British Passport renewal from TRNC

[Soner]

Can anyone advise the best way of getting a British Passport renewed for someone living in the TRNC?

[karmels]

HI Soner

Just take the passport to cafe Boss near the HSBC bank, they will give you all the correct info, they will send it via DHL to Spain for renewal.

Mel

[foodie]

Hi Karmels,

it would be good if you could let people know how much it costs to send a passport, please.

[karmels]

HI Sonner.
I am not sure of the costs but I think it has been covered on this board.

Mel.

[Sonali]

I renewed my passport in October, it was very easy, you download the form from http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-liv ... assports1/,
(Smart passport form (OL)), there are full instructions to help you. Fill the form out, get a witness to sign the back of one of the two photos required (anyone as long as they have known you for 3 years). Make sure the photos conform to the requirements stated and when you sign the form make sure your signature does not touch or go outside of the border of the box where you are required to sign. You will also need to down load the credit card form, it is all on the site. The passport return address is the
British High Commission
Shakespeare Avenue,
29 Mehmet Akif Cad,
Koskluciftlik,
Lefkosa
Ensure you request your old passport is returned as you need your residency stamp. Once completed, take the forms together with your old paspport to Cafe Boss, it is a good idea to take a photocopy of your passort and residency stamp, the cost of sending to Madrid is approx 85tl, you are given a DHL tracking number.

Once your form has been processed it will be sent to the UK, your new paspport will then be sent from the UK to the High Commisson in Lefkosa, they will ring you to collect, it is very easy to find and I believe they are open on a Wednesday and Friday morning, the process took just over three weeks. The cost of the passport is €165 plus €25 for courier fees, these fees will be taken from your credit card details.

Directions to the High Commission: From Girne over the Hilarion pass, down to the big roundabout (with the rocks) take 2nd turn off to Lefkosha, go straight pass Hospital keep going you will be in a two lane traffic, keep to the right hand lane, at the lights turn right, (on the left hand side there used to be a JEEP showroom), carry straight on through numerous shops till you come to a small roundabout, straight over the roundabout and you will see the white walls of the British Commission, take the road on the right just before the walls, the entrance to the High Commission is on your left, take some alternative identification with you i.e. driving license.

[mamachina]

If by any chance the person cannot download a form, there are forms at the BRS Hut (behind Girne PO) which is open on a Saturday morning. There may be some at Lambousa Market, BRS table, but am not 100% certain of that - he may have run out!!

[Sonali]

For info: we sent my husband's passport to be renewed on the 15th January and we have had a call this morning from the British Commission to say it is ready for collection, 16 days.

[Soner]

Thank you all for the info, much appreciated.

[JBA]

Sorry to be pedantic but just a couple of clarifications to Sonali's excellent directions.

1. After the Lefkosa roundabout it is the 2nd lights at which you turn right - turning right at the 1st would take you to Metehan

2. After these lights "carry straight on through numerous shops and a set of traffic lights till you come to a small roundabout"

[Sonali]

You are right there are two sets of lights , thank you for the correction

[ArnieYasha]

Hi there,
Is it possible to get baby passports using this method? I have already downloaded the C2 form but is it quicker/cheaper to send it to the UK via Cafe Boss than by courier to the British Embassy in Madrid?
Thanks

[harita]

Can anyone advise the best way of getting a British Passport renewed for someone living in the TRNC?

Getting your British Passports renewed from the TRNC is easy with a little bit of help from your friends ..
1 .. Get someone to bring out from the UK a passport renewal form in a passport office addressed envelope ..
2 .. Fill in the form with an address for the passports to be sent to .. Someone willing to bring them to TRNC ..
3 .. Get someone returning to the UK to post the envelopes .. Two passports can be in one envelope ..
You can apply up to 9 months before the passport expiry date .. Get your dates right & it can be done in 2 weeks ..

The cost for 2 passports £145 + postage to passport office only from a UK post office £5.90 ..

We have got ours back this morning in 3 weeks & 5 days, with a saving in the region of £140 ..

Now a question to anyone who has renewed passports ..
Having got our new passports, the residency stamp in our old passports is valid until march 2014 ..
The old passport no is shown on our TRNC driving licences which expire in march 2016 ..
Is there anything we should do to stay within the law ?

[zarafet]

I renewed my passport last year and all I did was keep my old passport with me with the residency stamp in it, when I left the country but no one ever asked to see it, they just went by what was on the computer and it obviously said it was ok. With regards to the number and the driving licence I hadn't even thought about my passport having a different number, I assumed it was the same number as the old one, but on checking it's not!! So now I also wonder if I should do something. However, having said that, I renewed my residency last year with the new passport and nobody queried anything. Would be interesting to find out from someone in the know about the driving licence.

[Scoobydoo]

This happened to me a few years back, just make sure that you always carry both your passports, a bit of a nuisance but not too much.

[zarafet]

But still no answer as to the driving licence.

[Scoobydoo]

I only answered the part of the passport and I did not give an answer to the question re:the driving licence because I don't know the answer.

I just kept my old licence until it ran out but whether that was the right thing to do or not, I don't know so I didn't want to encourage any 'wrong doing'

[zarafet]

Your are absolutely right Scoobydoo not to encourage wrong doing. But thought there must be someone out there who knows the correct information. Anyone with friends in the driving licence office, maybe, who could find out for us all.

[cyprusishome]

I went to DL office to change some details. I got strange looks and after much enquiring around the staff a decision was made. It cost an arm and a leg to change the details so nobody ever does it, that being the reason for the strange looks I got.

So it is up to you, 5 years ago it was going to cost best part of 80tl now who knows!!

[mamachina]

Carry copy of old and new passports in your envelope of (copied) car details and then if stopped they can see you are ok. I did this til I applied for a new licence and then just put new passport details on the form, I think. Not queried.

[harita]

Thanks for that tip mamachina .. Will do ..

[zarafet]

Yes. Thanks Mamachina that sounds like a very sensible thing to do.