90 day visa border problem. Anyone had problems?

[petronemma]

Hi

Just to enquire whether anyone else has experienced any problems with visa expiry at the border since they abolished the white paper slips??

My partner, myself and our kids went to renew our 90 day visa on Thursday through the Metehan border into the South. My partner realised his would be almost up, possibly by a day or so over...gets to border, handed over passports and kids went through okay, then mine and then they said Mr Peter you are 13 days over. well 13 days seemed TOO MUCH over but we were asked to pull in and speak to border control. they said it would be a 77tl fine per day and had to be paid there and then or go through to the south and on our return he would be required to pay DOUBLE, or failure to pay would result in fine going up by 77lira per day until paid, okay, so he agreed to pay even though we knew he wasn't over by that much, but obviously couldn't prove it....

THEN...they said, oh yes....Miss Emma and children are 11 days over, children don't pay fine but need to charge you also 77tl per day. total cost was over 1800 lira! well straight away, theres me thinking hang on, myself and children were over in the last week of June for a start so i queried it and hey guess what, NO RECORD!?! low and behold we had to go find a bank and reluctantly pay this hefty fine. Once we went back to return with the cash to pay, another border official said that sometimes there is a problem and border exits and entries don't always record (this i know is true, i had a right palaver last year importing our container due to me magically appearing in TRNC without being properly processed resulted in several trips to the police station in Lefkosa and immigration to prove otherwise with all my white paper slips) the border official said that since the white slips were stopped that a lot of problems are happening, this was clear as there were also THREE other cars all stopped and fined one car was fined!!. We have also been told that 90 visa rules are only in fact 89 day visas...

We will be extra vigilant from now on and ensure were processed properly, but basically i think they had us over a barrel as so to speak. hope this doesn't happen to anyone else. We were well and truly out of pocket, would hate others to have to endure the same rigmarole and faced with an extortionate fine

[mickhm]

It would have been cheaper to go through the annual 'residency' route at least you get a year and a renewal date in your passport.

[13roman58]

Why don,t you apply for residency?

[petronemma]

We have never felt the need to apply for residency as we moved here just over a year ago and wanted to settle and see how the kids got on with life here before giving up UK residency entirely, but will definitely look into it now this has happened.

[Deniz1]

You dont have to give anything up in the uk to get a temporary visa for here.

[mrsgee]

Well maybe this is a lesson to be learned by the Brits who don't want to pay for residency, but rely on popping over the 'border' to get another 90 days.....it is far cheaper to abide by the rules and get your temporary residency......

[come_on_aylin]

Are you sure they gave you 90 days the last time you crossed over? How can anyone tell when you don't get white slips? As previous posters state, it's safer to complete the annual 'residency' procedure than run the risk of large fines. It's 266TL plus 135TL for medical tests per person in this year. If you are under 60 and donate blood 3 times in subsequent years, the medical test fees are waived.

[Lottidotti]

It used to be that if you didn't hand over a white slip they stamped your passport which showed how many days you were allowed to stay.Have they stopped doing it that way.

[tomsteel]

Despite other posters views on 'residency status', you'll not get any form of it. If you decide to apply for a stay in excess of a 90 days visa, what you will receive is an annual (or bi-annual if aged over 60 years of age) 'visitor' hand-written entry in your passport on an official immigration stamp. There is also a view held that over 60s require NO immigration stamp. It's a minefield! You could, of course, offer your passport for the entry/exit stamp at immigration booths so you could prove dates if queried.

[mrsgee]

Well my annual stamp (well bi annual as I am over sixty but still prefer to pay), in my passport states that it is a 'temporary residency permit'. The category is stated as a 'visitor' but, it is still a temporary residency permit. Interesting that when you are travelling in or out of Ercan, they stamp the passport.......I am now accumulating stamps in my passport which will fill it up eventually, so the bit of paper still works at the airport. I will make sure I get them to stamp the paper in future.

[petronemma]

This has nothing to do with me and my partner not wanting to pay for residency whatsoever, IF we wanted residency, then we would apply, i just assumed this would be the easiest way of living with the amount of travelling we do and my partner often working overseas he needs overseas work permits and were advised it could complicate the process . I am happy to hop over the border just not happy with being conned and would hate for anyone else to be conned (not sure thats the best word to describe it, but feels like that tbh)

[petronemma]

my original post is to make people aware that this has happened and can happen to anyone. thank you all for your replies

[petronemma]

Lottidotti now that they have stopped using white papers at the borders, they don't stamp the passports either. the last time i went across in June with the kids, we had to wait in the car and the border official came and took my passports and took them and brought them back, along with other cars in the queue, makes me wonder if they ever were processed at all. like a poster says above its a minefield and without white slips nor a stamp its too hard to prove. tough lesson learned but at least we have proof of thursdays exit and entry and in future i will ensure passports are logged on the computer

[ham on brown]

Go and get your ins and outs from the police station ? Just a thought

[JoandJelly]

It isn't about whether you 'want' residency or not. If you are living here for more than 90 days at a time then applying for residency is a requirement as is having a local driving licence for which you also need residency if you are under 60. As someone mentioned above, when crossing the border you do not automatically get 90 days each time. You only get 90 days when you exit/enter via Ercan.

[Mimi2]

Sign up at Ledra Street. says all visa's issued are 90 days!

[ozankoys]

It always used to be the case that when going & coming back from the South you were given the unexpired balance of your 90 days which was only renewed when coming in from Turkey i.e, you had to actually to out of the country South side did not count as a valid exit.

[mickhm]

Agree with Ozankoys. When we first moved here some friends took us South and on return they counted the days and gave us a 56 days visa.

[scubadubaqueen]

Posts 17 & 18 well that has certainly not been the case for a very long time. Up until May this year one occasionally got the odd official who gave less than 90 days if one did not have a residence stamp, but since the white slip was abandoned in May, the 90 days has been automatic on each crossing back from the South, and no queries raised. That said if what the original poster says is true, this is a little worrying. Renewing car insurance South side on an ad hoc monthly basis is quite a good way of keeping tabs.

[Barbieb]

Obvious answer is get residency unless there is a reason you can't, works out cheaper then fines and safer, if partner working abroad outside of Cyprus not a problem for his residency not required, but we have to live by the laws of country we reside, this is not England!

[PoshinDevon]

Obvious answer is get residency unless there is a reason you can't, works out cheaper then fines and safer, if partner working abroad outside of Cyprus not a problem for his residency not required, but we have to live by the laws of country we reside, this is not England!

Have to agree.

The extended visa or temp residency ....whatever you want to call it just makes sense. Yes you have to prove income etc and have blood tests but at the end of the day its the the requirement of the TRNC. Its not only Brits, ex pats it is everyone who is not a turkish cypriot. Work out the total cost over a year.....its not very much per day. Takes away all the worry and hassle about crossing border, will I get 90 days, will I not....how do I know if I have overstayed, errors made when you cross and come back etc etc....all far to stressful.

Get the extended visa, come and go as you want....no worries....simples.

[mrsgee]

Yes, we should all abide by the rules of this country....and it would be really interesting to hear the views of all the 'dodgers' of the rules here, on the subject of immigrants entering the UK.....at the end of the day, we have to respect the rules here.

[petronemma]

We usually mark off on the calendar or go off the insurance date for the car in the south thats how we know we were definitely over in June, but hey ho it has now happened and nothing we can do to prove nor change what has happened. I have been looking into residency, we have been previously been givien lots of conflicting information on this and told to just get 90 days visas, so assumed it would be fine. at the moment due to circumstances, we don't have 10k in our bank nor have any way of acquiring it, seems like we have come to a brick wall.

[Keithcaley]

.. we don't have 10k in our bank nor have any way of acquiring it...

Hi, I'm not quite sure what the reference to '10K' refers to, but if you're thinking that you need to show a balance of £10,000 in the bank in order to qualify for a 'Visitor status Visa stamp' in your passport, then I think that you may have been misinformed.

What they generally want to see is 'Proof of Income' to demonstrate that you will be able to support yourselves financially, and not need to earn money from employment in TRNC.

If your partner who is still working can produce bank statements showing regular payments from employer(s), sufficient to support all of you, then that should be sufficient.

Good luck!

[waddo]

Unless things have changed in the last eight years - why should they in Cyprus - then what you need to show was income above the minimum wage for the TRNC. If you were married then it had to be double the income of the minimum wage. If you could show that in Turkish Lira you had consistent income above the minimum wage then there was no problem. Even then (2007) there was the consistent rumor that you needed to be able to show at least £6000.00 per person in your account - as we only had about £2,500.00 between us when we first went for residency I think that actually proved the rumor wrong! We did have proof of income (pensions) into a UK account and that was ok by the immigration dept.

Best bet now is to go to immigration in Lefcosia and ask the questions. If nothing else it would help your case that you are trying to apply for residency!!!

By the way - I know I always rattle on about it - have you got your TRNC driving license yet??? You only have 90 days from first arrival to do that.

[petronemma]

4. Application for a Temporary Residency Permit. For your initial application (and for renewals if you are aged under 60) you should report to the Immigration Section at your local Police station. Opening hours are typically Mon-Fri 0815-1145 but will vary. You should take with you the following documents:


Your valid passport plus a copy of the photo page & passport residency certificate page if renewing.
2 recent passport photos.
Pink or Blue Photo ID issued previous year (if renewing).
A photocopy, of your property sale contract, kocan (deed) or rental contract in your name
Local bank statement showing holder's name and latest balance. (Typically you could need £10,000 or TL equivalent, per person)
TL 14 in revenue stamps (Jun 15) from local Post Office.
Original letter from your local Muhtar confirming your residency address with a TL 2 revenue stamp (Jun 15) from the local post office.
Married couples should produce their marriage certificate plus a photocopy
Dependents over 18 years will need a notarized statement from their sponsor (e.g. parents) promising financial support. However this is not mandatory and may be refused. This is best checked with the immigration staff in Lefkosa first


The above was taken from the BRS website, thats where i got the 10k figure from. so assumed it would mean 10k each, we don't even have 10k for one of us at the minute, let alone 20k as BRS states, not sure many locals have that much to live off per year. Will definitely make enquiries into it though and speak to immigration and residency officials. thank you for all your help to everyone who has replied.

[Lottidotti]

Petronemma,As stated by others you need to prove you can support you and your family.
Whatever income you have it would be advisable to make copies of wage slips, pensions if any.
Bearing in mind you have two children who are expensive,they need schooling which is also expensive.
Immigration will look at all the information you give them and make a decision.
If you have very little savings and little income or income that is very irregular you may have problems.
If that is your situation you are strongly advised never to burn your bridges in the UK.
I was once in immigration when a UK expat was only given six months residency/visitor stamp because their finances
were not as they should be.

[waddo]

Of course if you have a Cypriot guarantor then all that just goes away!!! Funny old thing that.

[scubadubaqueen]

Post 22 MrsGee What does this have to do with illegal immigrants?
If you are a CYPRIOT from North or South you are entitled to an EU Passport and those very same people can enter the UK AND Work AND Get Benefits, and whatever else without going for blood tests, or showing what they have in a private bank account. Frankly as an EU Citizen what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

[waddo]

No ganders in the TRNC because it is not in the EU - just geese or as some would have it Cows!

[PoshinDevon]

As far as having funds etc in a local bank account, dont be fobbed off at the police station when you initially start the process. They appear to want to see bank statements showing you have enough funds to last you for a year staying in the TRNC, however if you happen to have a pension or other regular income paid into a UK account which would be sufficient for you to draw down and live on in the TRNC, that should be sufficient. If the police checking produces a barrier, I would also advise that you take a trip to the immigration office in Lefkosia with all the paperwork to prove you have a regular income and satisfy them that you do not need to work.

At the end of the day visa extension/temp residency is in our opinion the way to go. A relatively small amount per year for the lack of stress.

[Murphy]

Hi New to the Forum (I am a member of the Happy Clappy, but do not know what's happened there) ?

Well we have a place in NC and came over last night and enquiring about the visa the border police said that as I was over 60 I can stay as long as I want ??

Because my wife is under 60 she can only stay for ninety days, I asked if this had been recorded he said yes.

We are here until the end of Oct so no problems there .....

[Cyoung]

In my experience as someone who is trying to do things the 'correct' way getting residency here is very hard. I did everything right, collected all the documentation I would need, bank statements showing over £8,000 in the bank and an income of over £2,000 per month coming in but was sent to the government office by the police and spent over 5 hours there (with my two young children) being questioned like a criminal. Lovely. Apparently the rules changed a few months ago which means if your 'young' (I'm 27) and 'single' (I'm separated from my husband) then you need special permission from the government to live here!!

Today I was told the following:

1: You need to buy a house to live here
2: If your British and want to live here your children HAVE to go to private school and they want proof of that
3: I don't have enough money - but they wouldn't tell me how much I would need in my account
4: To cross the border like everyone else

A variety of other stuff was then thrown my way during the space of 5 hours, why was I here, why did I want to live here, where is my children's father, why am I not working, why don't you just cross the border (!!).

So anyway after being told to wait for one hour, 4 hours later and I'm still sat there like a numpty trying to entertain two children in the boiling heat and trying not to rip my skin off as a severe case of stress induced hives popped up all over my body because of this nightmare.

In the end, I had to copy all my paperwork again and leave them my number so they could call me..........yeah right.

Only been here a few weeks, had nothing but problems ever since I arrived and have been told by three different government officials to 'go home'.

Wow.......

[the butlers wife]

I was speaking to a lady yesterday who has tried to enrol her daughter in the local village school. She was told she was not allowed to do
this because she did not have residency. She then applied for residency but was told she would need £12,000 deposited in a local bank. When she said she did not have £12,000, she was told to go home.



The butlers wife

[Cyoung]

I was speaking to a lady yesterday who has tried to enrol her daughter in the local village school. She was told she was not allowed to do
this because she did not have residency. She then applied for residency but was told she would need £12,000 deposited in a local bank. When she said she did not have £12,000, she was told to go home.



The butlers wife

I tried to enrol my son in Alsancak school and was told I also needed residency. I was then told that I would need to go to the department of education to ask for my son to be enrolled.

[waddo]

If the "Peace Talks" are successful then the TRNC (or whatever it will be called) will be a full member of the EU - at that point the rules of the game change radically!! I wonder if this is just a way of making hay (Money) whilst the sun shines and why they are suddenly tightening up on all the rules?

[sophie]

Having read the above it makes me wonder why anyone at all ever contemplates moving here. I thought it was bad enough 11 years ago (thankfully we only had to "do" the xray and blood test business once i.e. our first residency) If we had to go through all this rigmarole that these people go through I would be mortified and on the first plane out again. It must be mortifying and degrading, being treated like criminals. Be very, very careful about some of the state school though, teaching standards are pretty dire in some of them, but at least your children will be fluent in Turkish in a term or two, which does come in useful on occasions!!

[J Wuensch]

Cyoung,

I can understand what your going through. I am a divorced single parent with my daughter living here. I don't work here, won't work here, and will not but property here etc. Simply here because I like the weather and the island, no other reason.

I made one attempt to try to get my "Temporary Residence" myself before I could see that it was a waste of my time dealing with the government officials and offices here.

The only reason for my getting residence was the school said it was a ministry of education requirement. Which I was told by the residency department that the school was wrong. Of course the residency department would not give me anything in writing to say the the school was wrong.

In the end I used Pembe at Citizens Advice Cyprus to get my "Temporary Residence" all sorted. Took a total of 6 weeks with Pembe's help. but I was traveling for a month so it probably would have been done sooner had I been here.

Pembe organized all the paperwork and went to the residency offices and police station with me, she took care off everything, I simply stood there doing nothing. It was easy, but still took several appointments at the various government offices to get everything complete.

Keep in mind the "Temporary Residence" comes with no benefits etc. other than not have to come and go every 90 days

Hope it works out for you and good luck.

[Lottidotti]

I am not taking sides here.I am going to look at it from the point of view of immigration department.
Cyoung you say you have 8K in the bank and 2K income per month no problem with that it might seem,however you are 27years so a lot of life ahead of you.
8K is not a lot of money when you have two young children. 2K income per month is fair but inflation here is very high
I need 1k to 2k to live here each month,yes I know others can live cheaper but the chances are they will not have two children to pay for.
What ever you think it's going to cost to live here in 2015 add at least 10% for every year in the future.I say at least 10% because it's not that long ago inflation was in the 20% region.
What you have to look at is how far that 2k will go in say five years ,forget about the 8k because once you start living here that won't last long you will end up dipping into it just to keep going.
Also you don't say whether you will have a job while here.If the 2k was to stop all of a sudden what would you do,this I think would be the main concern of immigration.
Over the years I have seen so many people come and go the main reason they go is they start to run low on funds,although most through pride won't say that,it's usually they miss family I want to be near children/grand children.
If you are going to stay rent so you can leave if the money runs out.I wish you well.

[Cyoung]

Without going into my financial situation I actually have over £2500 pcm coming in which is more than enough to live on (even with two children) - I didn't even get through that in the UK. The people here must think we bathe in gold.

I wont be working here, I have no reason to at the moment. I was advised to put my son in school but would prefer to home educate like we did in the UK so school is irrelevant now. I'm not dragging my children to another government department to beg some minister of education to give my son a place in school when I don't even agree with 'schooling'.

My issue isn't with the 'rules', I worked for the UK government - I get it. I wont even comment on the benefit remark as clearly if I wanted to claim and live off benefits I wouldn't be moving here!! My issue is with the fact that I did so much research and came here with everything I stupidly thought I needed only to be treated like scum and told the rules have changed AGAIN! If I'd known all of this before I arrived, I wouldn't have dragged my children across Europe, blown god knows how much money since we arrived on finding accommodation, broadband, car etc to be told to go home!

I wont get residency (Ill have to figure out a different way of staying) but people should be aware of these issues before they come here.

Funny thing is they called me this morning and told me I'd need to show at least £12,000 in the bank and more money going into my account every month. I told them to leave it.

[Lottidotti]

Cyoung,There is nothing stopping you from staying here,You will just need to border hop every 90 days,not ideal I know.You should only do it if you feel comfortable.There are a lot of people here that don't do residency and border hop.
Have you explored the children going to school in the south,bit of a journey everyday but I have known people do it for a number of years.
You mentioned that what annoys most is the fact that having done so much research ,was well prepared only to be treated as scum and told the rules have changed again,Trust me we have all been there and I am sure a lot of people with agree with that.
It might be good idea to speak with the person mentioned at Citizen Advice to see whether they can help.

[waddo]

What you really need is a TC sponsor!

[Cyoung]