First visit to Immigration HQ in Lefkosa

[PortisheadScouser]

Hi
In the next few days I am due to go to the Immigration HQ in Lefkosa for the first time and would like to know: -
Do they have a car park?
Do you enter the building through the main front door or is there a rear / side entrance that should be used?
Is the buildings entrance well signposted?
When inside the building is it well signposted on where I have to go?
When paying for my residency do they take bank cards, cash or both for my payment.
Is there anything else I should know?
Many thanks in advance for your answers.

[Mollie the cat]

Yes there is a huge car park opposite the main building.
Enter through the main door turn right, get a ticket from the machine on the left not too far from the front door. wait in the waiting room until your number appears on the machine in the waiting room.
They take bank cards or cash.
Go to the loo before you go, the toilets are disgusting!!
There is a small cafe for drinks.
Be patient, the locals jump the queue a lot. Take a flask or water.

[Groucho]

Be patient, the locals jump the queue a lot. Take a flask or water.

Locals don't apply for or need visas.... your ticket number determines your order of being served.

[13roman58]

The entrance for immigration is at the north west corner of the building.

[PortisheadScouser]

Thanks for the replies, another question though; Is there a good day or time to go?

[iancrumpy]

Is there a good day or time to go?

Any week day, as early as possible.

Be patient, the locals jump the queue a lot.

Locals don't apply for or need visas.

Groucho, there are often quite a number of Turkish Cypriots there, assisting, say, their Turkish work colleagues, but indeed it is probably more likely that the "queue-jumpers", that M-the-Cat sees, are Turks (ie. non-locals). From my experience though, more often than not, the "offenders" are just asking, for example, the value of stamps needed or whether a certain document is necessary ... but, as pointed out by my TC wife, they do sometimes then stay at the counter to sort out their business. This was the case anyway, about 6 or 7 years ago, when my wife and I last visited the said office. Maybe, the civil servants there now no longer allow anyone to ask questions about stamps etc unless their number comes up.

[come_on_aylin]

You'd be advised to go early, 8am or before, it's a ticket system and there are a limited number of them plus if you go late you might not be dealt with as they close for lunch/afternoon(?). The waiting room has a display showing which teller is dealing with which number so you can be ready to go through when your number comes up. You can also get official stamps from the coffee shop for a little bit more than their face value. There's also a little internal courtyard behind the coffee shop where you can sit, just don't miss your number. The process is you go in with your passport and unopened medical report(under 60s only), they give you a slip of paper to take to the cashier (vezne) which is to the right and on the opposite side of the corridor, you pay, get a receipt and go back to get your passport and pink/blue booklet.

[iancrumpy]

Maybe, the civil servants there now no longer allow anyone to ask questions about stamps etc unless their number comes up.

... that is of course until the friend of their 2nd cousin comes up to the desk, helping the new driver, their company has employed, to get a residence permit ... then the number system goes out the window

Good advice, as ever though, from Come_on_Aylin in message 7.

[Waylandbike]

Went yesterday to Immigration to complete my Residency- Entrance to the building at the side or main entrance is no problem there are signs to the corridor for residency in English and Turkish. Also there is an information office to the left of the main entrance [you may need to go there after the residency office to collect your file if its not in the residency office].
Take a ticket from the machine on the left of the corridor and sit in the waiting room opposite - there is a screen on the wall which will tell you which counter to go to in numerical sequence. We were no 10 and it took 15 mins to be called.
Then enter present your passport and medical papers to the lady who will check and may send you to information office if your papers are not with her - We had to do this - the information office have a master list of all received files - they will check your passport against this and find your file to give you to take back to the residency office [if its there] then return to the res office - the lady will then action your file send you to the vizne pay office up the corridor on the left side.
Pay there and they will stamp your passport - then return to the residency office with your receipt for final stamp from the lady there. All in all one hour approx all done Absolutely no drama and all very straightforward with a little patience.
We arrived at 0815 and were on our way by 0920 all stamped and happy.
PS Please ignore anyone moaning about the people coming and going into the res office all they are doing is working the process as you will do The staff were very efficient and straight forward to deal with.

[iancrumpy]

Maybe, the civil servants there now no longer allow anyone to ask questions about stamps etc unless their number comes up... that is, of course, until the friend of their 2nd cousin comes up to the desk, helping the new driver, their company has just taken on, to get a residence permit ... then the number system goes out the window

Ignore anyone moaning about the people coming and going into the res office all they are doing is working the process as you will do The staff were very efficient and straight forward to deal with.

Waylandbike, it's good to hear my fellow TCs are no longer getting up to the little tricks, at least not as much anyway, that they used to get up to. And these reports of efficiency must all be very reassuring to those over 60s no longer able to benefit from the "gentlemen's agreement".

[PortisheadScouser]

UPDATE
First thank you all for the helpful comments it was much appreciated.
Well I followed your advice and arrived at 7:45 to find people already there queuing, the ticket machine was broken and so wouldn’t issue tickets – however someone had started a list on a piece of paper and told everyone to sign it when they arrived (I was number 9) although some people just ignored it. When one of the immigration ladies opened the door at 8:15 and found the ticket machine not working she was thrown into panic mode with people trying to push past her into the office. However after heated words everyone left the office and the door locked. A little while later an Official arrived unlocked the door and played about with the ticket machine and hey presto the machine buzzed into life and people tried to grab tickets from it, I have to say, the two Turkish Cypriot men who started the written list blocked the entrance door and took tickets off people and insisted that the Official hand out tickets in order of the signed list, needless to say those who hadn’t signed the list were very vocal but the Official did follow the list and issued the tickets in list order. So I say well done to the two Turkish Cypriot men and A BIG THANKYOU FROM ME. It was 8:45 when the Official started to hand out tickets – by 9:05 I was walking out the front door with my first ever residency stamp and little pink book.
All in all, apart from the ticket machine fiasco everything went as I expected following the advice you gave me, so MANY THANKS to all who gave advice!
Hopefully in two years time when I go there again either the ticket machine will be fixed or we will all be doing it online.

[aerhere]

We were also there today, arrived 11.20am and everything completed by 12.05. Amazingly easy today at the immigration office.

[sophie]

Missed the above for 5 years but thinking of restarting again. Do we still have to take bank books nowadays to prove we are solvent? That's the only piece of paper I'm not sure about now.

[JoandJelly]

Yes you do Sophie.

I also went yesterday. Arrived about 08.50 got number 35 and they were serving number 9. Done and dusted by 10.15.