Well, well, well Do we live in Cyprus (North or South)

[sophie]

Anyone else had this? Have just taken a delivery from our PO Box in Karaoglanoglu, (posted in November 2020), from High Commission in Nicosia , explaining in great detail what we should do when the UK Transition Period comes into force on 31 December 2020. The letter was clearly addressed with full and correct PO in Karaoglanoglu (minus post code)

1. Register for residency

2. Check our healthcare and register with our healthcare authority.. If we have had an E121 form in the past we must now entitled to an S1 form and EHIC and loads more.

3. Exchange our UK driving licence for a local one

4, Check passport validity

5. If you get a UK state pension you will carry on getting it.

For further information about what the end of the transition period means for UK Pension and other UK Benefits, visit www.gov.uk/Benefits-in-eu-2021

Sincerely
British High Commission Nicosia

The Official Post Mark was Via Istanbul and probably originated from UK. I'm convinced its not a Scam and was the letter all UK citizens received who live in an EU country permanently. Suspect someone has dropped a clanger somewhere along the line and doesn't know North from South !!

[kibsolar1999]

well, sophie...
it seems, it shows that post brexit the north will not be recognised from the UK soon.
also,
as it political stands, the north IS part of the EU.
even Tatar wants vaccines from them...

[munchy]

Wife and I received the same brown envelopes , again, correctly addressed.

[lilnrob]

I received the same brown letter to my address in the UK!!!!!

[sophie]

High strange, clearly the High Commission in Nicosia are a bit behind the times. !!!

[sammydavis]

Yes same received here. As said before, because North Cyprus is not recognised as a separate country in any shape or form, the UK treat the whole of the island as Cyprus hence these letters, and Cyprus is still in the EU!!. I intend to ignore it in that we all here have to apply for residency anyway if living here permanently and we know we have to pay for our health care. The UK now out of the EU means of course that expats from UK living in the south of the island will have to comply with this letter. The UK has blinkers when it comes to the north side of this island, so we continue in lovely limbo!!

[sophie]

Totally with you sammydavis and I had no intention of doing a thing, until such time I'm dragged kicking a screaming. Strange that lilnrob had their letter sent to UK address though isn't it? Left hand and right hand methinks.

[lilnrob]

Sophie - it made wonder how they got hold of my UK address though??

[sammydavis]

lilnrob - do you live here permanently or have a holiday home here? Could your details with DSS Inland Revenue, pensions etc have your UK address? Presumably they must or some authority does and yet they also know you 'live' in Cyprus - so very odd that!

[waddo]

My letter came to my address here, my wife went to an address in the UK. We have lived here permanently for the past 13 years and we filled in the paperwork informing the UK that we were moving out of the UK permanently before we left. Both our DWP "Old Age" Pensions are paid into UK bank yet they write to us both at our address here.

It makes no sense to use either as we have never informed the British High Commission that we live here or what our address here is either - considered that a total waste of time anyway as the UK Government were informed before we left.

[lilnrob]

sammydavis - I have lived here for nearly 8 years. My pension is paid to a UK bank account and I have a correspondence address in the UK. Still find it strange they sent the letter to the UK address.

Like waddo I have never had any contact with the British High Commission so how they know I live here is very weird.

[Geoff1131]

I picked my letter up from my po box in Esentepe. The only thing i can think of as to how they knew my TRNC address is the Life Certificate form that has to be filled in from time to time to ensure that your pension is paid. In this day and age we are probably all registered on Government websites and it is an easy thing to cross reference names and addresses if they want to.

[waddo]

Geoff1131, I think you hit the nail on the head there - "if they want to" - a shame they only "want to" sometimes and other times they prefer to say - "who, where?".