Moving To Northern Cyprus

North Cyprus has a great deal to offer residents of all ages.

If you’re thinking of relocating your family to the island, retiring to North Cyprus or just changing your life and moving here to look for a new opportunity, here are a few tips to help you make the move easily and with as little stress as possible!

If you come from an EU country and therefore have an EU passport you’re free to enter the country. When you enter you’ll receive an entry stamp in your passport or on your visa form and this allows you to remain in the country for 3 months from that date. After 3 months you should begin official registration proceedings to allow the government of North Cyprus to know who you are, that you’re here and to allow you to become a resident of Northern Cyprus!

The registration process is not difficult but it can be quite emotionally taxing as it involves many visits to different government offices, a series of basic medical tests and quite a lot of form filling! However, the nice thing about the whole process is it is done slightly differently every time! When you come to North Cyprus you’ll quickly meet many friendly expats and locals who’ll take the time to show you the ropes, but if you’re at all concerned about the process then get in touch with the British Resident’s Society as they can personally assist you.

If you’re moving to Northern Cyprus lock, stock and barrel and need to relocate your household contents consider employing a company offering a door to door service. This cuts down on your stress, it cuts down on costs and it definitely reduces your hassle. It will mean that your container arrives at your door sealed and intact. One of the best tried and tested companies that we recommend are F & N. They are part of an international removal network and you’re given a partner with whom you can liaise throughout the 4 - 8 week removal period. Their website is http://www.fnworldwide.com/

Once your container is about to arrive in Famagusta you will need to go to the main police station in Lefkosia (Nicosia) and get your ‘in and out’ paper! This is just a record of the number of times you’ve been in and out of North Cyprus! Make sure you take your passport with you and have some stamps handy (normal 1 YTL stamps that you can buy from the post office, if you buy about 10 you’ll have enough for the whole import process).

Next you have to go to customs in Nicosia with your in and out certificate, your passport, a list of your container’s contents translated into Turkish (if you go with a door to door service they’ll provide you with everything you need to take) and lots more stamps plus a couple of photocopies of all of your documents! You’ll be asked a few questions about the contents of your container just to make sure it contains used domestic goods rather than brand new office equipment or something and then you can import the whole lot tax free! Well, you have to pay a standard fee of around 10 or 20 YTL per TV actually!

When the container arrives at your house a couple of customs men will arrive with it just to make sure it really contains what you say it does and not brand new items on which you would have to pay import duty. If you give them a cup of coffee and leave them poke through your possessions they’ll be happy!

If you have children you’ll be pleased to know that North Cyprus does not suffer from a lack of nursery or schooling facilities. There are a number of Turkish and international kindergartens in Girne for example, there’s an English language primary school called Sunny Lane and then there are Turkish Cypriot primary and secondary schools and a number of universities on the island as well.

Health care facilities are very good and highly affordable. The clinics range in quality and price from basic to sophisticated, there are good levels of diagnosis facilities for serious illness as well and a lot of people are working hard to raise more funds to go towards building new wards at the main hospitals and equipping the hospitals with more state of the art equipment as well. I wouldn’t say it is necessary to have health insurance here as most procedures are affordable and over the course of the year, unless you are unfortunate enough to suffer a serious and recurring condition, your medical and dental costs will likely be far less than your insurance costs. But the decision is a personal one and one you have to be 100% confident with.

Most clinical drugs can be purchased over the counter at the many pharmacies and a lot of items can be bought far more cheaply than ‘back home.’

Your cost of living in North Cyprus will vary depending on your lifestyle. If you prefer to buy imported, named goods then you will be paying a premium because North Cyprus has to pay high import costs. If on the other hand you shop locally, buying your main essentials at the market, drinking local wine and dining at the many excellent Turkish Cypriot restaurants your cost of living will be impressively low! You can make a small income go a long way here without having to budget or restrict your lifestyle.

And finally, if you are considering moving to Northern Cyprus make sure you come and visit the island first! That way you’ll make a lot of new friends and these will be the best people to assist you with the whole relocation process and make it go as smoothly as possible for you.