If you’re thinking of relocating you or 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.

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!

Altinor Group is always ready to help you through out the whole process.