To overcome financial strains and attract more foreign exchange, Ankara last year offered citizenship to foreigners who put money into Turkey. The measure, however, has failed to produce the desired results, prompting plans to lower the bar and “cheapen” citizenship.

In the run-up to the April 16, 2017, referendum, which narrowly approved constitutional changes concentrating power in the hands of the president, the government had enacted a series of measures to revitalize the shrinking economy and safely weather the plebiscite, including tax cuts and the encouragement of cheap loans. Led by public banks, the banking sector issued Treasury-guaranteed loans worth billions of Turkish liras, called “lifeline loans.”

The citizenship incentive for foreign realty buyers took effect on Jan. 12, 2017, aiming to prop up the construction and housing sector — the driving force of the Turkish economy under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) — and increase the inflow of hard currency. Accordingly, foreigners who buy properties worth at least $1 million and keep them for at least three years are entitled to Turkish citizenship. In a separate move, the government scrapped title deed fees and reduced the value added tax on real property sales until September 2017.

Though many believed that the $1 million bar was too high, the overall targets of stimulating the economy and encouraging the inflow of hard currency and job creation were welcomed.