Fly into Larnaca LCA and out of Lefkosa ECN?
Jan 14, 2018, 10:26 pm
#3
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: LAX
Programs: UA/AA
Posts: 1,741
There have been some recent incidents where non-EU nationals upon arriving in the Republic of Cyprus have been asked to state their place of residence during their visit. If they state they intend on staying in the north, they have been denied entry. So, best to keep your intentions to yourself during Immigration Processing.
Jan 15, 2018, 12:43 am
#4
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Brexile in ADB
Programs: BA, TK, HHonours, Le Club, Best Western Rewards
Posts: 7,067
Not sure if this may be a problem but if you require a Visa to enter the Republic of Cyprus (the South) there will be a record of entry but not of exit (they don't do immigration checks on the Green line border as the RoC does not view it as a international border). This might be an issue if you want to return to Cyprus with the same passport.
Jan 15, 2018, 5:39 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 4
Thanks for the help. I plan to stay in the south a few days before transiting to the north. But because my flight back home is from Istanbul, exiting from the north is a lot quicker and a lot easier (and cheaper). And I am a US citizen, so no visa required.
Jan 15, 2018, 5:48 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 4
"...if you require a Visa to enter the Republic of Cyprus (the South) there will be a record of entry but not of exit ..."
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Funny story, 40 years ago, as an 18 year old student, I flew to Paris to attend college. After I got off the plane and got my bag, and walking around a bit dazed, I asked someone where I needed to go. They pointed me to an exit and suddenly I was out of the airport, no customs, no passport check. Later, returning from a train trip to the Netherlands, my passport was stamped in France (this is before the open borders of the EU). So when I left France for the US a year later, the passport control officer wanted to know how I had entered Europe from the US on a train. I told him the story and he stamped me out.
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Funny story, 40 years ago, as an 18 year old student, I flew to Paris to attend college. After I got off the plane and got my bag, and walking around a bit dazed, I asked someone where I needed to go. They pointed me to an exit and suddenly I was out of the airport, no customs, no passport check. Later, returning from a train trip to the Netherlands, my passport was stamped in France (this is before the open borders of the EU). So when I left France for the US a year later, the passport control officer wanted to know how I had entered Europe from the US on a train. I told him the story and he stamped me out.
Jan 20, 2018, 6:41 pm
#7
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Happily living in Frenaros Cyprus having escaped the near-death experience called Sofia Bulgaria
Programs: Etihad Guest Gold, DL FO and 1MM, and a bunch of others at a low level
Posts: 2,052
Shouldn't be a problem, but...... if you plan to come back to Cyprus (not Cypress), you may have a problem as there will be no record of you leaving the RoC (I do not believe that the TRNC exchanges immigration data with the RoC). Your passport is not stamped when leaving the RoC to go to the TRNC and vice versa. Also, when you go through immigration at ECN, if the immigration officer is perplexed about you not having a TRNC entrance stamp in your passport, just tell him which crossing you came through to the TRNC - he will then be able to find you in the computer.
Also, recently RoC immigration is interested in people flying into LCA and then going to the TRNC to stay. It has to do with staying in "illegal" TRNC hotels (hotels on Greek Cypriot land taken by the Turks during the 1974 invasion), so keep your intentions to go to the TRNC to yourself when going through immigration at LCA.
I last crossed the green line in December. My residency permit was scrutinized upon re-entry to the RoC (have a Cyprus permanent resident permit in a US passport).
Also, recently RoC immigration is interested in people flying into LCA and then going to the TRNC to stay. It has to do with staying in "illegal" TRNC hotels (hotels on Greek Cypriot land taken by the Turks during the 1974 invasion), so keep your intentions to go to the TRNC to yourself when going through immigration at LCA.
I last crossed the green line in December. My residency permit was scrutinized upon re-entry to the RoC (have a Cyprus permanent resident permit in a US passport).