TRNC Parliament passes Amnesty Bill

The TRNC Parliament approved the Foreigners and Immigration (amendment) Bill Draft on the 25th of October 2021 by a majority of votes. The Bill provides amnesty for foreign nationals living in the country with Residence, Work or Student Permits. Foreign nationals will now be able to renew 

their permits without having to leave the country and re-entering and those who are attempting to return to the country for work or student reasons will also benefit from the Amnesty Bill.
    The Bill was drafted in May of 2021 in consideration of the many people who became unemployed due to the economic crisis caused by Covid-19 including students, those with Residency Permits as well as businesses. The Bill applies to everyone regardless of their country of origin. It aims to bring back those deported by the police due to their work permit through immigration, but it is not a welcome pass for everyone. Government officials stated that the Amnesty Bill was created in an effort to “solve the social security actuarial balance problem,” and that “if an employee’s dismissal was due to the employer’s failure to pay social security premiums, then logically, it was wrong not to allow these people back into the country due to an issue that is not their fault.”
  Those who are already in the country are also registered with this Bill. The Amnesty Bill does not cover those who come to North Cyprus on a tourist visa.
The President is yet to approve the Bill before it becomes a Law.
Further details of the Bill are yet to be announced.