Subject to certain conditions, foreigners who have lived in the TRNC for at least 6 years and have a work visa and/or have their own business in the TRNC (are employers / have a business establishment permit) may receive a permanent residence permit. Due to its similarity to ordinary citizenship, this permit is also referred to as the “White Kimlik/White Identity Card”.
A Permanent Residence Permit gives a Foreigner the right to reside in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus permanently, and enter and exit the TRNC freely. Permanent Residency is dependent on continuing to meet the requirements of the Residency Law, if you no longer meets the criteria your residency may be revoked.
Law on Permanent Residence Permit (51/2015 Daimi İkamet İzni Yasası), Article 4. “Conditions for granting a permanent residence permit to those who have a work permit and/or a business permit” states:
(1) (A) If the foreigner has been residing in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus for six years continuously with a work permit or a business establishment permit or a combination of both, and if he/she meets the conditions set out in paragraph (2) below, the head of the immigration department or, in his absence, a senior manager in the Ministry authorized by the Minister, grants permanent residence to foreigners who have a work permit or a business establishment permit on the effective date of this Law.
(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, “continuous” means obtaining an Work Permit or a Business Establishment Permit each year for six consecutive years and with an interval of not more than forty days between permits.
(2) A permanent residence permit is issued to a foreigner who falls within the scope of paragraph (1) above and meets the following conditions:
(A) Live in a home where he/she can lead a healthy lifestyle in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, or be the owner or tenant of a home,
(B) Not to have one of the diseases defined by the Ministry of Health as a contagious disease that would pose a risk to public health,
(C) Have not been sentenced to prison in any country other than for a traffic violation, or have not been convicted of, and have no ongoing legal process for, money laundering, smuggling, bribery, extortion, theft, fraud, abuse of power, fraudulent bankruptcy, assault with bodily harm, sexual rape, attempted sexual rape, sexual harassment, and similar infamous crimes.
(Ç) Hold a permanent work permit and/or a business permit within the last six years prior to the date of application and have not been abroad for more than forty days per year.
However, in the case of a stay in the country for a total of more than two hundred and forty days during the period provided for in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) above, the forty-day period does not count.
(D) Documented periods of time spent abroad for seminars, conferences, congresses and similar purposes of training and promotion of people working as full-time lecturers or lecturers at the University of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are not included in the forty-day period in paragraph (Ç) above.
(E) Documented periods spent abroad by persons who are forced to remain abroad in connection with their duties are not included in the forty-day period in paragraph (Ç) above.
However, the condition is that the earnings of persons falling under this paragraph, subject to insurance, declared to the Social Insurance Office, must be at least three times the minimum monthly wage.
