When you arrive in Northern Cyprus you will normally be issued with a 90 day tourist visa. Thereafter you must apply for either a work permit or a residency permit to legally remain in the country.

Firstly, you will need to visit the immigration office at your local police station. You need to present your passport and they will issue you with an application form for temporary residency.

Once you have completed this form you need to visit the Muhtar of your village (like a Mayor) to get a letter of residence from them.
You will need to produce the following documents:

• Passport to confirm your identity
• Proof of Address, which can either be your title deeds of your property, rental agreement or proof of purchase (contract from the builder)
• Proof of income for you and any other members of your family wishing to apply, for example bank statements or pension statements

The Muhtar will require a small amount of official stamps (they can confirm the amount) to attach to the residency certificate.
The next stage of your residency application is to visit your local medical clinic to undergo blood tests for various illnesses such as HIV and Tuberculosis, as well as a chest x-ray. You will be issued with a receipt for these tests, which normally cost in the region of £50 – £70. The results can take a few days to arrive, once you collect your results, you must not under any circumstances open the envelope containing the results they have given you, or you will have to start the whole process all over again.

Now you have your medical results and the certificate of residency from the Muhtar, you have to continue your application at your local police station immigration office.
You will need to produce the following documents:

• The completed application form
• Photocopy of your passport
• Proof of Address, which can either be your title deeds of your property, rental agreement or proof of purchase (contract from the builder)
• Proof of income for you and any other members of your family wishing to apply, for example bank statements or pension statements
• Four passport sized recent photographs
• The envelope containing your medical results
• Official stamps

The local immigration office will then send your application over to the central office in Lefkosa, processing normally takes around 2 weeks to process. Once this has been done you will need to go to the central office in Lefkosa, and providing everything is in order, you will pay approximately £100 – £150 for a one year residency permit. Your permit needs to be renewed each year.