Retirement in North Cyprus
Retiring here is easier than any other place in all of Europe. Upon your arrival at Ercan Airport, your Passport will be stamped for a thirty day visit. There are no fees and no Visa requirements. Spend that time looking for your dream villa by the sea.
Obtaining a Residency Permit is handled online and will not be complete when your thirty-day visa runs out. That's OK, there is an Immigration Office at the local police sataion and they will look at your individual case and advise. Many folks even fly beck home during this process. If your’e serious about retirement, your'e interested in obtaining a White Card but that will come later. The purchase of your home is the biggest hurdle to obtaining a Permanent Residency Permit.
Your Drivers Licence is good here for ninety days and most get a hire car for the first ten days or so. Some Insurance Agencies will handle getting your licence for you and the process is simple. At this writing, no test is required for those in possession of license from alomst any country. Due to some recent accidents, there may be changes to the code and in the future you may need to actually appear at the office.
You will not be asked to surrender your current licence when your new one is issued. This is handy when you need to fly back home or if you want to visit another country. If you rent a car in Italy (its a short flight), show them your EU/UK Drivers License.
The President of The TRNC, Ersin Tatar, is a supporter of the ex pat community. In fact, early in his administration he met with members of the The British Residents Society. President Tatar is known to want more retirees and wants to ease their transition. Things like voting in local elections are now on the table for non-citizens.
After looking at various websites and numerous Estate Agents we finally selected two locations, Southern France and Northern Cyprus. In France we did find that language was a problem and finally decided that Northern Cyprus was to be our retirement destination. We spoke to several agents and without doubt the staff at Busy Bees were the most knowledgeable and helpful and couldn’t do enough, without being pushy, to help us find our dream home. We actually bought the property without actually seeing it in the flesh, and was delighted when we finally came over and took possession. We have now lived in the property and North Cyprus for the last 5.1/2 years and in that time have recommended Busy Bees to numerous friends who have been equally impressed with the service, knowledge and helpfulness of all the staff. I must add that throughout my life in dealing with Estate Agents I have had a very mixed opinion. If only they were all like Busy Bees it would make purchasing a property so much easier. Carry on the great work Busy Bees from a very grateful and satisfied customer. Michael and Karen Newton
We came to Northern Cyprus on holiday a few years ago, loved it, when we went home we browsed the internet and saw a house we liked, contacted the agent, got an instant response, it was so instant that we flew the very next day to see the house, the lovely Maria from busy bees arranged the transport from the airport and somewhere to stay on our arrival. We met with Maria the day we arrived and she showed us a few properties just to ensure we were sure about what we wanted, nothing was too much trouble for her. We bought the property all thanks to Maria who continued to help us with the whole process of purchasing, from money transfers to legal issues with lawyers, she was with us every step of the way which was wonderful as we were new to buying in this market. Even after the purchase was finished Maria and her team have always been there for help whether it be needing jobs such as painting or simply directions to somewhere. Busy Bees really gave us 100% and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again. Jakki Ginn
