The government raised the threshold from $250,000, according to a decision published in the Official Gazette overnight on Thursday. The legal change will be implemented in one month.

Turkey’s cabinet decided to increase the threshold a month ago after a spike in the price of new and existing homes, local media reported at the time.

Many Turks can no longer afford to purchase a house or apartment after prices skyrocketed by almost 100 percent annually. Builders are charging more for new homes after the raw material costs jumped, partly due to a slump in the value of the lira.

Foreigners can also qualify for citizenship by investing at least $500,000 in assets including Turkey’s private pension system. The government has altered the regulation to include provisions for investing the sum in Turkish lira. The minimum investment period is three years.

The lira lost 44 percent of its value against the dollar last year. It has declined a further 14 percent in 2022 to trade at 15.44 per dollar on Friday.

Reporter's code: 50101