There are mainly 3 different title deeds in TRNC:

1. Turkish Title Deeds: These are deeds owned by Turkish Cypriots before 1974.
2. Exchange Title Deeds: These are deeds given to those Turkish Cypriots, who owned Property in the South of Cyprus prior to 1974 and signed waivers to give up their Properties in the South. These Properties were simply given by the TRNC State in return for those who had left their own Properties in the South.
3. TMD Title Deeds (Tahsis): These are deeds simply given by the TRNC State to Turkish Cypriots or Republic of Turkey citizens after 1974, as an incentive for them to settle into the country or for recognition for their military/government services.

Before our clients proceed with purchasing any property in the TRNC, Ayten G. Birkaya Law Firm conducts comprehensive legal checks to ensure that our clients are fully protected and have made a well-informed investment decision.

To make your sale contract valid, it must be stamped at the Tax Office. The stamp duty is 0.5% of the sales price stated in your contract.

Under current law, if you are a non-TRNC citizen, a further 6% fee of the sale price in your contract—or the valuation determined by the Land Registry Office, whichever is higher—must also be paid to the Tax Office upon registration.

When applying for your Permission to Purchase (PTP), a fee of half the minimum monthly gross wage in TRNC is required. Once your PTP is granted and your title deed is ready to be transferred, a 6% transfer fee must be paid at the Land Registry Office.

Other costs include:

• Contract Registration Fee (~20 GBP)
• Electricity and water meter registration fees
• Annual property tax, payable to the relevant municipality

If purchasing from a construction company, additional payments include:

• 5% VAT on the sales price
• Transformer Contribution Fee (2,500–5,000 GBP)
• Fees for obtaining and installing water and electricity meters

As a non-TRNC Citizen, in order to transfer and register a title deed into your name, you are required to apply for and be granted the necessary permission to purchase from the TRNC Council of Ministers. Although this permission is known as permission to purchase, it is actually permission to register the title deeds of the Property into your name. Therefore, you are actually able to purchase the property and receive possession of the Property before the permission is even granted. In order to make the necessary application you need to obtain an original Criminal Records Certificate from the country of the passport you hold.

This is income tax and is payable by Registered title deed owners at the time of selling their property. Although it is known as Capital Gains Tax, you are charged with this tax regardless of whether you have made a gain and/or profit. The rate varies based on whether the Registered Owner is a professional or a private individual and is calculated upon the sale price of your Property. Professional vendors, such as property development companies, pay a 4.7% tax, and private individuals pay 2.8%. 

Only TRNC citizens are exempt from Capital Gains Tax once in a lifetime on the sale of one property or land. Any other citizen regardless of whether they reside in the TRNC or not will be liable to pay such tax. If you are not a registered title deed owner and are selling Property via your Contract of Sale, as of 21.05.2024, you will also be charged with a capital gain tax fee. Please contact our Firm for further information.

The Will you have made in your Home Country is not valid in North Cyprus. However, according to Chapter 192 – Probate (Re- Sealing Law), where a Probate Court of one of the Majesty’s dominions or from a British Court of a Foreign Country has granted probate or letters of administration, in respect of the estate of a deceased person, this may be used to apply to the Courts of TRNC. Therefore, by applying to the Courts of TRNC, you may have the possibility of having your loved ones Will made in their home country recognised and have the same force and effect for their assets in TRNC, on the basis that certain conditions have been met.

Nevertheless, as this is not a very fast process, this procedure is not preferred. Therefore, in order to make matters much more practical for your loved ones, it is advisable to make a separate Will for your assets in North Cyprus.

The assets of those who do not make a Will in the TRNC shall be distributed according to the Laws of the TRNC. The amount of share that each legal heir of a deceased shall inherit clearly depends on certain factors such as whether the deceased left a spouse or any children. The Law sets out certain classes that have the right to inherit the deceased’s Estate, with the first Class containing the deceased’s children and surviving descendants of the deceased’s children who passed away during the deceased’s lifetime. The spouse’s share is then calculated separately depending on which class of legal heir is applicable.

Depending on your citizenship or the place of your father’s birth, the Law in North Cyprus imposes limitations regarding how much of a proportion of your Estate in North Cyprus your beneficiary may inherit through your Will, which is also known as the disposable portion.

There are no limits to disposable portions to the following Wills:

• Wills of those who are born in the UK or whose father was born in the UK or any other country who is a member of the Commonwealth in regards to their whole Estate.

• A Will of a Foreign citizen in regards to their movable properties in North Cyprus.

This means those who fall within the above categories may distribute their assets in their Will as they wish. However, those such as TRNC citizens or those not included above, have a limit as to how much of their Estate in North Cyprus they may leave to a beneficiary in their Will. This proportion is calculated depending on who the surviving legal heirs are upon the death of the deceased.

The simple answer is yes. Once you make a Will in North Cyprus, it must be registered with the Courts in North Cyprus.

Making a Will in TRNC also provides you with the opportunity of appointing your own executor to take control and deal with your assets after death. 

Since the Executor will take care of your assets and represent your estate, at certain stages the Executor will be required to be present and sign certain documents. Therefore, to make matters much more practical and to proceed smoothly, it is always advisable for the Executor you appoint to reside in TRNC.

If you are not sure who to appoint as your Executor, at Ayten G. Birkaya Law Firm, we also provide administration and executor role services to our Clients, taking the matter in our Firm’s control and ensuring the process proceeds as swiftly and smoothly as possible for you.

There is a threshold of 20 x minimum wage, therefore, if the value of your Estate in North Cyprus is higher than this threshold, you will be charged with 1% inheritance tax on the difference of the value.

You are able to stay in TRNC throughout the duration of your visa, given by the Immigration Officer upon entry to TRNC.

Should you overstay without extending your visa or without applying for residency (if you are eligible to do so),  you will be charged with a fine which is calculated by the number of days you have exceeded your stay x (times) the applicable minimum daily wage in TRNC.

Yes, you may, however, certain conditions must be met. First of all, the Property must be a home that you are able to live in and must not be in the process of being constructed. 

If you have not yet registered the title deed of the property into your name and purchased the Property with a Contract of Sale, you must have paid a minimum of 1/3 of the sale price and you must have applied for your permission to purchase. Furthermore, you must have an income of monthly 1 minimum wage applicable in the TRNC or the equivalent of the total of 1 year in a bank account.

You are also entitled to the right of obtaining residency in North Cyprus on the basis that you have a high income. For this, you are required to rent a property in North Cyprus and have a valid Rental Agreement.To obtain residency based on high income, you are required to show an income of 3 x (times) the applicable TRNC minimum wage or the yearly equivalent in a bank account. 

Whereas previously you were able to show funds in an account outside of the TRNC, recent practice has shown the relevant authorities are now expecting to see funds located in a bank account in North Cyprus, of which the funds in this account must be placed in your account at least 3-4 months before applying for your residency permit.

The aim of this is to show your intention in actually residing in North Cyprus. Therefore, it is very important you make necessary arrangements for funds before starting the process.

Once your application has been made for your residency, you are not allowed to travel or cross the checkpoints to the South until your Police Appointment stage. If you need to travel and your police appointment date has not arrived yet, we are able to attend your police appointment earlier by presenting your flight tickets and proof of payment of tickets.

Once you have passed your police appointment stage, you are able to travel, provided your travel dates are during 60 days of your police appointment. If you have passed your 60 days after your police appointment and wish to travel, you are required to complete your residency process before you may travel.

If you own a Property in North Cyprus, whether it’s a villa, apartment, or any form of dwelling, on the condition you meet the necessary requirements, you will be granted a 1-year renewable residency. On the basis that you renew your residency every year, you will be granted a 1-year permit each time up to 3 years.

After 3 years, provided you have registered the title deed of the Property into your name, you will then be granted a 2-year renewable residency. 

Please contact us for consultation or further information regarding residency matters..

1- Local Limited Liability Companies:

These are private and public limited companies. In such companies, the shareholders have limited liability which means their responsibilities for the company’s liabilities are limited in proportion with the share they own.  If the shareholders of the company are TRNC citizens, there is no requirement for payment of capital upfront. The applicable minimum capital for foreign citizen shareholders for such companies is 25,000-Euros.

 

2- Branches of Foreign Limited Companies:

Foreign companies abroad may conduct their operations freely in North Cyprus by setting up a branch in TRNC. Establishment of such companies require the approval of the TRNC Council of Ministers.

 

 

3- Free Zone Companies:

Free Trade Zone Companies are companies which are located in the  Famagusta Free Trade  Zone and carry out their activities abroad or within the free trade zone of North Cyprus

The advantage of Free trade zone companies are that these type of companies are exempt from corporation tax and value-added tax(VAT).

Only specific type of businesses are permitted to be set up as a free zone company such as: International shipping companies, IT companies, Banking, Consulting, Advisory, Financing, Insurance companies,  Building, repair and assembly of all kinds of ships, storage and export of goods imported to the Free Port and Zone Areas, Engaging in all kinds of industry, manufacturing and production, Assembly and repair of goods imported to the Free Port and Zone Areas and any other activity approved by the TRNC Council of Ministers.

 

 

4- International Business Companies (Off Shore Companies)

International Business Companies (IBC) are companies which carry out their activities outside of the TRNC and derive income from activities abroad.

These companies are subject to the approval of the Ministry responsible for economic matters and are subject to only 1% (one percent) Corporation Tax on their net taxable profits. These types of companies cannot be subject to any other type of taxes which makes IBC companies very advantageous. Another advantage of IBC companies is that for security and confidentiality purposes, you may appoint nominee shareholders in order to not reveal the true identity of the owners of the company.

 

Please contact our Firm for more information on establishing a company in TRNC.