Law Passed Offering Amnesty to Illegal Residents

North Cyprus News - TRNC flag

Monday, 24 October 2022

The Draft Law on Foreigners and Immigration, prepared by the UBP-DP-YDP coalition government for foreigners staying on the island illegally or without permission, was passed by Parliament, Yeniduzen reports.

The new law will enter into force within 10 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

According to the new regulation, foreign nationals who are in the country without permission will be able to benefit from an amnesty by paying a minimum wage.

CTP deputy Ongun Talat said that amnesty applications should be seen as an exception.

Drawing attention to the importance of the issue that those who benefited from the previous amnesty should no longer benefit from this amnesty so that it does not become a habit, Talat noted that they have approached this issue humanely and constructively.

Interior Minister Ziya Öztürkler, on the other hand, stated that they think about 5,000 people who may be harmed by the amnesty.

 HP Deputy Ayşegül Baybars said that informality in the country should not become a habit.

Explaining that there are different conditions for entering the country, Baybars noted that most of the people who come to the country without a record and live on the island after arriving on with a tourist visa, and that it is not right to constantly offer amnesty to the people who come to the country.

Pointing out that visitors should state the purpose of their coming to North Cyprus, Baybars stated that people who come as tourists do not come to stay in the country, and that the continuation of amnesty for those who come to the country for this purpose increases the laxity in the rules.

Baybars stated that with this immigration law, amnesty can be granted to those whom the ministry deems appropriate, but that no amnesty will be granted to those who have been dismissed by the court, she said.

Noting that some of the articles in the law are not fully understood, Baybars stated that it is not right to grant amnesty to those who enter the country as tourists. Saying that informality is a bleeding wound, Baybars stated that the exact number of people living unregistered in North Cyprus is not known.

Yeniduzen

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