Returning students don't need transit visa to travel to north Cyprus

Last week, we brought you a report (read here) that the Turkish Ministry of Interior has canceled the traveling with Ok To Board and mandated all passengers traveling to northern Cyprus to obtain a double transit visa.

This was revealed in a circular released by the Ministry last week and which came into effect on August, 15, 2023.

Since the announcement, many students traveling to northern Cyprus especially returning students with TRNC student resident permit were faced with problems returning to Cyprus as they were not allowed to board by Turkish Airline.

With this in mind, it was clarified that students with TRNC residence permit who already registered with their universities can be able to travel to north Cyprus without the need for a transit.

 

All new students must obtain a Turkish transit visa from the Turkish embassy in their country of residence. If the students are coming from a country where they can apply for TRNC visa, they still needs to have transit visa from Turkish embassy.

Recall that traveling with Ok To Board was introduced during Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 and since then has been the means by which students travel to north Cyprus for study.