Help needed for TURKMENISTAN visa

[soyelcin]

My family are about to hire a helper from TURKMENISTAN. I understand I will have to pay the visa for her to stay and work in cyprus. Is there anyone who knows the correct procedure to pay for the visa and paper work. I would be grateful for any info. Thanks

[bigOz]

The procedure is different for someone who has been working here and is changing jobs (if not out of the country for 3 months or more in between jobs) AND for someone who you will be actually bringing in from Turkmenistan.

For the former, you need to fill in a form for "yatay geçiş" (lateral transfer), and supply her "release form" from previous employment (previous employers are obliged to inform the "çalışma dairesi" or else they will be liable for the social security and graduate pension payments every month). You need to fill out full details together with a police immigration control sheet (from the police stn.) showing her entry/exit into the island since the termination of her last employment (you will need her passport and 12 TL stamp, usually available outside the stn in Giirne).

You will need to register her place of work as the "employer" by filling a form in the employment office.

You need to get a stamped document from each of the "Sosyal Sigorta", "İhtiyat Sandığı" and "Vergi Dairesi" showing all her payments due in each office is up to date and there are no arrears from previous employment. If any arrears you will need to pay for them before progressing any further. You need to provide photocopies of her passport and sometimes the original together with the paperwork.

Once the above are complete, you then go back to the employment office and submit all the paperwork. They will then issue you with a piece of paper requiring the potential employee to have a blood/urine/excrement tests at the General Hospital. After a payment of around 165 TL for the tests authorisation you are either asked to give samples at the hospitals or are given a ticket to have one free at a local private clinic. After 3-4 working days you get your results.

Providing the tests are clean and the employee is not a health risk, you are then asked to take the test results together with her passport and the rest of the documentation to the Employment Office in Lefkoşa. They will charge you I think around 450 TL for the visa but you need to fill in 3 copies of a contract form with the employee (to be signed by both of you before submission) and show a 1000 Euros assurance in the form of a bank letter (usually depositing that much in your bank account - but some banks may just give it to good customers).
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[bigOz]

After about a week you can pick up the stamped passport from the same office in Lefkoşa. Just to add, you will be required to pay some "stamp duties" in couple of the offices including the employment office. They are often around 10 TL each and are usually available in the office canteens. Also many of the forms are required in double or trlple - copy services onsite will cost you 1 TL for each copy, so make sure you have 3 copies of your ID, her passport (picture and visa pages), and the police immigration entry/exit form. The original you can keep

The latter is slightly a longer process whereby you will need to apply for a temporary entry visa at the employment office, before the employee's arrival in TRNC. Once here, you make a full application for a permit and she will need to go abroad (to Turkey) for couple of days until the permit is issued and re-enter the country. On her return, you meet her at the airport with the paperwork complete from the employment office and the immigration control stamps the passport.

If you are in Girne, all the offices are in the same building next to the General Hospital. Tax Office and the Social security on the opposite sides of the Ground Floor. "İhtiyat Sandığı" and "Employment Office" on opposite sides on the 3rd Floor. I suggest you call at the employment Office on the third floor first - they will guide and advise you on what to do concerning the above. If you are a TC and understand the language, the process is easy enough but very tedious and time consuming. Alternatively you might prefer to pay someone who knows to do it for you for around 150-200 TL.

Overall it will take around 7 -10 working days for the first process, and 10 - 15 working days for the latter from start to completion.

Good luck

[soyelcin]

Thankyou so much for the info, you have been very helpful

[bigOz]

No problem
I have helped few others on the subject and have been going through the process for the person who has been working for me for the past 6 years. If you need any more advice or help just send me an email.

[soyelcin]

I have sent you an email