New Visa regulations starting October 2019

[wedinnorthcyprus]

Thought i would post this here because it might affect some of you Taken from Cyprium news .

Interior Minister Aysegul Baybars has announced new visa regulations. The new bylaw will come into force on October 23, 2019, with comprehensive arrangements for the safer registration of foreigners who are already in residence with a visa and residence permit.

Minister Baybars made a statement to TAK regarding important arrangements such as visa types, durations, conditions and cancellation requirements for foreigners who enter the country for the first time with the new regulation. She stressed that conditions and cancellation conditions were being handled extensively for the first time in 67 years.

Minister Baybars said in accordance with the new regulations, the residence permit applications can be made online, the work carried out within this framework will approximately be completed by November and applications on the online system will greatly ease the process.

STRICT ENTRY CONTROLS
On the regulations to enter the country, Minister of Interior Ayşegül Baybars pointed out “In the old statute, comprehensive control procedures to be carried out in suspicious situations upon entry were not subject to a certain rule. Issues to be investigated in cases of suspected entry into the country had not been determined.”

Baybars said:
“With the new regulation, when entering the country; inspection and examination of travel documents, determination of whether it is subject to processing by judicial and administrative authorities, determination of whether or not it is sought at international level, determination of the purpose of arrival, determination of the manner of living and accommodation in the country, the entry from a country to the country if a visa is not allowed. Other issues deemed necessary in terms of public health and safety were ensured to be controlled ”.

VISA TYPES AND TERMS
The conditions on how to respond to essential types of visas are not available in the old statutes, all visas were treated ‘as uniform’. Therefore, it could not be understood for what purpose foreigners had entered the country.

Pointing out that visas can be given up to 6 months at a time in the old system, Ayşegül Baybars said, “After the 90-day visa expires, the old application made it possible to leave and re-enter and a new 90 days were given each time. This situation allows foreigners to stay with a visa and work unregistered. It caused abuse of the system. ”
In the new regulation, this abuse was terminated by Minister Baybars. The new statute the arrangement of a foreigner’s stay in the TRNC will be with a visa every 90 days and 90 days over 180 days. Any stay less than 48 hours would not count.

“In the old practice when a visa is given to foreigners they could have been questioned on how long they would be staying in the country and when they would be leaving, however, this was not mandatory. It will now be compulsory for foreigners as they are given their visa to show that they will leave the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus during the visa period”.

In general, in the old practice, visas for passports of all foreigners entering the country were given as a “visitor’s permit”. Not knowing why someone was entering the country created problems. The new regulations have put an end to this. Foreigners entering via sea and airports will now be given the appropriate visa depending on the purpose of their visit and the type of travel documents they carry. Who entered the country and the purpose of the visit will be recorded.

18 TYPES OF VISA HAS BEEN DETERMINED
Minister Baybars pointed out that there were now 18 types of visas depending on the reasons given on a foreigners’ arrival. Baybars pointed out for the first time in 67 years a comprehensive review had been made for the new rules to include 18 different types of visas.

NEW ARRANGEMENT FOR VALID PASSPORTS
Interior Minister Aysegul Baybars continued with her statement. “As you know, having a valid passport was enough for the citizens of countries that have representation in TRNC, and EU countries, to be able to enter our country. With the new residence and visas regulation, these same citizens must enter with a passport valid for at least 2 months. Citizens of the countries that do not have a representative in the TRNC and citizens of the countries outside the EU can now enter with a passport valid for at least 6 months”.

Aysegul Baybars
WORK PERMITS
For citizens of countries that do not have embassies or any representation in the TRNC are required to have a passport valid for at least two years for a work permit to be issued.

VISA CANCELLATION CRITERIA
In the former statutes, it was not clear in which cases visas could be cancelled. The Head of the Ministry was given the initiative to make any decisions related to cancellations. This has been recognised as the wrong way to deal with the issue and clear guidelines and criteria will be given.

RESIDENCE PERMIT DEFINITION
Who and who are not exempt from the residence permit has not been regulated, and it is also been shown to have been done incorrectly. For the first time in the new statute, a residence permit definition has been made. “The residence permit was determined as a permit that gives the right to stay in the country for more than 90 days and for a certain period.”

CURRENT EXEMPT PEOPLE ARE REQUIRED TO REGISTER FOR A RESIDENT PERMIT
Those currently exempt from residence permit married with TRNC citizens and who are not nationals have forty days from the start of the new rules to apply for the exemption certificate of residence permit. Baybars said, “The exemption certificate for these persons will be issued for a maximum of two years at a time and no fees will be charged. However, if the exemption certificate is not received, the penalty will be incurred. With the application of the exemption certificate, it will ensure that many of these people will be registered as in the country.”

UNDER 18’S YEARS ARE REQUIRED TO BE REGISTERED
Interior Minister Baybars reminded that up to now the children of those with work permits under the age of 18 were not registered. Baybars said that this major deficiency also caused various problems from education to health planning within the country. The new regulation now states that children under the age of 18 who live with their parents who are legally in the country must be registered when applications to work or reside are made.

RESIDENCE PERMIT TYPES AND TERMS
Ayşegül Baybars, the old statute does not have the concept of residence permit, so there are no types of residence permits, he added. “It was unclear who could get what kind of residence permit, Baybars continued:
“The residence permit periods to be given to people over the age of 60 will be longer than the other types of residence permits and they are provided with convenience. The conditions under which each residence permit type can be obtained and with which documents have been regulated. ”

RESIDENCE PERMISSION APPLICATIONS CAN BE MADE ONLINE
Preparations are being made so that permit applications can be made online. This now underway and approximately by November applying for permits will become easier.

ADDRESS AND MOBILE COMMUNICATION IS NOW REQUIRED
Baybars added that in the new system, for a visa or residence permit to be issued to a foreigner, it is necessary that a mobile phone number and address be declared in order for notifications and information to be made. This information was not collected previously.

“The new regulations are necessary for the country and will make a more secure registration of foreigners staying here on visas and permits. The new regulations will come into force on October 23 and the public will be informed about the new system by this date. We will continue to work for the creation of a contemporary, safe and peaceful environment in all areas, always considering the interests of the country”. Bay Baybars concluded.

[frontalman]

Thanks Theresa, this has been posted as a link elsewhere but very helpful nonetheless.

[waddo]

Guess I must fall under one of the 18 different types of permit, wonder when we will find out what they all are?

[Mimi2]

Yavas Yavas

[Hippocampus]

I am totally cheesed off with starting the residency palaver again. I do not wish for a whole page in my passport to be taken up annually with the stamp and thus having to get a new passport prematurely because it has been filled up with these things. Also, because this place is such a hot potato politically, I am uncomfortable with having the residency stamp in my passport when travelling , which I do extensively.

[frontalman]

The only people who are happy about this are those who were too daft or scared to stop applying for residency even though they were over 60 and told they didn't need it. Their calls to the BRS for "clarity", in other words - (is it alright if we stop?) have greatly contributed to the government's reviewing of the situation. A few weeks ago Stephen Day in his newspaper column seemed positively smug about, and judging by some comments on this forum there are quite a few who feel the same way. Sad isn't it.

[Deniz1]

Well I find the first post as clear as mud.

[sandfrog]

Copied from the visa posting

Just to muddy the waters even more, a couple of weeks ago I was due to renew my temp residence visa and having gone through the normal procedure turned up at the immigration dept expecting my normal one year stamp. The paperwork was virtually identical to previous years but i was firmly told that it was no longer adequate. The main problem appears to be money (what else).

I have held a temp residence permit and my husband is retired and in the past we have shown bank accounts which appeared to be adequate.

This year the lady on the desk informed me that they had made a mistake for the last few years (they of course are allowed to do that) and that the following now applied:

To remain in the country I have to qualify in one of the following categories

1) You have to be a registered student and can have a student permit

2) You have to have a work permit

and here's the interesting bit
3) That you have to own a house AND can produce bank accounts to show that you have an income of 10,000tl per month

or...

4) That you rent AND have a prove-able income of 17,500tl per month.

After some discussion they gave me a 6 months stamp to enable me to comply!!

What I find interesting is that if my husband and I both worked, had work permits and received minimum wage we would receive about 6,000 tl a month which would be OK in their eyes and yet if you don't work and rent, (which we have done for 15 years) we suddenly need the astounding figure of 17,500 tl

The Cypriots obviously have a better life style than us!!

I still have the piece of paper so this is not a memory lapse. The only vague point is that she was talking about me only as it was only me that was applying. Whether that means another absurd figure when my husband reapplies remains to be seen.

Even post brexit Britain is starting to look appealing!!!
sandfrog
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[waddo]

Well, that is interesting! If my wife and I, together, had an income of £5000 per month (after tax) I think we would have moved to a country that is slightly more organised than this one! Time will tell.

[mish]

10,000 tl a month equates to £1333. So how many UK pensioners receive that much monthly income?
Yet plenty with a lower income happily manage to have both a UK home and an apartment in TRNC which they visit regularly.
Maybe mathematics is not the ministry's strong point!
m

[divesups]

So is the income required for a couple or are they singular incomes?

[13roman58]

We are due to go this month.
If the income required is as then someone put out the lights when the last one leaves.
These numbers are ridiculous .I don,t know anyone here with that level of income maybe I am in the wrong circle,if anybody who does have this income please drop me a PM so I can come and rub shoulders with you my new best friend

[PapaBravo]

Hippocampus, I have been advised that you can have your Residence Stamp on a separate piece of paper, rather than in your passport. It would be useful to hear from anyone who can POSITIVELY CONFIRM that this is the case.

[Deniz1]

My friend has

[waddo]

Just wondering - As there is no age limit on working here, if you could get a work permit from a helpful local employer and then not work but still pay both parts of the social that are required to be paid from minimum wages, would that be cheaper than paying this "seemingly" huge amount of residency and having savings as well? Then after 6 years you could apply for permanent residency and stop paying anything at all. Just a thought and everyone needs a laugh right now anyway - lol.

[frontalman]

Seems to me you've changed camps, Waddo, since you had a pop at me on another thread. Good to see you're thinking straight.

[snd1966]

Just wondering - As there is no age limit on working here, if you could get a work permit from a helpful local employer and then not work but still pay both parts of the social that are required to be paid from minimum wages, would that be cheaper than paying this "seemingly" huge amount of residency and having savings as well? Then after 6 years you could apply for permanent residency and stop paying anything at all. Just a thought and everyone needs a laugh right now anyway - lol.

I believe employers have to pay over 1300tl a month, due to the fact the minimum wage and contributions keep changing I am not sure on the actual amount but do know the company has to pay on the following for a foreign worker. I can understand why work permits are not given out with love
wages + KDV
social + KDV
Provident fund with no pension + KDV

[Hector]

What a shambles! My wife and I being over 60 (I know, I know, we don' look it) have been visiting NC quite happily for up to 5 months in total each year for nigh on 15 years.

I, personally, at my age, really don't want unnecessary stress these days and this new 'Residency Visa' is causing and will cause me that.

We have up to now anyway, been happily spending our hard-earned money here without incident or concern to anyone and especially not to the government.

I'm afraid my/our love affair with North Cyprus, which was already wearing a tad thin is finally over. Time to sell up and go somewhere else.

[Chriswright03]

Do you not require a visa to be in other Countries for extended periods?

[madeincyprus]

Dose seem like it is being made harder for people to get residential permits. Very few people have that kind of income. I think the may be cutting there noses off to spite there face.

[frontalman]

What a shambles! My wife and I being over 60 (I know, I know, we don' look it) have been visiting NC quite happily for up to 5 months in total each year for nigh on 15 years.

I, personally, at my age, really don't want unnecessary stress these days and this new 'Residency Visa' is causing and will cause me that.

We have up to now anyway, been happily spending our hard-earned money here without incident or concern to anyone and especially not to the government.

I'm afraid my/our love affair with North Cyprus, which was already wearing a tad thin is finally over. Time to sell up and go somewhere else.

Wait and see Joe, there's many a slip twixt cup and lip, as the saying goes. And I am amazed you are over 60 it's true (ish).

[come_on_aylin]

There's quite a bit about it in today's CT. When asked about concerns that the 90 day limit could hit tourism because many swallows have properties here and like to stay longer than 90 days or return frequently, he (head of immigration dept) stressed "The rules are still open to be changed. However, if an ordinary tourist wishes to stay for more than 90 days, they should apply for a residency permit.". He confirmed that over 60s need to apply for a residency permit once every 3 years. Applications should be able to be made online from November. Also passports of EU nationals need to be valid for at least 2 months on entry and others need 6 months validity.
No info for under 60s - status quo?

Interestingly there is no mention anywhere about changes in the amount of income requirement...

[waddo]

Not changed camps, have always stayed within the law and as the old handshake agreement was not law, I just ignored it and carried on with residency! However, if there was a legal loophole in the law that allowed me to stay here, I would make use of it for sure. Interesting that the minister says that the rules are still open to be changed, could this mean that as parliament has been on holiday since and during these new rules came into being that they are not yet laws anyway? I have a very friendly local barrister who is asking questions for me at the moment so I will see what happens next. Noted that BRS sent an email about forthcoming events but still nothing about residency!

[sophie]

To obey the supposed new law regarding monthly income would mean me producing my English bank account statements, which I've always steadfastly refused to do and have produced a TRNC deposit account instead, which has always sufficed. Although is now 6 years since we applied for Residency. I was asked last week, what would it take me to leave here and I jokingly replied, "when I have to serve myself at a petrol pump and wash my own windscreens" I think I might change to "when I have to produce my UK bank statements" now

[waddo]

Frontalman, well I have looked but I can't find where I had a "Pop" at you on another thread. But being the way I am and more than happy to "fall on my sword" when proven wrong I apologize if I have seemingly wronged you or caused you distress. I firmly believe that people should be big enough to own up to their mistakes and take responsibility for their actions - which is why I hate politicians so much as they never seem to do that - and so apologies are submitted! Take care out there.

Sophie, I fail to see your logic in your last post? The only thing I have read so far is above "That you rent AND have a prove-able income of 17,500tl per month" regarding proof of being able to support yourself. It has always been in law here that upon landing you had to prove that you had £85.00 per day for the duration of your stay, looks like the figure has changed but I put that down to left hand not knowing what right hand is doing in Government so a guess has been made! I used to have a local bank account but lost my trust in the bank and withdrew the funds so have only used my UK bank statements for the past 6 years - where is the problem in that?

[frontalman]

I appreciate your statement, Waddo. You are obviously a gentleman of integrity and you command my respect.

If one has enough money in a deposit account here to provide financial support for the period of your residency ( 1 or 2 years) then I'm sure that would be acceptable We have only ever shown what we have on deposit.

[waddo]

You are more than welcome sir! We have never had enough to cover £85.00 per day for two years (each) on deposit in any bank - that's life - but I do see your point on that, maybe one day but before that happens we will just Pony Up our bank statements that show our income and that makes everyone happy! It is the only thing good about Government pensions - because the Government will never stab itself in the back - they can always be depended upon - lol.

[Mowgli597]

- because the Government will never stab itself in the back - they can always be depended upon - lol.

Er Waddo. You might want to revisit that statement in light of the goings on in the U.K. parliament just now

Or perhaps your “lol” was intended to cover that

[Keithcaley]

Well, I despair of the lot of them - and before anyone says, I know! - It's

[waddo]

Sorry, quite right and I amend it to read "members of the government will not stab themselves in the back" - lol. But to keep on topic, there is loads of residency news in CT but not a lot that tells you anything!

[13roman58]

We are due to go this month.
If the income required is as then someone put out the lights when the last one leaves.
These numbers are ridiculous .I don,t know anyone here with that level of income maybe I am in the wrong circle,if anybody who does have this income please drop me a PM so I can come and rub shoulders with you my new best friend

went this morning. 448tl plus 17 1/2 tl stamp
The bank statements were scrutinised, I also took UK account showing pension payments and P60 .these were highlighted.
Out in 35 minutes.

[Trigger]

I am coming to North Cyprus again in October. I arrive on the 17th and leave on the 26th. Do I need to apply for a visa or will there be a bit of a grace period?

Wonder how much it will cost and what will the situation will be every time I pop down to the south to visit friends etc.