Turkey changes conditions for granting citizenship to support Lira

The Turkish government on Thursday changed the regulation for foreigners to acquire Turkish citizenship in a bid to support its Turkish lira, according to a decree issued in the Turkish official gazette, reported Xinhua.

Foreigners who make a certain investment in the country, buy real estate or make a fixed capital investment could get Turkish citizenship, it said.

For example, foreigners who own real estate in Turkey worth at least 250,000 U.S. dollars and hold the property for at least three years will be able to acquire Turkish citizenship.

According to the new regulation, the foreign currency obtained from the sale of property to foreigners will be sold to the central bank through a local bank and converted into Turkish lira.

The currency that foreigners keep in the bank for investment will also be converted into the local currency, it said.

The regulation comes amid the currency turmoil in Turkey.