Is this the end of the "gentleman's agreement"?

[waddo]

Still moaning after the BRS gave you 9 years of free residency - we must start a petition for you so that you don't suffer so much in the future!

[Art]

I find it really strange that the newly formed government has found time to focus on this issue and have acted swiftly to set out the new requirements..

With so many other priorities to deal with I’m amazed it’s on there agenda..

I wonder why?

[Art]

I find it really strange that the newly formed government has found time to focus on this issue and have acted swiftly to set out the new requirements..

With so many other priorities to deal with I’m amazed it’s on there agenda..

I wonder why?

[Leither]

Totally agree with Frontelman.

[silverfir]

Perhaps now that residency has been addressed, the government will look at the outstanding kocan fiasco. No, ok I'm not holding my breath

[Ragged Robin]

We have been here before. The BRS no longer represent the interests of ALL British residents and arguably no longer can. It is appalling that they should present themselves to the authorities here as doing so and promote their own ideas which may be injurious to the interests of those who exercise their rights not to join them.

Deniz said]: "seems to be a widely held opinion that if you are retired and living here you must have unlimited money"I

How true. There are elderly people here , some of whom have made it their permanent home, who are desperately struggling - because of financial and/or health issues - to keep a roof over the heads and food on the table for themselves and their dependants and animals. How dare those who are more comfortably situated disparage them and suggest they have time on their hands when they may not even have the time and means to get to the Lefkosa offices.

These were not the people for whom the residency rules were devised and when older and wiser heads among the British population pointed out that the rules were onerous for some elderly retirees the authorities showed (ooops, I was going to say Chrisian Charity ) let us say compassion and made a temporary and limited concession until such time as they were ready to sort out the whole immigration issue and legislate. Unfortunately as Frontalman has so cleverly illustrated the BRS could not leave well alone but continued to prester the Government with foreseeable results.

I would still like to know where the application forms are obtainable from - surely at least it cannot be real tht you can only apply for residence if you are a member of the BRS

PS When it all started-does anyone remember Alan C and his letter to CT about "naughty Natashas"

[Mimi2]

This is as clear as mud. As a fairly new over 60's residents 5 years, we have never had a stamp in our passport.
Have a UK trip coming up soon then 3 months Australia, so will wait & see. All current info seems to be for those who have lapse residency. Not new over 60 well 70 actually residents

[PoshinDevon]

We have been here before. The BRS no longer represent the interests of ALL British residents and arguably no longer can. It is appalling that they should present themselves to the authorities here as doing so and promote their own ideas which may be injurious to the interests of those who exercise their rights not to join them.

Deniz said]: "seems to be a widely held opinion that if you are retired and living here you must have unlimited money"I

How true. There are elderly people here , some of whom have made it their permanent home, who are desperately struggling - because of financial and/or health issues - to keep a roof over the heads and food on the table for themselves and their dependants and animals. How dare those who are more comfortably situated disparage them and suggest they have time on their hands when they may not even have the time and means to get to the Lefkosa offices.

These were not the people for whom the residency rules were devised and when older and wiser heads among the British population pointed out that the rules were onerous for some elderly retirees the authorities showed (ooops, I was going to say Chrisian Charity ) let us say compassion and made a temporary and limited concession until such time as they were ready to sort out the whole immigration issue and legislate. Unfortunately as Frontalman has so cleverly illustrated the BRS could not leave well alone but continued to prester the Government with foreseeable results.

I would still like to know where the application forms are obtainable from - surely at least it cannot be real tht you can only apply for residence if you are a member of the BRS

PS When it all started-does anyone remember Alan C and his letter to CT about "naughty Natashas"

Agree with most of the above.

Having read thro the translated announcement it is about as clear as mud.

The form is downloadable from the website? What is that all about? Is it downloadable for all from the website irrespective of whether you are a BRS member or not? Or is the form held in a “members only” area of the website? As everyone will have to apply I see no reason whatsoever as to why this vital piece of paperwork should not be freely available.

For those “swallows” who spend some time on the island is it clear how long they can stay......is it a max of 90 days, a max of 90 days every 6 months, a max of 90 days in any one year? If anyone can clarify; it would be helpful, preferably with a link to where this information can be found rather than just an educated guess.

I am sure things will eventually become clearer .......... hopefully.

[Laura B]

PoshinDevon. The form is only downloadable from the members only section! The rest of us have to manage as best we can!

[PoshinDevon]

PoshinDevon. The form is only downloadable from the members only section! The rest of us have to manage as best we can!

The BRS really don’t do themselves any favours.

My understanding is that this new piece of legislation was as a direct result of the BRS seeking clarification on the over 60s residency rules. As this now applies to all those over 60 it would make sense to me that the paperwork should be available to all to download.

I am sure the form will be available from other sources but the BRS sought clarification on the residency rules on behalf of their members; however the legislation affects everyone whether you be a BRS member, British or even someone from another country so why hide a the form in a members only area?

Why not help everyone by making the form freely available?

Just seems strange to me.

[Leither]

Ref the form that everyone is on about,it can be filled in once you arrive at the immigration office,it is supplied by the counter staff so you can forget the BRS download.

[sparky71]

If this has already been agreed then we will have to get on with it but as the Government stated they just need a record of all over 60's as we don't know how many are in the TRNC why not make the payment a token100TL then we would not be having all the negative comments and lets bash the BRS.

[iancrumpy]

For those “swallows” who spend some time on the island is it clear how long they can stay......is it a max of 90 days, a max of 90 days every 6 months, a max of 90 days in any one year? If anyone can clarify; it would be helpful, preferably with a link to where this information can be found.

I'm not "clarifying", but you asked for a link, and this is the best I could find:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_poli ... ern_Cyprus
"To stay longer than 90 days, they have to exit and re-enter the country. Overstayers will be issued a visa penalty fine that has to be paid on a future re-entry."

I would agree that it is possibly not a reliable source and could indeed be out-of-date, but it is a "link", that suggests the first of the three scenarios in your list.

Of course, "swallows" leaving the country as the 90-day limit approaches, so as to get another 90 days, might be considered, at least by the TC authorities, as cheating the system - I feel it's very likely that the 90-days-within-180-days requirement, will be introduced here soon, possibly even with a small charge for the visa ... as is the system in Turkey ...

To be honest, it's not something I've looked into that much ... having citizenship through my wife. I'm sorry if that appears as if I am gloating ... I'm not.

[Chriswright03]

From what I have read it doesn't come into force until October, you then have 12 months to apply and the final details of how it will work are not sorted yet. We are liveing in their Country and should expect to abide by their laws. I for one am glad that the uncertainty is to be removed and that at last we will know what we have to do rather than rely on an interpretation that varies on who you speak to on what day.

[PortisheadScouser]

Frontalman
I don’t know why you are so transfixed with the BRS and have so much vitriol against them, asking them to make something in their website members’ area available freely to you -- WHY SHOULD THEY!
Perhaps you could ask the other organisations based here such as the British Legion, Freemasons, TFR, Anglo Turkish Association, etc, to name but a few, to provide their members with the residency application form and to also make it available to anyone else who asks for it.
Perhaps Kibkom could have a Forum where ALL relevant and necessary forms could be downloaded by its members; NOW THER’S AN IDEA SONER if you could do it that I’m sure would please Frontleman! But if Kibkom did do this Frontalman would you then champion free access downloads from Kibkom to anyone and everyone who wanted to download a form! Or would you consider that an infringement of your member rights by belonging to Kibkom if that were to happen.
I am sure in due time the Ministry will inform us all what is to be required in respect for REGISTERING (throughout the article in Cyprus Today the word register is repeatedly used by Government Officials) for residency for the over 60’s expats residing in North Cyprus – perhaps it might be an online registration process similar to that already in place for Foreign Students and which apparently is easy to do and has proved a great success since being introduced last year, maybe just maybe this might be behind the Ministries’ decision for over 60’s expats to be registered in respect to their residency in the Ministries’ country and not the BRS after all!

[PoshinDevon]

Frontalman
I don’t know why you are so transfixed with the BRS and have so much vitriol against them, asking them to make something in their website members’ area available freely to you -- WHY SHOULD THEY!
Perhaps you could ask the other organisations based here such as the British Legion, Freemasons, TFR, Anglo Turkish Association, etc, to name but a few, to provide their members with the residency application form and to also make it available to anyone else who asks for it.
Perhaps Kibkom could have a Forum where ALL relevant and necessary forms could be downloaded by its members; NOW THER’S AN IDEA SONER if you could do it that I’m sure would please Frontleman! But if Kibkom did do this Frontalman would you then champion free access downloads from Kibkom to anyone and everyone who wanted to download a form! Or would you consider that an infringement of your member rights by belonging to Kibkom if that were to happen.
I am sure in due time the Ministry will inform us all what is to be required in respect for REGISTERING (throughout the article in Cyprus Today the word register is repeatedly used by Government Officials) for residency for the over 60’s expats residing in North Cyprus – perhaps it might be an online registration process similar to that already in place for Foreign Students and which apparently is easy to do and has proved a great success since being introduced last year, maybe just maybe this might be behind the Ministries’ decision for over 60’s expats to be registered in respect to their residency in the Ministries’ country and not the BRS after all!

I personally have no objection to the proposed new legislation for the over 60s. Better to know than have some hearsay which changes like the wind. Plus the fees are very reasonable. It seems that for over 60s the going to the police station and medical parts seem to be no longer required, just a trip to immigration in Lefkosia, with all remaining listed paperwork, fill in form and pay the fee. Seems to me that this will be something that needs to be done either every 1 or 2 years, making the payment each time. Or maybe just an online registration.....uploading all the paperwork and maybe even making payment on line.......we can but dream and who knows yet.

However; this new legislation will affect all British citizens, whether BRS members or not plus of course other foreigners. Therefore as the BRS decided to seek the clarification and have now got the response which affects all over 60s it would have seemed sensible to me as a gesture of goodwill to make the form freely available and not hidden in a members only area of there website........but perhaps the reasonable fee for BRS membership should allow these little perks? It’s the little things which cause people to get a little upset.

Hey ho, whatever will be will be. No reason to get all hot and sweaty about it.

[EnjoyingTheSun]

I personally have no objection to the proposed new legislation for the over 60s. Better to know than have some hearsay which changes like the wind. Plus the fees are very reasonable.

Totally agree.
Some effort into streamlining the process and cutting out some of the pointless steps would be appreciated.
This time around I had to go to the hospital twice. Once to find out where the blood test would be carried out and the second time to collect the results of a test that wasn't carried out there?
Maybe I can come up with a crazy suggestion, maybe the hospital could carry out the test? Or not act as a post box for the test and I go back to where the test was carried out? Or the police allocate the blood clinic and we cut out the hospital completely?

Including a trip to the bank this year was another step I enjoyed. I realise that the fee has to get to the bank at some point but how far do we take this. When I go to a restaurant I guess at some point they might pay their takings into the bank so maybe for efficiency I could order my food, drive into Girne to pay for it and drive back to eat it?

We have another thread at solutions for the traffic congestion, maybe a thought about eliminating pointless journey's might be a start?
Maybe we are going for a big solution there when a few, cheap, easy solutions could alleviate the problem?

[frontalman]

Frontalman
I don’t know why you are so transfixed with the BRS and have so much vitriol against them, asking them to make something in their website members’ area available freely to you -- WHY SHOULD THEY!
Perhaps you could ask the other organisations based here such as the British Legion, Freemasons, TFR, Anglo Turkish Association, etc, to name but a few, to provide their members with the residency application form and to also make it available to anyone else who asks for it.
Perhaps Kibkom could have a Forum where ALL relevant and necessary forms could be downloaded by its members; NOW THER’S AN IDEA SONER if you could do it that I’m sure would please Frontleman! But if Kibkom did do this Frontalman would you then champion free access downloads from Kibkom to anyone and everyone who wanted to download a form! Or would you consider that an infringement of your member rights by belonging to Kibkom if that were to happen.
I am sure in due time the Ministry will inform us all what is to be required in respect for REGISTERING (throughout the article in Cyprus Today the word register is repeatedly used by Government Officials) for residency for the over 60’s expats residing in North Cyprus – perhaps it might be an online registration process similar to that already in place for Foreign Students and which apparently is easy to do and has proved a great success since being introduced last year, maybe just maybe this might be behind the Ministries’ decision for over 60’s expats to be registered in respect to their residency in the Ministries’ country and not the BRS after all!

I haven't mentioned the form. Whay are you talking about?

[frontalman]

Still moaning after the BRS gave you 9 years of free residency - we must start a petition for you so that you don't suffer so much in the future!

Thank you kind sir, I doff my cap for any free scraps I might receive.

[frontalman]

From what I have read it doesn't come into force until October, you then have 12 months to apply and the final details of how it will work are not sorted yet. We are liveing in their Country and should expect to abide by their laws. I for one am glad that the uncertainty is to be removed and that at last we will know what we have to do rather than rely on an interpretation that varies on who you speak to on what day.

There was no uncertainty in my mind, or for others who were enjoying the freedom the concession gave, I suspect. The only uncertainty, I assume, was felt by those who kept renewing.

[frontalman]

I hope this will be my last word on this matter as the stable door is closed and the horse has well and truly bolted. I found out today that the over sixties concession goes back far beyond nine years and is nothing to do with any BRS negotiation. A long term resident has stated that her husband was told fifteen years ago that since he was now (then) sixty he would not need residency. He is now seventy five, so has enjoyed this for fifteen years. This would explain why the BRS advised against their own so-called 'agreement'. It wasn't their agreement.

Typical that they should take credit, though.

[Chriswright03]

I am delighted to hear that was your last post in this thread. I have little doubt you will find opportunity to beat your anti BRS drum somewhere else before long though.

EDIT. I wasn't wrong I see you have already. You are of course entitled to your opinion but I note that nowhere do you offer any evidence to show the BRS are the villains you make out but I get that you have an issue.

[Mimi2]

Heard there is an online registration system for foreign students. Now that would make sense to use something
Similar for us old buggers!!!!

[JoandJelly]

Heard there is an online registration system for foreign students. Now that would make sense to use something
Similar for us old buggers!!!!

Except the students still had (as at Octobef 2018) to go to the tax office to queue up and use a specific computer there for registration. Witnessed this in both Girne and Lefkosa.