Originally Posted by
siberslava
ECN-IST is an international flight, so you will arrive in the international terminal. You will not need a visa if you are in transit.
TRNC will either stamp a sheet of paper (their visa) at their crossing point. You can use this at your exit at Ercan. Coming back, i would minimize anything you want to bring over as "duty-free" because the checkpoint at the crossing into RoC is not an international border, as the personnel manning the crossing will be more than happy to explain to you (I.e. don't try to bring excessive amounts of alcohol or tobacco back in; they once gave a colleague a bunch of grief over one carton of cigarettes)
The general rule of thumb for Cyprus, and you seem aware of this, is to always enter and exit from the same point
The TRNC no longer stamps a piece of paper at the land crossings. So I will have no record of entry to the TRNC. Will that be an issue?
I will not be bringing any alcohol or tobacco, but I will have 2 32kg pieces of luggage plus a carry-on bringing back new clothes and household items from the US. When crossing the checkpoint, the Cypriot immigration/officials almost always want to look in the trunk of may car (I only buy groceries or fabric when I go over there). I don't know how they feel about 2 large pieces of luggage. I don't cross the checkpoint frequently enough that they recognize me (maybe once every 2 months).
I can always ask the officials at the checkpoint about this the next time I come across, but it's hard to tell if the official is a person who has serious issues about the fact that the country is divided. I don't want to get a lecture about how ECN is an illegal airport and yada yada yada.......
This trip would be in November/December this year.