Turkey lowers requirements for citizenship by investment Wednesday Sep 19,2018

Turkey has eased the financial and investment criteria for foreigners who want to become Turkish citizens as the country copes with its currency crisis caused by US tariffs 

The lira stood at 6.39 against the dollar on Wednesday Sep 19,2018

The amount of dollars or other foreign currency needed as one of the criteria to become a Turkish citizen were sharply reduced, according to revised regulations published in the Official Gazette on Wednesday Sep 19,2018

The size of bank deposits was cut from $3m to $500,000 and the amount of required fixed capital investment was reduced to $500,000 from $2m, the decision said.

Two other options for receiving a passport by investment were also eased. The applicant could qualify by employing 50 Turkish citizens, down from 100, or by investing $250,000 in the real estate market, half the previously required amount.

The new measures come weeks after Turkey's currency, the lira, lost more than 40 percent of its value against the US dollar last month, prompting a 20 percent inflation