Can I depart Cyprus from the North after arriving in the South?
November 27, 2022 6:36 AM Subscribe
I am a remote nomad U.S. citizen spending a month in Cyprus. Last week I arrived at Paphos Airport in the Republic of Cyprus (the southern part of the island), and my accommodation is in the South. My next destination will be Türkiye. It is significantly less expensive to travel to Türkiye from Northern Cyprus than from the South. Consequently, at the end of my month here I am considering departing to Istanbul from Nicosia Airport in Northern Cyprus after crossing into the North through the Green Line (the border between North and South). Is this a bad idea?
I know that the Republic of Cyprus officially views all arrivals and departures from Northern Cyprus (which it views as occupied territory) as illegal, despite daily international flights from the international airport in the North. But the situation in Cyprus is such a unique one that I’m not sure what is tolerated or truly prohibited in practice. Will the Republic of Cyprus have a record of my departure from the Republic when I cross the Green Line from the South and they scan my passport, or will their system record that I never departed from the island, showing me as having indefinitely overstayed my 90-day visa? Can I get a passport stamp showing that I departed the Republic of Cyprus when I walk north across the Green Line? If I leave from the North, will I encounter problems entering EU territory again? Will I be able to visit Cyprus again?
If there’s any chance of these issues happening to me, I suppose I will pay the extra $150 or so and just depart from the South. But I know that the two territories have relaxed their policies on cross-border travel in the last 20 years, and I hope that any kind and knowledgeable folks on here with experience regarding how to maneuver around Cyprus could provide some guidance to me as to whether such a departure from this island would be tolerated by the EU/Republic of Cyprus.
I know that the Republic of Cyprus officially views all arrivals and departures from Northern Cyprus (which it views as occupied territory) as illegal, despite daily international flights from the international airport in the North. But the situation in Cyprus is such a unique one that I’m not sure what is tolerated or truly prohibited in practice. Will the Republic of Cyprus have a record of my departure from the Republic when I cross the Green Line from the South and they scan my passport, or will their system record that I never departed from the island, showing me as having indefinitely overstayed my 90-day visa? Can I get a passport stamp showing that I departed the Republic of Cyprus when I walk north across the Green Line? If I leave from the North, will I encounter problems entering EU territory again? Will I be able to visit Cyprus again?
If there’s any chance of these issues happening to me, I suppose I will pay the extra $150 or so and just depart from the South. But I know that the two territories have relaxed their policies on cross-border travel in the last 20 years, and I hope that any kind and knowledgeable folks on here with experience regarding how to maneuver around Cyprus could provide some guidance to me as to whether such a departure from this island would be tolerated by the EU/Republic of Cyprus.
Best answer: I did this journey this past summer but on an Italian (and thus EU) passport. It was wholly stamp-free and led to an interesting experience on my return, presumably because of the absence of both a digital and paper record of departure from the EU.
Here is how it went:
- I entered Cyprus at Larnaca airport from Athens, ended up at a staffed passport inspection desk instead of an automatic passport control e-gate and did not get a stamp in my passport; this is normal for EU citizens
- a few days later, the checkpoint south of the Green Line in Nicosia at Ledra Street did not give me a stamp in my passport before crossing to the other side on foot - the checkpoint is labelled “Police” and is not an official border crossing, so no one receives a passport stamp of the kind you need there
- a few meters away the checkpoint north of the Green Line also did not give me a stamp in my passport, which seemed odd to me, but I didn’t question it at the time
- the checkpoint at the airport north of the Green Line was confused why I didn’t have a stamp from their side showing my “entry” - presumably because most people flying out have flown in - and I told them I didn’t know why I hadn’t received a stamp, that I came across the Green Line at Ledra Street and flew in at Larnaca, something they don’t have a record of since they don’t have access to the other side’s immigration systems. They said, “Okay, but if you came from the other side, why are you flying out from here and not there?” I replied something like “because it was cheaper and there are more flights from here” and they said “okay, I understand”, but again, they did not give me a stamp in my passport
- Turkey did give me a passport stamp on landing at my destination airport there and on leaving the country later for another non-EU destination
On arriving in Italy a few weeks later, my passport did not work at the automatic passport control e-gates at the airport and I had to have my passport manually checked. While I was not asked any questions about my travels, it took the officer a good three minutes of scanning the photo page, leafing through the pages looking at my stamps and typing to hand my passport back and let me in.
I have to presume this is because there was no record of my departure from the EU through the normal channels. Additionally, I assume I was stopped at the e-gate because I was not where the computer assumed I would be - Cyprus - and thus a check by a human was required to confirm the passport hadn’t been stolen and was being used by someone else.
Given all that and the fact that there really will not be physical or digital proof of your departure from the island, in your situation I would absolutely only leave from the south as mkdirusername suggests.
posted by mdonley at 6:59 PM on November 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
Here is how it went:
- I entered Cyprus at Larnaca airport from Athens, ended up at a staffed passport inspection desk instead of an automatic passport control e-gate and did not get a stamp in my passport; this is normal for EU citizens
- a few days later, the checkpoint south of the Green Line in Nicosia at Ledra Street did not give me a stamp in my passport before crossing to the other side on foot - the checkpoint is labelled “Police” and is not an official border crossing, so no one receives a passport stamp of the kind you need there
- a few meters away the checkpoint north of the Green Line also did not give me a stamp in my passport, which seemed odd to me, but I didn’t question it at the time
- the checkpoint at the airport north of the Green Line was confused why I didn’t have a stamp from their side showing my “entry” - presumably because most people flying out have flown in - and I told them I didn’t know why I hadn’t received a stamp, that I came across the Green Line at Ledra Street and flew in at Larnaca, something they don’t have a record of since they don’t have access to the other side’s immigration systems. They said, “Okay, but if you came from the other side, why are you flying out from here and not there?” I replied something like “because it was cheaper and there are more flights from here” and they said “okay, I understand”, but again, they did not give me a stamp in my passport
- Turkey did give me a passport stamp on landing at my destination airport there and on leaving the country later for another non-EU destination
On arriving in Italy a few weeks later, my passport did not work at the automatic passport control e-gates at the airport and I had to have my passport manually checked. While I was not asked any questions about my travels, it took the officer a good three minutes of scanning the photo page, leafing through the pages looking at my stamps and typing to hand my passport back and let me in.
I have to presume this is because there was no record of my departure from the EU through the normal channels. Additionally, I assume I was stopped at the e-gate because I was not where the computer assumed I would be - Cyprus - and thus a check by a human was required to confirm the passport hadn’t been stolen and was being used by someone else.
Given all that and the fact that there really will not be physical or digital proof of your departure from the island, in your situation I would absolutely only leave from the south as mkdirusername suggests.
posted by mdonley at 6:59 PM on November 28, 2022 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Officially, you will be considered "in breach of national legislation of the Republic of Cyprus. You are therefore urged to travel via the legal points of entry to the Republic of Cyprus, so as to avoid the risk of facing the consequences of the law."
As a Cypriot, may I also gently suggest caution around discussing the Cyprus problem and the language you use as this is an extremely sensitive issue for the Cypriot communities on the island whose suffering and trauma over these events is still within living memory.
posted by mkdirusername at 9:16 AM on November 27, 2022 [7 favorites]