Is resident permit still required for those who are over 60?

The TRNC official gazette no. 350/2021 of 12 May 2021 indeed provides some exemptions to the residence permit requirement.

There is reference to foreign citizens above the age of 60.

However the exemption is subject to conditions.

The relevant paragraph creates an exemption for mothers and fathers above the age of 60, in the following cases:

– They are residing with their children who are TRNC citizens (this existed in the old regulation, except that in that case the relevant age was 65)

– They are parents of

  (i) those who are eligible to get residence permit by virtue of owning immovable property in Northern Cyprus; or

  (ii) those who already have legal residence permit in TRNC; or

  (iii) those who are exempt from the requirement to obtain a residence permit.

To be frank, the law is not easy to decipher.  However, the residence permit requirement for those above 60 is not lifted, as some people have been suggesting.