Two students detained for 20 days for staying in north Cyprus without a resident permit

Two young foreign nationals who were arrested for illegal residency in north Cyprus with one of them found to have been living illegally in the country since 2016.

The individuals, named only as EMA, a Sudanese and LML, a Congo national who are both students in north Cyprus were identified and arrested during inspections carried out in Kyrenia street, Lefkosia on March, 3, 2024 after it was discovered that they had no resident permits.

They were taken to the Lefkosia judicial court on Friday.

Police told the court that during the immigration check carried out on them, it was determined that EMA had been residing in the country without a permit for a total of 2,717 days since October 25, 2016, and LML had been residing in the country without a permit for a total of 334 days since May 5, 2023.

The police demanded that they be detained in the central prison for 20 days in order to ensure their presence in their cases.

Evaluating the testimony given in court, the judge stated that the crime of residence permit is a crime that carries a prison sentence of up to 6 months and is becoming more common day by day, and ordered the suspects to be sent to prison for a period not exceeding 20 days.