turkish citizenship